Heart of London Business Alliance (HOLBA) today reveals that the footfall throughout the 2025 festive season in London’s West End reached its highest level since 2020. December 2025 saw a 19% increase in footfall in theHeart of London (HOL) area which includes Piccadilly, Jermyn Street, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Haymarket, and St Martin’s Lane, compared to December 2024.
The district continues to demonstrate robust recovery from the pandemic, with figures indicating that visits were 20% above the averages recorded in Decembers 2022-2024. This increase rose to 35% above the post-Covid average between 15thand 29th December, a sign of the area’s enduring appeal.
The area’s experience economy continues to be a major draw. December data shows that visitors not only came in greater numbers but stayed longer, with average dwell increasing by 42 mins compared to December 2024, reaching 2hrs 38 min. The most significant increases were recorded on Sundays and Mondays.
Representing just 12% of the West End, the Heart of London area contributes over £12.8 billion to the UK economy, supports more than 117,000 jobs, and attracts upwards of 83 million visitors annually. HOLBA’s 2026 remit
Mark Williams, deputy chief executive, HOLBA, said: “Today’s figures show that London’s West End continues to outperform national trends, with visitor numbers on the rise. This underscores its appeal as a global destination and the power of the experience economy in attracting people to the area. However, this success sits alongside real pressures from rising business rates and operating costs, as well as other challenges. HOLBA is committed to turning this strong footfall into sustainable growth through promoting the West End internationally to attract inward investment whilst ensuring it remains a world-leading commercial and cultural hub where businesses can thrive.”
Simon Thomas, executive chairman at
“What matters most is the bigger picture though. When the area is busy, well managed and offering a rich mix of culture, sport, food, drink and entertainment, it delivers not just for businesses but for jobs, tourism and London’s global reputation. This peak period showed that, even in challenging times, the West End remains one of the capital’s great economic and cultural engines.”
Ben Foster, director of marketing, W London said: “We saw the West End come alive, with a true hub revolving around the Heart of London area. I believe this is thanks to a spate of exciting experiences over the festive period which drew visitors into the area, and made the West End, in particularthe Leicester Square area, a central focal point which people then combined with nearby experiences.
We saw great pickup on activations such as our Festive Film Club in our private cinema, many of which came from guests who were visiting the area for a multi-experience trip, stopping for an ice-skating experience, visiting the winter market, or having a cocktail before heading into Chinatown for dinner.
I think it truly showed the power of a unified focus activation and the impact of the destination initiatives, something I would love to see both members and the team at HOLBA coming together on again and again throughout 2026.”
Paul Matthews, head of strategy & analytics at Colliers, added: “The sustained levels of high footfall across the HOLBA district seen throughout December are testament to the importance of high quality experience when it comes to increased dwell times and the creation of a destination. Within the HOLBA district there is a real mix of operators who play into the hands of those December visitors, providing places for people to visit, shop and treat themselves to a Christmas meal, drink or day out.”
