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Buoyant 2006 for English attractions
VisitBritain has revealed that 196.5 million visits were made to visitor attractions in England last year – a 3 per cent rise on 2005.
According to the national tourism agency’s survey, urban attractions saw a 6 per cent rise in visits compared with coastal (1 per cent) attractions, whereas rural attractions dipped by 1 per cent.
In addition, gardens were the lead attractions with 86.6 million visits, while only 54.6 million visits were made to museums and galleries and 47.1 million to historic properties.
Tom Wright, chief executive of VisitBritain, said: “England’s attractions are a vital part of our £85bn visitor economy. Even though we witnessed a wetter August last year, overall our attractions did well, indicating their year-round popularity.
“However, with increasing competition from overseas destinations and the challenges our industry faces, we must continue to promote the appeals of our attractions.”
The Tower of London took first place as England’s most visited paid attraction with almost 2.1 million visits, followed by St Paul’s Cathedral in second place and Great Yarmouth’s Pleasure Beach coming in third.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach held onto its title as England’s most visited free attraction, while the Tate Modern came in at second place with a huge 26 per cent rise in visits compared with 2005.