Visitors are returning to the UK's top tourist attractions following a difficult year in 2005, it was announced today.
Tourism chiefs said visitor numbers fell dramatically following the July 7
bombings in London. However, latest figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) show the tourists have returned.
Most London attractions saw visitor figures increase significantly in 2006.
Tate Modern was the second most visited attraction in the country with 4.9
million visitors - an increase of 21% on the previous year.
The British Museum, the National Gallery, the National History Museum and
the Science Museum were also among the nation's top attractions.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach topped the poll with 5.7 million visitors although
this figure was down 4%.
Robin Broke, director of ALVA, said: "Despite security alerts and dense fog
producing severe airport delays during the summer and December
respectively, and the weak US Dollar affecting the travel plans of many
North American visitors, the industry is vibrant and continues to be a
significant contributor to the British economy.
"Support for Britain's attractions industry is still required if this
country is to compete globally, not least enhanced funding being urgently
needed for VisitBritain to market the industry both internally and abroad.
"The figures show a marked increase for several attractions compared to
their 2005 performance. This is partly explained by the affect of the July
bombings of that year. In June 2006 some attractions were affected by the
World Cup football keeping many at home, especially as it coincided with
some very hot weather."
Other popular attractions included the Victoria and Albert Museum, the
Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral.
Among the least visited attractions were the National Museum of Costume in
Scotland and the National Wool Museum in Wales.
An exhibition by artist David Hockney helped the National Portrait Gallery
achieve record visitor numbers. Over 1.6 million people passed through the London gallery in 2006. The David Hockney Portraits exhibition had 151,555 visitors - the highest-ever attendance for a non-photographic show and the largest average daily attendance figure in the gallery's history.
