We’ve all fallen in love with British art and design, glamour and film. Museums, galleries and stately homes all had a boost in visitor numbers last year – thanks to people from all over the world flocking here to celebrate the Olympics, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and a little help from James Bond!
The British Museum (above) was the top attraction for the sixth year running with 5,575,946 visitors, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA). The Tate Modern came second – an increase of 9 per cent to 5.3m – credited to the retrospective of the artist Damien Hirst. The hugely popular Lucian Freud Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery boosted it 12 per cent to eight place with nearly 2.1 million going through the doors.
Sandie Dawe, CEO of VisitBritain said: “It’s fantastic to see the heightened demand across the whole of Britain for our world class attractions in what was a pivotal year for the tourism industry. With the majority of museums and galleries free of charge, Britain offers unparalleled attractions at fantastic value, reaffirming our position as one of the most competitive countries in the world to visit.”
Hollywood glamour and British design helped the V&A have its best ever year, with a 16 per cent increase – attracting 3,231,700 visitors – including many to their Hollywood Costume exhibition that was held in the Autumn, while Beaulieu, in Hampshire saw an 18 per cent increase in visitor numbers due to its 007 Exhibition Bond in Motion – 50 vehicles, 50 years.
The most popular visited free attraction outside London was the National Museum of Scotland – a 29.11 per cent increase to 1,893,521 – and making it the first Scottish attraction to ever appear in the Top 10 ALVA figures, while Chester Zoo was the most popular paid for attraction outside London with 1,405,233 through the gates, followed by Edinburgh Castle (1,230,177). Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum in Glasgow was the most popular combined Art Gallery and Museum in the UK, a 5.8% increase with 1,037,594 visitors.
The Museum of Liverpool (above), which opened in July 2011, got one of the largest increases in visitors (53 per cent). It attracted more than one million and was the most visited museum in England, outside London. This also helped boost other Liverpool attractions.
Attractions that suffered last year were those outside and gardens – because of the British weather. But ALVA director Bernard Donoghue said: “We are delighted with the visitor figures and although the Olympics deterred visitors from Central London, and there was a noticeable decline in visitors to attractions while the Games took place, the recovery was almost immediate after they left town.
“This year looks like it is going to be a promising year for ALVA members – The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich is likely to attract visitors because of its role as a backdrop in the hugely popular and award-winning film Les Miserables. Also there will be several openings including the £35 million heritage project to build a museum to house the Mary Rose, together with her collection of almost 19,000 artefacts, which will open early this year at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in a new boat-shaped museum!
“Blackpool Pleasure Beach will open the new Wallace & Gromit Thrill-O-Matic family ride, while English Heritage will open the new Stonehenge exhibition galleries and visitor centre at the end of the year. Another property in the care of English Heritage, Kenwood House – Robert Adam’s 18th century masterpiece in north London and home to one of the greatest art collections in Britain – will re-open in November.”
For the full list of visitor figures to attractions visit www.alva.org.uk
