UK's most visited paid-for tourist attraction revealed
The Tower of London has topped the list of England's most popular paid-for attractions for the 8th year running, with 2.7 million visitors, in VisitEngland's Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions.
Chester Zoo came second with its highest ever ranking, attracting nearly 1.9 million visitors in 2016.
Meanwhile, the British Museum was the most visited free attraction in England last year, for the 9th consecutive year, with nearly 6.5 million visitors. It was closely followed by the National Gallery which had more than 6.2 million visitors.
The survey found that gardens and zoos saw the most significant growth in visitors to attractions last year.
VisitEngland, which gathered information from more than 1,500 English attractions, found that historic houses and castles reported a 7% increase in visitor numbers, and country parks a 4% increase. Outdoor attractions performed particularly well, with gardens and zoos showing growth of 8%.
The figures showed that for the first four months of this year (2017) Brits took a record 11.4 million holiday trips in England. The tourism economy is worth £106 billion annually to England.
Tourism Minister John Glen said: "We have an amazing range of world-class attractions in England that draw in millions of visitors every year. Whether it is our unique historic buildings, internationally important museums or stunning gardens, there is a huge amount to see and do.
"Ensuring that all parts of the country benefit from our tourism industry is a key government priority so it is fantastic to see such growth across the regions."
