• Swindon & Wiltshire Culture
• Wednesday November 4 2026

Wiltshire lands the Air Tattoo, as £25m economic boost flies across the border

The Royal International Air Tattoo is leaving RAF Fairford after four decades and moving to MOD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire from 2027 – a relocation that shifts one of Britain’s biggest visitor events, and its multi-million-pound spending, across the Gloucestershire border.

The airshow drew more than 175,000 visitors in 2025 and is estimated to be worth over £25 million to its host economy each year, through spending on hotels, campsites, food, drink, transport and local services.

For Fairford and the surrounding Cotswolds, that is a substantial loss. For the Amesbury area and wider Wiltshire, it is a major opportunity.

Wiltshire Council leader Cllr Ian Thorn said the move would put the county “on the national and international stage”, adding: “Bringing the Royal International Air Tattoo to Boscombe Down will put us on the national and international stage, attract thousands of visitors and provide a real boost for local businesses and our visitor economy.”

The scale of the event means the benefits should reach well beyond the airfield. A show of this size brings advance crews, international delegations, media and aviation enthusiasts who often stay for several days, spreading trade through Salisbury, Amesbury, Andover and surrounding villages.

The 2025 event featured 224 aircraft from almost 30 nations, underlining its international draw.

The move also gives Wiltshire a global marketing platform. RIAT is broadcast and covered internationally, and its relocation signals that the county can host large-scale, security-sensitive events alongside its established tourism offer.

Boscombe Down’s space and flexibility should allow organisers to expand visitor capacity, international participation and attractions from 2027.

There is a longer-term economic argument too. Ticket revenue funds the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust, which says RIAT helped deliver more than 500,000 STEM engagements with young people across the UK in 2025.

That makes the airshow not only a short-term tourism boost but a recurring platform for skills, education and aerospace-related visibility in a county with deep military and aviation roots.

East Wiltshire MP Danny Kruger said the move would be a “fantastic opportunity to showcase Wiltshire on the international stage,” but said it was essential that organisers work with local communities to minimise disruption for residents.

“They already put up with more than enough congestion and inconvenience from the A303, so we must ensure that an event of this scale does not add unnecessarily to those pressures,” he said.

Amesbury is no stranger to entertaining tourists. Stonehenge typically draws about 1.3 million visitors a year. It is in the Top 10 of England’s paid attractions in recent VisitEngland surveys.

It is responsible for around a third of Wiltshire’s £1.5 billion annual tourism income.