The National Football Museum in Manchester welcomed a record number of visitors during the 2023 summer season, continuing its strong annual performance from the previous year.
This summer, between June 1 and August 31, the attraction welcomed a total of 68,253 visitors through its doors – a record high for the museum – which is a 35% increase on the same period last year and a 31% rise on pre-Covid figures for the museum (2019).
The museum’s record-breaking summer is even more remarkable from a national perspective. The 2022 report from Visit England on UK visitor attraction trends showed the volume of visits were still 35% lower than pre-pandemic (2019).
Overseas visitors
Beyond Manchester and the rest of the country, visitations from overseas tourists are back on the rise, in particular from the USA.
The museum is responding to the needs of international visitors who are ‘experience seekers’. In fact, 32% of visitors in the summer period were from overseas.
Sheona Southern, managing director of Marketing Manchester, said: “The National Football Museum is a much-loved attraction in Manchester and is a key driver for sports-loving visitors who come to enjoy great events, including football.
“It is fantastic to see the museum’s visitor numbers are now even higher than before the pandemic, and particularly encouraging to see the strength of the international visitor market, which the museum and other attractions in Greater Manchester will see great benefits from.”
New season tickets
To accompany one of their most content rich summers to date, the museum also introduced its season ticket for visitors. This allows a visitor unlimited visits to the museum for 12 months, plus free admission to special exhibitions, events and tours from just £13 per year for adults, £11 for concessions and £7 for children.
Thanks to continued support and funding from the Manchester City Council, Manchester residents and schools can still visit the museum completely free of charge too, something the museum deems vitally important in the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis.
Fifteen new jobs have been created since April 1, 2022.
Image courtesy of the National Football Museum
