Britons rediscover age of austerity at free attractions

Belt-tightening Britons have remembered the best things in life are often free, meaning that business is still booming for museums, galleries and heritage sites, research published today reveals. Visitor numbers rose by more than 10% as the recession-induced 'staycationing' and more tourists from the eurozone lifted spirits in one bright corner of the UK's depressed economy. Increasing numbers are joining organisations such as the National Trust and English Heritage , attracted by the single annual outlay on membership that provides multiple day trips at fast-reducing cost. The figures were published by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva), whose 42 members cover 1,600 tourist sites visited by about 100m people, although they exclude some big names such as the London Eye, Madame Tussauds and Alton Towers. Attractions are optimistic about their immediate future, with four in five expecting to maintain or increase numbers in 2010 and more than half believing revenues, including shop and restaurant sales, will also rise. The median rise in visitor numbers during 2009 was nearly 11%, although organisers advised caution given that the figures include repeat visits. Also the popularity or otherwise of temporary exhibitions at museums and galleries, anniversaries such as that of Darwin's birth and new developments such as the Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle, can cause bigger than normal fluctuations. The most popular UK attraction, the British Museum, saw a 6% fall in attendances to 5.57m, but three incredibly successful exhibitions, the First Emperor [of China], Hadrian, and American prints and drawings, drew large numbers in 2008. In Liverpool, attractions such as Tate and the Walker art gallery inevitably saw big falls on 2008, its European city of culture year, although other contemporaneous but separate developments such as its conference, entertainment and shopping improvements, have meant other indicators such as hotel bookings have fallen by far less. Ministers will be hoping the contest for UK city of culture in 2013, the inaugural winner of which will be named this summer, will bring similar long-lasting benefits. The National Trust, which has 3.8 million members, said it had recorded 16.7m visits to its properties in the 10 months between April 2009 and last month – a 17% rise on last year. English Heritage said 2009 visits were up from 4.8m to 5.4m – another 17% rise. However, Alva warned there should more incentives for tourists to visit and stay in Britain, including reductions in VAT on admission tickets and accommodation. VAT on hotel prices was more than twice the 8% common to most of Europe, while the government grant to the tourist agency VisitBritain would have fallen in real terms by 50% between 1997 and 2011, said director Robin Broke. "As the political parties prepare for the general election, they can consider how best to help the industry maximise the revenue it can generate and the additional jobs it can create." Going up Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley 964,212 - up 18% Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire 537,120 - up 44% Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, (NT), 239, 748 - up 92% Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire (EH) 142,723 - up 58% Down House, Charles Darwin's home, Kent (EH) 81,863 - up 198% Going down Tate Britain, London 1,501,837 - down 7% Eden Project, Cornwall, 1,028,264 - down 6% National Media Museum, Bradford, 613,923 - down 18% Tate Liverpool 539,577 - down 50% Kensington Palace, London 226,293 - down 16%