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England’s gardens, farms and theme parks saw the most significant growth in visitor numbers in 2015, according to VisitEngland’s Annual Attraction Survey.
Out of the 1,500 attractions involved in the survey, outdoor attractions performed well in 2015 with gardens, farms and leisure and theme parks reporting the biggest increase in visitors – each up 7%.
Wildlife attractions and country parks also saw visitor numbers grow by 4%.
Meanwhile, visits to rural and coastal attractions grew by 5% and 4% respectively, echoing research from VisitEngland which found an increase in domestic holidays to the seaside (up 7%) and countryside (up 12%) in 2015.
Tourism Minister Tracey Crouch said: “Year after year, our world-class tourist attractions continue to draw millions of visitors not just into London, but to the country as a whole. It is fantastic to see such strong growth across the regions, particularly in rural and coastal communities.”
The Tower of London remained the most-visited paid-for attraction with 2.8 million visits, followed by Westminster Abbey and Kew Gardens which both welcomed 1.6 million visitors.
Topping the list of free attractions for the eighth consecutive year was the British Museum with more than 6.8 million visitors, followed by the National Gallery (6 million visitors) and the Natural History Museum (5.3 million visitors).
In total, visits to England’s attractions increased by 2% during the year, with revenue up 5%.
