National Trust reveals rise in visitor numbers but drop in members

The National Trust said its visitor numbers jumped by 5% in the last year with people still prepared to spend money on a day out despite the cost of living crisis.

But the charity’s annual report, released on Monday, revealed changing visitor spending patterns.

Membership numbers dropped by 89,000 to 2.62 million in 2023-24, as more people moved to paying on the day. Non-members visiting its sites across England, Wales and Northern Ireland – those who pay on the door – rose by 12% on last year’s figures.

It said total visitor numbers were up by 5% to 25.3 million compared with the year before.

Hilary McGrady, the trust’s director general, said: “It’s really heartening that people still want to spend time in and support amazing cultural and natural places, whether that’s immersing themselves in art or wandering through our gardens and woodlands.

“We know the cost of living crisis is still biting and we’ll keep doing more to give everyone a great day out.”

She said the charity had designed a new Explorer Pass for a set number of days and was offering free passes where it could for those unable to afford a visit to National Trust sites.

Bernard Donoghue, the director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, said: “UK consumers have been making tactical decisions about how they spend their leisure pounds and leisure hours, and this caution continues.

“Our members have been reporting that there has been a rise in the number of visitors, particularly families, who have been opting for single-entry tickets, rather than taking out memberships.”

But looking forward to this year, the National Trust said memberships rose to 2.63 million as of the end of June amid early signs that cost pressures could be easing. The charity said it had 5.38 million members in total, including those on group subscriptions.

Elsewhere in the annual report, the charity said spending in shops and cafes was up last year compared with 2022-23.

The report also highlighted a strong year for heritage, with the acquisition of Munstead Wood, the former home of the gardener Gertrude Jekyll.

The conservation spend of £178m on historic buildings and collections was just shy of the previous year’s record spend, it added.

Meanwhile, £117.9m of fundraising income was raised from individual donors, charitable trusts, grant funders, corporate partners and gifts in wills. Within the record fundraising year, £3m was raised from secondhand bookshops, it added.

The charity said £5.5m was spent in 2023-24 on improving physical access for people with disabilities.

In terms of work, the trust’s longest-ever conservation task was completed: the 24-year project to restore 13 Gideon tapestries and rehang them at their historic home of Hardwick Hall.

McGrady said: “In the last financial year we celebrated some fantastic projects at the National Trust, but these were set against the backdrop of multiple global conflicts, the continuing effects of climate change and acute financial pressures.

“The unprecedented response to the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree in September 2023 brought home just how much we value our natural heritage. We’ll continue doing everything we can to protect nature and fight climate change, and we’ll keep looking after the treasured and historic places in our care.”