Which major UK cities are winning the footfall race?

For accessibility and SEO, I'd recommend: Alt text: Bar chart showing annual city centre footfall change across major UK cities. Cardiff recorded the highest growth at approximately 3.5%, followed by Bristol at 3.4%, Birmingham at 1.5%, Liverpool at 1.0% and Edinburgh at 0.4%. Footfall declined in Manchester (-0.6%), Leeds (-1.2%), Newcastle (-2.5%), London West End (-2.8%) and Glasgow (-3.0%). Overall footfall across all cities fell by approximately 0.7%. If you need a shorter version for web accessibility best practice: Short alt text: Bar chart comparing annual footfall change in major UK cities, with Cardiff and Bristol recording the strongest growth and Glasgow, London West End and Newcastle showing the largest declines.
  • Recent city centre footfall data reinforces Bristol’s status as one of the UK’s fastest-growing regional cities. While Cardiff has inched ahead, the underlying drivers remain consistent. Continued investment in retail, hospitality and leisure, alongside improving consumer confidence and better than expected retail spending, has helped support activity across many of the UK's major city centres. Cardiff's performance has been supported by continued city-centre investment, new retail and hospitality openings and a growing visitor economy, while Bristol has continued to benefit from its diverse economy, strong visitor appeal and sustained city-centre activity, further supported by recent retail openings such as Sephora and Boots Beauty, which have strengthened the city centre's retail offer and helped drive additional footfall.
  • While London's West End recorded a small decline over the period, it remains, by far, the UK's top city-centre destination. Annual footfall in the West End remains around 2.4 times higher than the average of the other major city centres analysed, underlining its continued dominance as a global retail, leisure and tourist destination. Rather than signalling weakness in the capital, stronger growth in several regional cities suggests that activity is becoming more widely distributed across the UK's major destinations.
  • A number of major city centres are set to benefit from significant public and private sector investment designed to improve accessibility, enhance the visitor experience and attract further occupier demand. In London, plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street could strengthen the West End's position as one of the world's leading retail destinations. Cardiff is seeing continued investment in new attractions and transport links, while Bristol continues to attract new retailers, hospitality operators and mixed-use development. Together, these developments should help support footfall growth and reinforce the appeal of city-centre destinations over the coming years
     

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