News: Tourism continues to boost Rotherham's economy by half a billion pounds a year
In Rotherham, visitor numbers are up, more people are staying within the area, and the economic impact is huge, with over £500m generated directly and indirectly by the tourism sector in 2025, reports Visit Rotherham.
Rotherham is ahead of Barnsley in terms of total tourism visits, economic impact and jobs supported.
Visit Rotherham has looked at new data, commissioned via the South Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership and processed by Global Tourism Solution’s STEAM Report, which shows that increases have continued each year on the back of high profile events and investment in family friendly attractions.
A total of £539m was generated directly and indirectly within the local Rotherham economy through visitor and tourism business expenditure in 2025, with the economic impact 5.8% up on the £509m recorded in the previous year.
The stats showed that there were 5.4 million tourism visits to Rotherham in 2025, up by 0.7%, and that visitor activity and spend supports more than 4,492 full time equivalent jobs in the borough.
Over half a million visits (593,000) were made by visitors staying within Rotherham as part of a holiday or short break, up 0.9% on the previous year and generating 1.4 million nights in local accommodation.
STEAM data for South Yorkshire 2025:
A highlight for 2025 was Rotherham hosting the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Flower Show when over 60,000 visitors attended Wentworth Woodhouse for the world-famous gardening event.
As the world’s first Children’s Capital of Culture in 2025, Rotherham has been redefining how creativity, civic purpose and collaboration can be shaped by children and young people. With events across the borough including music, sports and cultural events animating Rotherham town centre, organisers said they had achieved 83,743 "active participations" in activities during the 2025 festival year.
2025 also saw continued success at Gulliver’s Valley with the family theme park bringing attractions such as the “Land of Lights” to Rotherham for the first time.
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In the town centre, and continuing the move towards more leisure uses following the opening of Arc Cinema on Forge Island, 2025 saw the re-opening of the Empire Theatre after a £1.8m restoration.
At Clifton Park, one of Yorkshire’s best free days out, the revamped water splash opened in 2025 and now welcomes over 30,000 people in the summer seasons enjoying the new paddling pool and splash pads.
Like the rest of South Yorkshire, Rotherham does well to attract visitors for a day out - the data shows that 4.8 million tourism visits were made by day visitors in 2025 (up 0.6% on 2024). Day visitors make up a huge 89% of total visitors to the area.
In Rotherham, day visitors enjoy the award-winning Clifton Park, and the unique events space and hands-on exhibits at the Magna Science Adventure Centre. Sports fans come for football, rugby and boxing, and less mainstream sports events such as the Open Water National Championships held at Rother Valley Country Park.
Tom Austen, founder of Visit Rotherham, said: “The report makes for fantastic reading and shows that Rotherham continues to be a place that people want to visit and invest in.
“We still need to shout more about what we've got here. Other destinations would love to have attractions like Magna, Wentworth Woodhouse, Gulliver’s Valley and Grimm & Co. And 70% of Rotherham is open countryside with picturesque villages and country parks created from former coalfields and industrial areas.
“That's why I set up Visit Rotherham at visitrotherham.com - to tell people about what Rotherham has to offer, the new venues and attractions opening, the busy events calendar, and the best places to go.
“A lot of it is about changing Rotherham’s image and people’s perceptions. Rotherham, and South Yorkshire, is a great place for people who like a good value family day out, want to learn about our heritage, like to get outdoors, or enjoy the theatre, live music and a decent pint.
“The website also helps local people find out all of the amazing things that are happening in their hometown that they can get involved with and be proud of.”
Looking ahead, further investment in tourism in Rotherham is planned. At Wentworth Woodhouse, a unique holiday let is being created in the Grade-I listed mansion, and the RHS is set to return in 2028.
A new £10m tram-train stop at Magna is enabling operators to host more music events, and at Manvers, plans are moving ahead for a £14m project to create a whitewater course.
And from nearly 400 bids, Rotherham has been shortlisted to become the UK's first Town of Culture in 2027.
Visit Rotherham website
Images: Gulliver's Valley / WWPT
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Rotherham is ahead of Barnsley in terms of total tourism visits, economic impact and jobs supported.
Visit Rotherham has looked at new data, commissioned via the South Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership and processed by Global Tourism Solution’s STEAM Report, which shows that increases have continued each year on the back of high profile events and investment in family friendly attractions.
A total of £539m was generated directly and indirectly within the local Rotherham economy through visitor and tourism business expenditure in 2025, with the economic impact 5.8% up on the £509m recorded in the previous year.
The stats showed that there were 5.4 million tourism visits to Rotherham in 2025, up by 0.7%, and that visitor activity and spend supports more than 4,492 full time equivalent jobs in the borough.
Over half a million visits (593,000) were made by visitors staying within Rotherham as part of a holiday or short break, up 0.9% on the previous year and generating 1.4 million nights in local accommodation.
STEAM data for South Yorkshire 2025:
| Tourism Visits | Visitors Staying | Economic Impact | Jobs Supported | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield | 18.7 million | 1.9 million | £2.0 billion | 16,203 |
| Doncaster | 10.17 million | 873,000 | £1.05 billion | 8,612 |
| Rotherham | 5.4 million | 593,000 | £539 million | 4,492 |
| Barnsley | 4.09 million | 600,000 | £431 million | 3,593 |
| S. Yorksire | 38.3 million | 3.9 million | £4.0 billion | 32,788 |
A highlight for 2025 was Rotherham hosting the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Flower Show when over 60,000 visitors attended Wentworth Woodhouse for the world-famous gardening event.
As the world’s first Children’s Capital of Culture in 2025, Rotherham has been redefining how creativity, civic purpose and collaboration can be shaped by children and young people. With events across the borough including music, sports and cultural events animating Rotherham town centre, organisers said they had achieved 83,743 "active participations" in activities during the 2025 festival year.
2025 also saw continued success at Gulliver’s Valley with the family theme park bringing attractions such as the “Land of Lights” to Rotherham for the first time.
Advertisement
In the town centre, and continuing the move towards more leisure uses following the opening of Arc Cinema on Forge Island, 2025 saw the re-opening of the Empire Theatre after a £1.8m restoration.
At Clifton Park, one of Yorkshire’s best free days out, the revamped water splash opened in 2025 and now welcomes over 30,000 people in the summer seasons enjoying the new paddling pool and splash pads.
Like the rest of South Yorkshire, Rotherham does well to attract visitors for a day out - the data shows that 4.8 million tourism visits were made by day visitors in 2025 (up 0.6% on 2024). Day visitors make up a huge 89% of total visitors to the area.
In Rotherham, day visitors enjoy the award-winning Clifton Park, and the unique events space and hands-on exhibits at the Magna Science Adventure Centre. Sports fans come for football, rugby and boxing, and less mainstream sports events such as the Open Water National Championships held at Rother Valley Country Park.
“We still need to shout more about what we've got here. Other destinations would love to have attractions like Magna, Wentworth Woodhouse, Gulliver’s Valley and Grimm & Co. And 70% of Rotherham is open countryside with picturesque villages and country parks created from former coalfields and industrial areas.
“That's why I set up Visit Rotherham at visitrotherham.com - to tell people about what Rotherham has to offer, the new venues and attractions opening, the busy events calendar, and the best places to go.
“A lot of it is about changing Rotherham’s image and people’s perceptions. Rotherham, and South Yorkshire, is a great place for people who like a good value family day out, want to learn about our heritage, like to get outdoors, or enjoy the theatre, live music and a decent pint.
“The website also helps local people find out all of the amazing things that are happening in their hometown that they can get involved with and be proud of.”
Looking ahead, further investment in tourism in Rotherham is planned. At Wentworth Woodhouse, a unique holiday let is being created in the Grade-I listed mansion, and the RHS is set to return in 2028.
A new £10m tram-train stop at Magna is enabling operators to host more music events, and at Manvers, plans are moving ahead for a £14m project to create a whitewater course.
And from nearly 400 bids, Rotherham has been shortlisted to become the UK's first Town of Culture in 2027.
Visit Rotherham website
Images: Gulliver's Valley / WWPT
