Heritage Counts 2010

This year’s Heritage Counts, the annual survey of England’s historic environment, demonstrated the economic benefits which heritage delivers for the nation. The survey revealed that every £1 invested in historic attractions generates £1.70 in additional economic activity and every £1 invested in the historic environment generates £1.60.

Heritage Counts showed that heritage plays a distinct and important role in the English economy. It is a key driver of tourism, the UK’s third largest export industry and a direct employer of 1.36 million people, rising to 2.6 million when the indirect impact of tourism is taken into account. A third of international visitors cite our historic attractions as the main factor in choosing to come to the UK and more than half of international tourists visit a built heritage site during their trip.

Heritage Counts used Castle Howard, just north of York, as a case study to demonstrate the signficiant impact which heritage has on local, and national,  economies.  In 2008/09  Castle Howard  employed 880 suppliers, with an annual expenditure of over £4 million. Around half of these suppliers (464 / 53%) and half of the value of the transactions (£2.5m / 57%) are from Yorkshire itself

The castle plays an important role by providing local business opportunities. For example, the castle provides local farmer Gareth Barlow with grazing land for his rare Hebridean sheep. The lamb is then sold at the castle’s farm-shop butchers where Gareth is being trained in butchery techniques.