Tourism in England


Tourism plays a significant part in the economic life of England. In 2018, the United Kingdom as a whole was the world's 10th most visited country for tourists, and 17 of the United Kingdom's 25 UNESCO World Heritage Sites fall within England.
England is the largest of the four "home nations" that make up the United Kingdom. It is also the most populous of the four with almost 52 million inhabitants. On the island of Great Britain, Scotland sits to the north of England and Wales is to the west. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland lie across the Irish Sea to west of England. France and the Channel Islands are across the English Channel to the south, and to the east is the North Sea.
VisitEngland is the official tourist board for England. VisitEngland's stated mission is to build England's tourism product, raise Britain’s profile worldwide, increase the volume and value of tourism exports and develop England and Britain’s visitor economy. In 2020, the Lonely Planet travel guide rated England as the second best country to visit that year, after Bhutan.

Cities

The ten English cities visited most by overseas tourists in 2019 were:

Museums and galleries

Unlike other countries, most state-run museums and places of cultural interest in England are free of charge to visit. Museums are an important aspect of English culture, and most cites and towns have a few museums and art galleries. Some of the most visited places are:
17 of the 25 United Kingdom UNESCO World Heritage Sites fall within England. Some of the best known of these include Stonehenge, the Tower of London, the Jurassic Coast, Westminster, the Roman Baths in Bath, Saltaire, Ironbridge Gorge and Studley Royal Park.
The northernmost point of the Roman Empire, Hadrian's Wall, is the largest Roman artefact in the world, running a total of 73 miles in northern England.

Most visited sites

National
Rank		SiteLocationVisitor count
1
Tower of LondonLondon2,389,548
2
St Paul's CathedralLondon1,821,321
3
Westminster AbbeyLondon1,449,593
4
Roman BathsBath1,196,481
5
Canterbury CathedralCanterbury1,013,118
6
StonehengeAmesbury990,705
7
Palace of WestminsterLondon963,362
8
York MinsterYork797,100
9
Chatsworth HouseChatsworth652,969
10
Leeds CastleMaidstone646,801
11
Hampton Court PalaceLondon541,646
12
Blenheim PalaceWoodstock537,120
13
Portsmouth Historic DockyardPortsmouth532,158
14
StourheadMere356,816
15
Beaulieu Palace House and AbbeyBeaulieu351,975

Geography

The geology of England is complex and diverse, a result of it being subject to a variety of plate tectonic processes over a very extended period of time. Changing latitude and sea levels have been important factors in the nature of sedimentary sequences, whilst successive continental collisions have affected its geological structure with major faulting and folding being a legacy of each orogeny, often associated with volcanic activity and the metamorphism of existing rock sequences. As a result of this eventful geological history, the UK shows a rich variety of landscapes.

The longest river in England is the River Severn which has its source in Wales, enters England at its confluence with the River Vyrnwy and flows into the Bristol Channel. The longest river entirely within England is the River Thames which flows through the English and British capital, London. The Vale of York and The Fens host many of England's larger rivers.
Most of England consists of low hills and plains, with upland and mountainous terrain in the north and west. Uplands in the north include the Pennines, an upland chain dividing east and west, the Lake District, containing the highest mountains in the country, the Cheviot Hills across the Anglo-Scottish border, and the North York Moors near the North Sea. Uplands in the west include Dartmoor and Exmoor in the south west and the Shropshire Hills. The approximate dividing line between terrain types is often indicated by the Tees-Exe line. To the south of that line, there are larger areas of flatter land, including East Anglia and the Fens, although hilly areas include the Cotswolds, the Chilterns, and the North and South Downs.
in the Cumbrian Mountains
England is generally lower and flatter than the rest of the UK, but has two main divisions in its form – the lowland areas of the south, east, and midlands and the more rugged and upland areas of the north and west. East Anglia is the lowest area of England, having no high hills or mountains and hosting an area of the Fens, the lowest area of England. The highest area of England is the North West, which contains England's highest hills and mountains, including its highest – Scafell Pike.
is one of England's many UNESCO World Heritage Sites and national parks
Some notable National Parks in England include:
are designated by Natural England as key places for wildlife and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most significant areas of habitat and of geological formations. NNRs are managed on behalf of the nation, many by Natural England themselves, but also by non-governmental organisations, including the members of The Wildlife Trusts partnership, the National Trust, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
There are 229 NNRs in England covering 939 square kilometres. Often they contain rare species or nationally important species of plants, insects, butterflies, birds, mammals, etc.
England has a temperate oceanic climate in most areas, lacking extremes of cold or heat, but does have a few small areas of subarctic and warmer areas in the South West. Towards the North of England the climate becomes colder and most of England's mountains and high hills are located here and have a major impact on the climate and thus the local fauna of the areas. Deciduous woodlands are common across all of England and provide a great habitat for much of England's wildlife, but these give way in northern and upland areas of England to coniferous forests which also benefit certain forms of wildlife. The fauna of England has to cope with varying temperatures and conditions, although not extreme they do pose potential challenges and adaptational measures. English fauna has however had to cope with industrialisation, human population densities amongst the highest in Europe and intensive farming, but as England is a developed nation, wildlife and the countryside have entered the English mindset more and the country is very conscientious about preserving its wildlife, environment and countryside.
Grey squirrels introduced from eastern America have forced the decline of the native red squirrel due to competition. Red squirrels are now confined to upland and coniferous-forested areas of England, mainly in the north, south west and Isle of Wight. England's climate is very suitable for lagomorphs and the country has rabbits and brown hares which were introduced in Roman times. Mountain hares which are indigenous have now been re-introduced in Derbyshire.

Ecotourism

The English countryside has been described as particularly suitable to ecotourism. Travel writer Bill Bryson considered it ironic that features such as hedgerows, grass verges and sheep roaming over fells, the things that make the landscape Britain "comely and distinctive" were, by the 21st century, rarely justifiable on economic grounds.
England possesses a wide range of natural environments, and continues to benefit from a significant ecotourism industry. Attractions include:
A number of umbrella organisations are devoted to the preservation and public access of both natural and cultural heritage, including English Heritage and the National Trust. Membership with them, even on a temporary basis, gives priority free access to their properties thereafter.
English Heritage has a wide-ranging remit and manages more than 400 significant buildings and Monuments in England. They also maintain a register of thousands of listed buildings, those which are considered of most importance to the historic and cultural heritage of the country.

Travelling within England

offers numerous, frequent and reliable transport around most of the larger towns and cities. Rural areas are less well served and hiring a car is often the best option to explore the countryside and villages.
The next most common methods of transports are taxis and trains. Great Britain's extensive rail network is used to travel between cities significantly more than aeroplanes, with a 2015 survey finding that only 1% of international visitors flew domestically after arrival.

Politics

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism is the minister with responsibility over tourism in the UK.