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…
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".
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
