Keeping history alive – Understanding the barriers to Gen Z engagement with heritage, Historic Houses, June 2025
Introduction
Young people (aged 16-24) are consistently the group with the lowest rates of engagement with heritage according to DCMS figures. Yet, we know that there is a significant group of young people who enjoy heritage-related or heritage-adjacent content, whether that be via TikTok, Bridgerton or The Rest is History.
This study seeks to ask an already-engaged group of young people (in this case, those studying history, heritage or country-house related topics at a range of universities across the UK) about why they don’t currently visit historic houses, identifying the key barriers to preventing them accessing heritage in person, and what might entice them to visit a heritage site.
Are young people put off by practical barriers? Is it simply too hard to get to Historic Houses places without a car? If so, are there solutions that could be explored through partnerships with tourism attractions in the local areas, like shuttle buses? Does there need to be better directions via public transport on a website?
Is the cost of entry simply too high? Is it that they don’t know what’s available to visit? Is it that they think the reality will be dull, uninspiring, and not for them? Is the storytelling and interpretation on site not enough to capture their attention? Would targeted programming help draw in a younger audience? These are just some of the questions we asked participants.
Social media is an inescapable part of modern life, and we also wanted to explore what — if anything — about heritage and history content on social media is appealing. How useful a tool is social media for engaging with a younger audience — and what might the purpose of that engagement be for Historic Houses member places? Does, or can, social media translate into visitors through the doors? Is it a good way of converting interest into visits?
We do not have all the answers to these questions. But we hope that asking them is the first step in encouraging Historic Houses places to think more about getting a new generation through their doors, and inspiring a lifelong interest in heritage.
