Great British Summer VAT Savings - how attractions should promote their summer offers online
The Great British Summer Savings scheme is now live, giving eligible visitor attractions, family venues, restaurants and entertainment businesses the opportunity to pass VAT savings on to customers during the summer holiday period.
The scheme runs from 25 June to 1 September 2026, with the reduced 5% VAT rate applying to eligible services such as admission tickets to attractions, children’s and family tickets for certain entertainment, and children’s meals served in restaurants.
For visitor attractions, this is not just a pricing or ticketing update. It is also a useful search visibility opportunity. You may already have content in place, but read on to see if you’ve covered every avenue.
Whether you are eligible for the scheme or not, we have pulled together some top tips to showcase your latest offers online, in an increasingly price-sensitive market.
Make sure customers can actually find your offer
If your attraction is taking part in the scheme, or passing savings on to visitors in any way, it is worth making that clear across your website and wider online presence:
- Create a dedicated news or blog post explaining your Great British Summer Savings offer to target searches containing this scheme.
- Add the offer to your main offers, discounts or tickets page (create discounts and offers, and voucher codes pages if you haven't got them already!)
- Update your Google Business Profile with a post about the offer/savings.
- Register your attraction on the official Great British Summer Savings finder.
- Share the offer through email newsletters and social media.
As we always advise, you should be mentioning savings and offers on relevant seasonal pages and dedicated offers and discounts pages, to capture those specifically searching for your brand name + discounts/offers.
Keep the wording clear and accurate
Before publishing anything, make sure your finance, ticketing or commercial team has confirmed exactly how the scheme applies to your business. The VAT rules may vary depending on your ticket types, products, bundles, memberships and food offers.
Avoid vague claims such as “everything is cheaper” unless that is genuinely true. Clear, specific wording is much safer and more helpful for customers.
For example:
From 25 June to 1 September 2026, we are passing on savings from the government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme on selected eligible tickets. These savings are already reflected in the prices shown on our website.
Or:
We are taking part in the Great British Summer Savings scheme this summer, helping families save on eligible visits during the school holidays.
What if you're not eligible?
Not every attraction qualifies for this scheme unfortunately. We are hopeful that this is the start of the government recognising the vital contribution that zoos, parks, heritage destinations and attractions make to the country.
If you're not eligible then you will still need to add discounts, offers and voucher code pages to your website.
Here are some ideas that you can add, without discounting or devaluing your product:
- Saving Savings Pass (multi-visit pass)
- Free upgrades
- Free on-site discounts or upsells
- 2 days for the price of 1 (and boost secondary spend)
- Standard / VIP memberships
Don't ignore the scheme altogether. Families are actively searching for this scheme this summer, so a short, honest note on your offers or FAQ page explaining that you are not part of the Great British Summer Savings scheme (and why, if relevant) still helps you capture some of that search traffic, and it avoids any confusion or complaints from visitors who assumed you were included. Never imply participation you're not entitled to just to ride the search demand.
Quick checklist for attractions
If you are taking part, check that you have:
- A clear page explaining the savings targeting this specific scheme name
- The offer listed on your tickets/offers page.
- Internal links from relevant pages.
- A Google Business Profile update (Offers).
- Newsletter copy prepared.
- Your listing submitted to the official finder.
- Clear terms covering dates, ticket types and exclusions.
Search demand around the official scheme name is low, but there are still opportunities to build up your rankings on related summer savings and VAT terms. Clear on-site content can help customers understand your offer, support summer bookings, and make sure your attraction is visible wherever families are looking for affordable days out.
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