The British royal family’s reign spans 37 generations and 1209 years.
Buckingham Palace in London has served as the official residence of the UK’s sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the ruling monarch.
And each year, the royal family is responsible for generating millions of pounds worth of tourism for the United Kingdom.
In the fiscal year 2019-20, the royal estate’s income from ticket admissions in the UK rose over the previous year, according to Statista.
Overall, the admission income peaked at nearly £49.9m in 2019-20, increasing from approximately £48.4m in 2018-19.
Here’s everything you need to know about the UK’s royal tourism industry.
How much tourism money does the royal family bring into the UK?
According to Forbes, the House of Windsor is estimated to be worth £19bn.
It helps earn hundreds of millions for Britain’s economy every year, with Windsor Castle and Frogmore House recording roughly 426,000 paying visitors between April 2021 and March 2022. An adult ticket costs £26.50 from Sunday to Friday.
Other royal tourist destinations such as Buckingham Palace, the Royal Mews, Clarence House, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the Queen’s Gallery also generate significant revenue.
As well as generating income from ticket sales, the various landmarks also sell souvenirs, trinkets, hampers and publishing, as well as a Christmas hamper.
What are some other ways the royal family makes money?
The royal family also generates tourism revenue via the royal collection and the crown’s estate.
The royal collection is known to be the most significant in the world. According to its annual report of 2019-20, a record 3,285,000 people visited the official residences, generating approximately £49,859,000.
From a retail perspective, gift shop sales of the royal collection made £19,983,646 in a single year, making its total income of the year to be £71,526,000.
The Crown estate includes various properties based in the UK. It includes Regent Street in London, Windsor Great Park and Ascot Racecourse.
The Crown estate also controls around 1,960,000 acres of agricultural land and forest, and more than half of Britain’s foreshore.
Overall, how much does the royal family contribute to the UK economy?
While the average annual cost for UK taxpayers in royal upkeep comes to around £500m a year, Brand Finance estimates the monarchy’s brand contributes £2.5bn to the British economy in the same timeframe.
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