A new report from Historic Houses offers a timely insight into how Gen Z connects with and accesses heritage and interestingly, why so many don’t. While 99% of young people surveyed expressed a strong interest in visiting historic sites, the reality is that most aren’t doing so. The key barriers? Cost and travel.
Neither are surprising, but they’re worth confronting.
At Tangram, we work across a range of cultural contexts, and we’ve seen these challenges come up repeatedly. Whether it’s a rural museum struggling to reach under-25s or a local authority grappling with engagement gaps across its heritage programming, the problem isn’t lack of interest. It’s often ‘simply’ a lack of access.
Barriers that go beyond ticket prices
The Historic Houses research focused on built heritage, particularly historic homes, and highlighted two significant obstacles:
Travel: public transport is patchy and expensive, especially outside of major cities
Cost: for many, paying more than £10 for a visit simply isn’t feasible
These barriers align closely with findings from other studies, and something the sector has been grappling with for many years, including the Heritage Fund’s Youth Engagement Toolkit, which similarly emphasises the need for subsidised entry, youth travel schemes, and partnerships with schools or youth organisations.
But we’d also argue that access is more than physical or financial. It's about cultural and emotional relevance too - if you’re not reflected in a place, or don’t feel it’s to do with you, why would you visit?
Expanding the definition of heritage
Heritage isn't just buildings of course, it’s recipes handed down through generations or music in the local park. It’s the stories we tell about who we are, who we were and where we’re going.
There are excellent examples of where this is being done brilliantly in the report, Charleston’s Queer Bloomsbury programme or Chelsea Physic Garden’s ‘Gardening in Small Spaces’ workshops (perfect for young people who might live in flat or houseshares); that show how you can shape your programme based on your stories in exciting new ways, framing heritage more broadly.
These approaches don’t compete with more traditional heritage storytelling but enrich it, creating new entry points for young people who may not see themselves reflected in the established canon of castles, country houses, or curated exhibitions.
Making it relevant and accessible
Heritage rarely feels urgent in the national conversation. In the hierarchy of daily life, it often sits behind more immediate concerns like housing, food costs, education, healthcare. When people are struggling to meet their basic needs, engaging with heritage understandably drops down the list.
But heritage is a need. It helps us make sense of who we are, where we come from, and how we relate to others. It can provide comfort, perspective, and a sense of continuity in an unpredictable world. For young people especially, this grounding can be vital. The challenge is that heritage isn’t always presented in ways that feel meaningful or accessible to them.
As the recent Historic Houses report shows, Gen Z want more than a walk through a roped-off room. They’re looking for value: longer visits, more immersive workshops, and events that feel designed with them in mind creating space for participation, dialogue, and agency.
Digital communications matter too. Many heritage websites remain purely functional focused on opening times and admission fees. But Gen Z audiences expect more, from engaging visuals, storytelling that speaks directly to them to marketing that reflects their values.
Crucially, this generation is also demanding honesty. They want heritage to be inclusive and reflective of the full spectrum of our shared pasts, for example acknowledging colonial histories, gender and LGBTQ+ identities, class struggles, and more. There’s a real appetite for sites and institutions to embrace complexity rather than shy away from it.
This is where we believe cultural strategy can play a transformative role. At Tangram, we work with organisations to rethink how heritage is positioned and understood, connecting it to the issues and identities that matter to people now.
What happens next?
For heritage to thrive, it needs to be co-owned and co-curated by the next generation and there is a widespread acknowledgement of this throughout the sector and lots of amazing work happening to achieve this, including creating space for real collaboration between organisations, councils, funders and communities. We’ve been pondering some initiatives that we’re seeing make real differences, and a great place to start if this is something your organisation is facing:
Subsidise transport through school partnerships or local travel initiatives, particularly if you’re based outside of a well-connected city
Reduce costs where possible with flexible pricing, pay-what-you-can schemes, and inclusive memberships for young people
Try to unlock funding for youth-specific programmes that centre lived experience and creative input
Rethink interpretation; not every young person wants digital-led tech-heavy experiences, but they do want storytelling that speaks to them
Expand the frame; embrace food, music, protest, sport, and digital heritage as part of the bigger picture
As cultural strategists, our role is to help organisations surface these opportunities, connect them to community needs, and co-create pathways that bring people in not just as visitors, but as participants and future stewards.