Visitor Attractions in England Boosted by 3% Increase in 2010
Free attractions driving the increase with figures up by 6%
Admissions to England’s visitor attractions rose by 3 per cent in 2010 according to VisitEngland’s Annual Visitor Attractions Survey. The boost in visits was driven predominantly by free attractions which increased by 6 per cent with paid attractions reporting an overall decline of 1 per cent reflecting the predisposition of the nation to tighten its belt during times of economic uncertainty.
The majority of the top twenty free attractions were museums or art galleries, with the British Museum retaining its top spot with 5.8million visitors followed by the Tate Modern, National Gallery and Natural History Museum. Regional museums and galleries also featured heavily including the Ashmolean Museum, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Museums Sheffield and the World Museum Liverpool.
The Tower of London topped the paid for category with 2.4 million visits, followed by St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Windermere Lake Cruises, and Flamingo Land Theme Park & Zoo. Many of the most visited paid for attractions were categorised as historic properties and included The Tower of London, Stonehenge, Houses of Parliament & Big Ben, Chatsworth House and Leeds Castle.
Following the pattern from last year’s study, the performance of attractions varied by category, with visits to museums and art galleries showing a significant increase of 5 per cent, higher among those with free entry. Country parks were up by 5%, and workplaces and places of worship, up by 4 per cent, also outperformed the market.
Across the region, the strongest performance was in London with (+6 per cent) and the North West and South East, ( both +3 per cent).
James Berresford, VisitEngland’s Chief Executive:
England has a wealth of top class visitor attractions many of which are free. We know Britons are even more worried about the economy and this will have an impact on their holiday choices. England offers some fantastic free attractions and great affordable days out providing anyone holidaying at home this year with an experience in this country that is both enriching and great value. Competition on the world stage is tough and it is the quality of our attractions that will help to ensure that people come back time and time again to visit something new, exciting and unique to England.
Tables of top twenty attractions follow below.
FREE ATTRACTIONS
Attraction | Region | Category | 2009 | 2010 | | % 09/10 | Entry |
British Museum | LON | MAG | 5569981 | 5842000 | | 4.9 | F |
Tate Modern | LON | MAG | 4747537 | 5061172 | | 6.6 | F |
National Gallery | LON | MAG | 4780030 | 4954914 | | 3.7 | F |
Natural History Museum | LON | MAG | 4105106 | 4647613 | | 13.2 | F |
Science Museum | LON | MAG | 2753493 | 2757917 | | 0.2 | F |
Victoria and Albert Museum | LON | MAG | 2269880 | 2629065 | | 15.8 | F |
National Portrait Gallery | LON | MAG | 1961843 | 1819442 | | -7.3 | F |
Tate Britain | LON | MAG | 1501837 | 1665291 | | 10.9 | F |
Royal Observatory Greenwich | LON | MAG | 1569886 | 1576640 | | 0.4 | F |
British Library | LON | MAG | 1379475 | 1454612 | E | 5.4 | F |
Old Royal Naval College | LON | HP | 544522 | 1330260 | | 144.3 | F |
Imperial War Museum | LON | MAG | 887246 | 1069358 | | 20.5 | F |
Ashmolean Museum | SE | MAG | 227752 | 1042350 | | 357.7 | F |
Merseyside Maritime Museum | NW | MAG | 946699 | 1027475 | | 8.5 | F |
Museums Sheffield: Millennium Gallery | Y&H | MAG | 770644 | 879598 | | 14.1 | F |
National Maritime Museum | LON | MAG | 669199 | 804988 | | 20.3 | F |
Holkham NNR | EAST | WI | 800000 | 800000 | E | 0.0 | F |
World Museum Liverpool | NW | MAG | 606394 | 748065 | | 23.4 | F |
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery | WM | MAG | 644259 | 729231 | | 13.2 | F |
National Railway Museum | Y&H | MAG | 767863 | 619952 | | -19.3 | F |
PAID FOR ATTRACTIONS
Attraction | Region | Category | 2009 | 2010 | | % 09/10 | Entry |
Tower of London | LON | HP | 2389548 | 2414541 | E | 1.0 | 17.00 |
St Paul's Cathedral | LON | WO | 1821321 | 1892467 | E | 3.9 | 12.50 |
Westminster Abbey | LON | WO | 1449593 | 1394427 | | -3.8 | 15.00 |
Windermere Lake Cruises, Bowness | NW | O | 1313807 | 1312423 | | -0.1 | 6.75 |
Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo | Y&H | LTP | 1418224 | 1268619 | E | -10.5 | 25.00 |
Chester Zoo | NW | WI | 1239044 | 1154285 | | -6.8 | 16.90 |
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Gardens | LON | G | 1304253 | 1141973 | | -12.4 | 13.50 |
ZSL London Zoo | LON | WI | 1059170 | 1011257 | | -4.5 | 18.00 |
Stonehenge | SW | HP | 990705 | 1009973 | | 1.9 | 6.90 |
Eden Project | SW | G | 1028264 | 1000511 | | -2.7 | 16.00 |
Houses of Parliament and Big Ben | LON | HP | 963362 | 967371 | | 0.4 | 14.00 |
Roman Baths | SW | MAG | 882144 | 905751 | | 2.7 | 11.50 |
RHS Garden Wisley | SE | G | 964212 | 803986 | | -16.6 | 9.50 |
Colchester Zoo | EAST | WI | 849673 | 755136 | | -11.1 | DK |
Chatsworth House | EM | HP | 652969 | 716616 | | 9.7 | 15.50 |
Ironbridge - Ironbridge Visitor Centre | WM | MAG | 566967 | 567510 | | 0.1 | 21.95 |
Leeds Castle | SE | HP | 646801 | 559261 | | -13.5 | 17.50 |
Hampton Court Palace | LON | HP | 612078 | 547105 | | -10.6 | 14.00 |
Blenheim Palace | SE | HP | 537120 | 524593 | | -2.3 | 18.00 |
Bristol Zoo Gardens | SW | WI | 556591 | 523134 | | -6.0 | 13.00 |
ATTRACTION CATEGORY
CATEGORY | % CHANGE 09/10 |
Country Parks | +4 |
Farms | -5 |
Gardens | -6 |
Historic houses / castles | +1 |
Other historic properties | +15 |
Leisure / theme parks | -1 |
Museums / art galleries | +5 |
Steam / heritage railways | +1 |
Visitor / heritage centre | -3 |
Wildlife attractions / zoos | -3 |
Workplaces | +4 |
Places of worship | +4 |
Other | +2 |
REGIONAL RESULTS
REGION | % CHANGE 09/10 |
South East | +3 |
East Midlands | -1 |
North East | -1 |
East | No change from last year |
South West | +1 |
West Midlands | +2 |
Yorkshire / The Humber | No change from last year |
London | +6 |
North West | +3 |
For more information or to arrange an interview contact:
Sarah Long, Head of Corporate Communications Tel: 020 7 578 1452, Mob: 07500555651, Email: sarah.long@visitengland.org www.visitengland.org
Notes to Editors
About VisitEngland
• Based on a survey of 1,802 England visitor attractions that provided visit figures for both 2009 and 2010
• For the full report see http://www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics/major-tourism-surveys/attractions/Annual_Survey/index.aspx
• Please note ’Places of Work’ is defined as attractions such as breweries, distilleries, vineyards and premises where crafts are created.
• Please be aware that the Visits to Visitor Attractions Survey is a self completion survey. There is no obligation for any visitor attraction, or any parent company / group of attractions to supply data. VisitEngland does not verify data provided by an attraction beyond a basic 'sense check'. In addition, visitor attractions have the option of taking part in the survey anonymously, meaning not all visitor attractions that participate in the survey are named in the report or included in ranked lists of attractions.
• For a number of the attractions, data has been included with kind permission of ALVA (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions), English Heritage, The Museums Libraries and Archives Council and The National Trust.
• VisitEngland operates the Visitor Attractions Quality Scheme (VAQAS). The scheme boasts a reputation for instigating, modifying and shaping change to the customer experience at visitor attractions across England. Areas covered by the annual assessment include pre-arrival information, the website, journey planning, signage, welcome on arrival, toilets, catering and retail outlets. The scheme currently has over a thousand members.
• More information can be found on www.enjoyengland.com and www.visitengland.org