Top UK tourist attractions saw a record year in 2013, boosted by the hot summer and international media coverage of the London Olympics.
Overall attendances recorded by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva), which represents more than 2,000 sites and accounts for one in every four tourist visits, were the highest ever recorded at 106 million.
London’s British Museum, Edinburgh Castle (pictured) and Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon all saw record attendances last year, while heritage sites, zoos and gardens saw an average increase of 6% over 2012.
The average increase was 8% at outdoor attractions, as 2012’s wettest summer in 100 years was followed by hot weather last year. London visitor numbers rose by 12% the summer following the Olympics.
Alva director Bernard Donoghue told The Telegraph that the increase was due to a boost from the previous year’s Olympic Games, a rise in foreign tourists and more families taking ‘stay cations’ during last year’s hot summer.
“There was an Olympic effect because London attractions in particular were the backdrop for a lot of the international Olympic media coverage, such as the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, the National Maritime Museum,” he said.
An estimated 73% of British adults visited a heritage site last year, while tourism from overseas also increased due to a favourable exchange rate for European tourists, he added.