Gloucester City Centre bucks national trend as footfall surges

The figures reveal that more people are choosing Gloucester as a place to visit, work, study, live and socialise, underlining the city's growing appeal and versatility, and providing further evidence that it is increasingly becoming a destination of choice for residents, visitors, businesses and investors alike.

King's Walk recorded some of the city's strongest figures, with footfall increasing by 23% year-on-year to almost 3.2 million visitors. Particularly encouraging was a 33% rise during the second quarter and a 40% increase in evening and night-time footfall, highlighting Gloucester's growing appeal as both a daytime and evening destination.

Eastgate also recorded a strong performance, welcoming more than 1.56 million visitors during the first half of the year, a 6% increase year-on-year. Growth accelerated during the second quarter, with footfall rising by 8% compared to the same period in 2025.

King's Square saw footfall reach 452,300 between January and June 2026, representing a remarkable 115% increase compared with the same period last year. The growth has been driven by a programme of events and activities, including popular attractions such as silent discos and markets, alongside the opening of The Forum development, Hotel Indigo, Patch, Q-Park, the University of Gloucestershire's city centre campus and new hospitality businesses such as Coro Lounge.

Councillor Jeremy Hilton, Leader of Gloucester City Council, said: "These figures show Gloucester is bucking the national trend. More people are choosing our city centre to shop, eat, work, study and spend time with friends and family. It's a clear sign that our investment in regeneration is paying off and that Gloucester is becoming an increasingly attractive place to visit and do business."

The growth comes against a challenging national backdrop. According to the British Retail Consortium, UK retail footfall declined across much of the first half of 2026, with year-on-year falls recorded in January (-0.6%), April (-10.7%), May (-2.6%) and June (-3.4%) amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures and fragile consumer confidence.

The positive trend is expected to continue throughout the second half of 2026.

Major events including the ever-popular Gloucester Goes Retro and Gloucester Day are expected to attract thousands of additional visitors from across the region and beyond, providing a further boost to local businesses and the visitor economy. July's successful Geek Out Gloucester event has already contributed to continued growth, with validated figures expected to strengthen year-to-date performance even further when released next month.

Nick Yates, Associate Director at Colliers, which manages King's Walk, King's Square and Eastgate on behalf of Gloucester City Council, said: "It's extremely encouraging to see such strong growth across all three destinations. The figures reflect Gloucester city centre's growing appeal and the success of the mix of retail, leisure, events and investment that is helping attract more visitors throughout the day and into the evening."

Councillor Hilton added: "This is just the beginning. Major new developments such as Greyfriars - which will bring a new indoor market, exciting live performance venue, and new places to buy and eat food - alongside The Forum and the University's city centre campus, will bring even more people into Gloucester and strengthen our position as one of the country's most exciting and ambitious regeneration stories amongst cities of our size. It’s great to see so many businesses of all sizes wanting to invest in the city."

Footfall data is supplied by Fetch Analytics' Terrain system, which is widely used by Business Improvement Districts and retail destinations across the UK to monitor visitor numbers and trends.