The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) has announced its members’ visitor figures for 2014, revealing an average increase of 6.5% on 2013 visitor numbers. Scottish attractions had the greatest increase of almost 10% increase, followed by London with an increase of 7.11%.
ALVA’s 57 members are the UK’s most popular, iconic and important museums, galleries, palaces, castles, cathedrals, zoos, historic houses, heritage sites, gardens and leisure attractions. They comprise over 2,200 tourist sites, hosting over 119 million domestic and overseas visitors each year – around 28% of the visits made annually in the UK.
Scotland
The Commonwealth Games and its Cultural Programme saw Glasgow’s Attractions achieve some of the largest increases with Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum having a 7.5% increase, while the Riverside Museum saw a 41.8% increase, Gallery of Modern Art (8.8%) and the People’s Palace 22.5%.
The Commonwealth Games didn’t just fly the flag for Glasgow but drew visitors to Scotland’s attractions; the National Museum of Scotland was not only the most visited free attraction in Scotland with 1,639,509 visitors but was the most visited museum outside of London. Edinburgh Castle was the most visited paid-for attraction outside London with 1,480,676 visitors resulting in a 4% increase. 2014 was an exceptional year for the National Galleries of Scotland – seeing a 39% increase (1,295,015) at the Scottish National Gallery, this was due in part to a strong programme of exhibitions led by GENERATION: 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland.
Libraries
Libraries attracted substantial numbers with the Library of Birmingham – which opened in 2013 – being the most visited free attraction outside London, in tenth place with 2,414,860 – proving to be an attraction in its own right – and the British Library saw visits to its public exhibitions and programme rise by 52%.
The top attractions
The British Museum remained the most popular visitor attraction overall for the 8th year running with 6,695,213 visitors and remaining in 2nd place was the National Gallery, which saw a 6.4% increase to 6,416,724. Included in the numbers for the first time was the Southbank Centre – who saw 6,255,799 visitors – securing them the position of 3rd place.
Museums and galleries
Museums & Galleries throughout the UK saw a 6.09% increase. Blockbuster exhibitions continued to boost visitor numbers – with Tate Modern welcoming a record 5,785,427 visitors (4th place) – which was undoubtedly helped by the Matisse exhibition, while the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford saw a 16% increase aided by the successful exhibitions of Francis Bacon / Henry Moore, followed by Cezanne. Other museums in Oxford saw increases too – this included the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, which had been closed in 2013 but saw 640,596 visitors in 2014 and Pitt Rivers Museum which had a 25% increase.
World War 1 Anniversary
The 100th Anniversary of World War 1 also had an impact throughout the UK – with many country houses’ telling the story of their part in the Great War. The National Trust’s Dunham Massey in Cheshire recreated its WW1 role in 2014 as a military hospital and saw a rise of 50.9%. The new First World War Galleries at Imperial War Museum London saw almost 1 million visitors in just 6 months (153% increase on the same period in 2013), while the evolving installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London attracted an estimated 5 million visitors to view the attraction from outside the Tower walls and assisted in a 6% increase in their annual visitor figures.
Investment and refurbishment
Investment and refurbishment continued to reap rewards – with Stonehenge and its new Visitor Centre, which opened in December 2013, seeing an 8.4% increase to 1,346,177. Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, which opened a new Visitor Centre in 2012 was the 2nd most popular attraction in Northern Ireland (542,514 visitors, increase of 7.9%) after Titanic Belfast with 644, 792 visitors. The Churches Conservation Trust saw a 6.63% increase in visitors to Shrewsbury St Mary since introducing new facilities in July 2014 such as creative and engaging interpretation, children’s activities, graphic information ‘paddles’, a refurbished café and a retail space.
Significant economic role
Bernard Donoghue, Director of ALVA, commented: “ALVA is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2015 and I am delighted that our members figures are going from strength to strength – reflecting the significant role they play in the economy.
“As we approach the General Election we want to remind all political parties that no party mentioned Tourism in their last General Election manifesto, however these figures clearly demonstrate the popularity of our best loved attractions and the importance of Tourism to the UK – it’s the fifth biggest industry and the 3rd largest employer, generating £127 billion per year. I look forward to seeing all political parties spell out their strong support and ambitions for Tourism, Heritage, and Arts & Culture in their forthcoming manifestos.”
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