Tower leads UK-wide rise in attractions visits

Leisure Report, Nov, 2008

Visits to visitor attractions in Britain have grown a further 3% in the last year, according to the 2007 Visitor Attractions Survey from VisitBritain.

The Tower of London was the most popular paid-for attraction in 2007 with over 2 million visits, followed by St Paul's Cathedral (1.6 million visitors) and Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth (1.4 million visitors).

Xscape Milton Keynes became the country's most visited free attraction, with 6.9 million visits in 2007, followed by Blackpool Pleasure Beach (5.5 million) and the British Museum (5.4 million). Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey, with 306,000 visits, showed an increase of 418% and boasted the survey's largest year-on-year visitor figures rise in the country, assisted by an effective national advertising campaign.

Other notable increases were the 100% year on year increase in visitor numbers of the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire; Cragside House, Gardens and Estate in Northumberland with an increase of 80% and the Royal Air Force Museum in Shropshire with an increase of 70%.

The majority of attraction sectors have grown in popularity with visitor and heritage centres showing the biggest increase of 12%. The leisure and theme park sector has shown an increase of 3%, as did the museums and art galleries sector. In a year where rainfall was well above average, particularly during the summer months, the outdoor attraction sector also recorded something of a boom, with country parks showing an 8% increase, farms and gardens showing a 5% increase each, and the wildlife and zoo sector also increasing by 4%.

Tom Wright, VisitBritain chief executive, said: "This research demonstrates the demand for all types of attractions in England, and that consumers are getting less likely to be swayed by the influence of the weather. Come rain or shine our world-renowned attractions offer something for all our visitors ... Current campaigns are encouraging even more visitors to enjoy our attractions in these challenging times."