Liverpool may be a magnet for visitors from around the world, but it has been outdone by tourist sites in London and elsewhere, according to new statistics.
Figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions show that current top 10 tourist attractions in the country are all situated in London, with the British Museum topping the charts after receiving over 6.8 million visitors in 2015.
The Museum of Liverpool was the only local attraction to make the top 50, coming 47th in the list, bringing in over 747,000 people last year.
1. British Museum – 6.8 million
2. National Gallery – 5.9m
3. Natural History Museum – 5.2m
4. Southbank Centre – 5.1m
5. Tate Modern – 4.7m
6. Victoria and Albert Museum – 3.4m
7. Science Museum – 3.3m
8. Somerset House – 3.2m
9. Tower of London – 2.7m
10. National Portrait Gallery – 2.1m
The nearest attraction to come close to the top 10 was Chester Zoo in 12th place, with a footfall of almost 1.7 million people.
Merseyside’s Maritime Museum, which also houses the International Slavery Museum , finished 51st in the list with 662,000 visitors.
Liverpool’s World Museum followed closely behind, jumping 10 places up the table from 62 to 52 in 2015. This success was due in some measure to their temporary exhibition, ‘Mayas: Revelation of an Endless Time’, increased its figures by 8% to 658,000 people.
It was also good news for Tate Liverpool which witnessed a 12% increase on its 2014 visitors, thanks in part due to an exhibition devoted to Jackson Pollock, as the art gallery came 55th on the list with 626,000 guests.
Bernard Donoghue, Director of ALVA, said: “2015 continued to be a record year, mainly due to our members continuing to show how diverse the UK is to both domestic and overseas visitors.
“However, anecdotally, our members told us that the poor weather had had an effect, and our members in the South East did see a decrease during Operation Stack in Kent, as well as following the Paris attacks.”
ALVA’s members are made up of nearly 2,200 tourist sites that consist of iconic and important museums, galleries, palaces, castles, cathedrals, zoos and other such places around Great Britain.
The 64 ALVA members manage and welcome more than 119 million domestic and overseas visitors each year.