1.7 million people visit Liverpool in first week of the festive season

1,737,036 people visited Liverpool city centre in the first week of the festive season.

With Christmas attractions open across the city – including the Christmas market, The Elf on the Shelf, winter wonderland at Royal Albert Dock Liverpool and Liverpool ONE’s festive celebrations – the city has recorded higher visitor numbers so far compared with 2023.

The 1st December saw 223,422 visit the city centre, an increase of 20.3% last year, which also saw the Santa Dash, the annual festive race of Santas in the city. This year Sunday marked the start of The Elf on the Shelf at St John’s Beacon and a performance by Batala Mersey at Williamson Square. The busiest day so far has been Friday 6th December with a 249,288 footfall, up 3.2% on the same day last year.

Storm Darragh hit Saturday 7th December, with a footfall of 188,740 but even with the storm’s impact, the first week of December is up 1.4% on 2023. Without the 7th December, it is up 8.7%.

The data comes from Liverpool BID Company, who have organised The Elf on the Shelf and fund 80% of Christmas lights in the city centre

Bill Addy is CEO of Liverpool BID Company said:

“In a modern city and visitor economy you have to give people both a reason and an excuse to celebrate the festive season. What we’re seeing in Liverpool is a recognition that people come to cities for very different things; the attraction for a family of four is not necessarily the same for a young couple. What Liverpool’s mixed use economy is very good at doing is appealing to different markets and segments and we are seeing this being reflected in footfall numbers. Spectacle and events draw people in, and that is then converted into the spend that benefits our city centre economy. The whole city centre offer is very strong in Liverpool this Christmas and we expect to see it right up to the New Year”.