09 May 2014
UK music heritage could be worth extra £4bn in tourism revenues, says study
BY Jak Phillips
Cashing in on the tourism possibilities provided by music stars like David Bowie, The Beatles and the Arctic Monkeys could raise an additional £4bn for the UK economy, according to a new report.
IMAGINE, a study by industry lobby group UK Music, claims that if UK cities could replicate Liverpool’s success of harnessing The Beatles brand with attractions dedicated to their own homegrown stars, the potential for inbound tourism from across the world would be enormous.
Liverpool has been a standard bearer with popular attractions like The Beatles Story and The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. Each year The Beatles and their music heritage generate £70million for Liverpool’s local economy.
The report cites the example of Hull – which will soon follow Liverpool’s lead in becoming the City of Culture in 2017 – where the city’s Museum of Club Culture, hosted a temporary exhibition celebrating David Bowie’s alter ego Ziggy Stardust. Ziggy’s backing band – the Spiders from Mars – were from Hull and the resulting attraction drew 30,000 visitors to the City, all of whom added to the local economy.
“Music tourism is big business, with millions of pounds spent getting closer to the music we love,” said UK Music CEO Jo Dipple.
“Our recommendations are designed to help local and central government provide a framework for a vibrant music destination economy. We want to inspire local authorities to make the most of the music heritage on their doorstep.”
The report contains suggestions for Sheffield to capitalise on the popularity of local acts like the Arctic Monkeys and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker. It also cites the success of the Coventry Music Museum, which is attracting visitors from Japan, Australia, Malaysia and the USA.
Ed Vaizey, creative industries minister added: “The huge financial contribution to the UK economy by the millions of music tourists to the UK annually makes it very clear that when combined, the music and tourism industries are powerful drivers for growth.”
Away from the UK, there have been several recent attempts to harness the popularity of seminal acts or genres. In the US, a Nirvana fan has announced plans to convert Kurt Cobain’s childhood home into a museum, while rapper Afrika Bambaataa is behind proposals for a hip-hop museum in New York.
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