Art and design leads UK attraction growth
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British art and design has been the success story of UK attractions while outdoors based ones have suffered, new statistics have revealed.
Figures from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) found exhibitions such as Damien Hirst’s stint at the Tate Modern; the Lucien Freud Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A’s Hollywood Costume exhibition all increased entries into the museums by 9%, 12% and 16% respectively.
The National Museum of Scotland became the first attraction to be included in ALVA’s top 10, after seeing a 29.11% increase. Chester Zoo and Edinburgh Castle were the most popular paid for attractions outside of London.
Outdoors attractions suffered with the weather conditions, some seeing double-digit declines last year.
“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 the Games left town,” said Bernard Donoghue, director of ALVA. “This year, 2013 looks like it is going to be a promising year for ALVA members.”
He has predicted growth at The Old Royal Naval College as the backdrop to Les Miserables with new openings including the new Mary Rose museum in Portsmouth.
VisitEngland said the results had reflected what it had expected.
“It’s no surprise that on-going investment and innovation in this important sector of the industry is key to successfully driving up visitor numbers,” said James Berresford, chief executive at VisitEngland. “Whilst some attractions have done very well, some have had a challenging year. The overall picture closely tallies with VisitEngland’s latest results for 2012 with urban areas having a better year than rural destinations – in the main down to the very poor summer weather.”