Increase in visitor numbers to Wakefield district
Monday, August 18, 2025
The number of visitors to the Wakefield district went up by almost 10% last year.
Latest figures show more than ten million people visited the district in 2024. The number of visitors was up by 9.6 percent compared to 2023.
This was in part due to the success of Our Year – Wakefield District 2024 – which celebrated and successfully spotlighted culture and heritage. It also highlights the overall strength of the hospitality, cultural and tourism sector including attractions such as Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Hepworth Wakefield and Pontefract Castle, recently recognised in Tripadvisor’s prestigious “Travellers’ Choice Awards for 2025”.
"It’s very encouraging that more people are discovering what a great place we are to visit. Our district has so much to offer, with so much to see and do.
“Our attractions and our hospitality sector are very strong in attracting people to the district. We had a very successful Our Year – Wakefield District 2024 – which celebrated and successfully spotlighted our culture and heritage and contributed to this success. We are also seeing the benefits of our plan to work more closely with partners to develop our offer.”
Cllr Hannah Appleyard
Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport
Figures show that £851 million was generated directly and indirectly through visitor and tourism business expenditure in the Wakefield district. This is 13.3% up on the 2023 figure of £751 million.
Visitor spend supports 7,579 full time or equivalent tourism related jobs – 6.1% up on the 2023 estimated of 7,127 jobs.
“Tourism is an important part of our economy and we’ll continue to work with partners and to encourage more visitors to enjoy the great experiences on offer in our district.”
Cllr Jack Hemingway
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Growth
Last year the Council also launched its Destination Management Plan which set out ambitious plans to boost tourism.
It involves partnership working with the tourism and hospitality sector to achieve increased spend from visitors by extending stays and creating new and sustainable experiences.
As well as raising awareness of the Wakefield district as the sculpture capital of the UK and cultural gateway to the north.
The plan is also about ensuring the district’s infrastructure is ready for growth, that visitors feel welcome and can easily find the information they need to have a positive experience during their visit, creating a desire to return.
The new research was carried out by Global Tourism Solutions UK, using the industry recognised STEAM Economic Impact of Tourism Model.
It was commissioned by West Yorkshire’s Local Visitor Economy Partnership - a strategic partnership between the region’s five local authorities.
For information:
West Yorkshire Combined Authority has highlighted research showing that the region welcomed 73 million visitors in 2024, a 3% increase on the previous year, with spending in the local economy rising by 7.8% to £6.26 billion. The tourism and hospitality sector now supports 54,000 jobs for local people, up by 2.6%.
This growth has been attributed to successful 'year of culture' events hosted across the region ahead of Bradford UK City of Culture 2025, taking place this year.
Kirklees and Leeds set the scene in 2023 by rolling out diverse programmes of performances, exhibitions and community-led projects, before handing the baton to Calderdale and Wakefield to showcase even more of the region’s creative spirit in 2024.