Oxford University welcomes record 3.8 million tourists

Together, Oxford University’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) welcomed 3,816,898 people in 2025 compared to 3,559,109 in 2024.

This is the highest number of visitors on record and represents a seven per cent increase year-on-year, outperforming ALVA’s UK-wide average figure of two per cent.

GLAM is made up of four museums – the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, History of Science Museum, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and Pitt Rivers Museum, as well as the Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, and the Bodleian Libraries.

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The Ashmolean Museum (Image: Oxford Mail)

Out of 400 organisations which submitted data, four GLAM venues were among ALVA’s top 100 most visited attractions in 2024.

The Ashmolean Museum secured its highest ever ranking at number 31 and is now the most popular visitor attraction in Oxfordshire.

The Bodleian Libraries and Oxford University Museum of Natural History placed 37th and 40th respectively, both equalling their highest ranking.

The Pitt Rivers Museum was 85th following two years of exceptional visitor growth.

Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum ranked at number 188, and the History of Science Museum at 205.

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The Museum of Natural History in Oxford (Image: Nat An)

Richard Ovenden OBE, head of Oxford’s gardens, libraries and museums, said: “This latest increase in ALVA visitor figures not only reflects the popularity of the University’s unique venues and the rich treasures contained in them but also demonstrates how our GLAM teams truly understand how to attract, include, engage and interact with our visitors, whether from our local communities or across the globe.

“With an exciting programme of exhibitions, displays and events scheduled for this year, we look forward to welcoming even more visitors to our gardens, libraries and museums and continue to enjoy sharing the stories behind our collections with them.”

Radiohead held an exhibition at the Ashmolean (Image: Julian Broad/Ashmolean Museum/PA)

In 2025, the Ashmolean Museum held its hugely popular music exhibition, This Is What You Get: Stanley Donwood/Thom Yorke/Radiohead, inspired by the local band.

The Ashmolean’s visitors increased by 14 per cent in 2025 to 1,072,267, its highest figure since 2010 and the first time the Museum has achieved one million visitors since reopening in 2009.

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The Duke Humfrey’s Library in Oxford, one of the Bodleian Libraries. (Image: David Iliff)

The Bodleian Libraries were enjoyed by 929,403 visitors in 2025, up seven per cent on the year.

The History of Science Museum saw a nine per cent boost in visitors through their doors in 2025, totalling 195,002 – a remarkable 31 per cent increase on their pre-pandemic 2019 figure.

The Museum of Natural History greeted 877,437 visitors last year, over 50,000 more visitors than in 2024 and its highest figure ever.

Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum welcomed 222,837, while the Pitt Rivers Museum again broke through the half-million mark first achieved in 2024 by recording 519, 952, a two per cent rise on last year and its highest visitor count ever.