Liverpool’s World Museum has jumped 30 places in a list of the country’s leading visitor attractions, making it the most visited English museum outside London.
The figures, compiled by Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), revealed that last year was World Museum’s busiest year, with 1,416,632 visitors. This marked a 111% increase on 2017 and made the museum the 23rd most popular visitor attraction in the UK last year.
China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors attracted more than 610,000 visitors to Liverpool’s World Museum, making it one of the best-attended exhibitions in the UK. It is estimated that the exhibition boosted the local economy by more than £83m.
The top 10 visitor attractions last year were all in London, with Tate Modern top with 5,868,562 visits. The most visited attraction in England outside London was Chester Zoo, which saw 1,969, 768 visits (13th place).
The research also revealed that Museum of Liverpool was England’s third most visited museum outside London, and The Merseyside Maritime Museum the fourth.
Tracey McGeagh, Director of Marketing and Communications for Liverpool Museums, said: “We created an integrated marketing, digital and media campaign for China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors, which had everything from an immersive video journey through ancient China, to painting incredible 3D street art in the city and a series of behind the scenes films and media opportunities.
“The campaign took the exhibition beyond the Museum’s walls and was a major contribution to smashing our visitor targets and achieving a great result for World Museum.
“The recent opening of Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Making the Glasgow Style at the Walker Art Gallery, which has already attracted more than 5,000 visitors in its first 10 days, is keeping us at the heart of Liverpool’s exciting offer to tourists.”
UK’s top visitor attractions 2018
- Tate Modern, 5.86 million visitors
- British Museum, 5.82 million visitors
- National Gallery, 5.74 million visitors
- Natural History Museum, 5.22 million visitors
- Southbank Centre, 4.45 million visitors
- V&A South Kensington, 3.97 million visitors
- Science Museum, 3.17 million visitors
- Somerset House, 3.14 million visitors
- Tower of London, 2.86 million visitors
- Royal Museums Greenwich, 2.55 million visitors
- National Museum of Scotland, 2.22 million visitors
- Edinburgh Castle, 2.11 million visitors
- Chester Zoo, 1.97 million visitors
- Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, 1.86 million visitors
- Royal Albert Hall, 1.75 million visitors
