UK tourist attractions eager to welcome foreign visitors 'in droves'

Footfall at tourism hotspots dropped by 70 per cent during year of lockdowns

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  1. Tate Modern: 1,431,704 total visits in 2020 (down 77%). Getty Images

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  2. Natural History Museum: 1,296,763 total visits in 2020 (down 76%). Getty Images

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  3. British Museum: 1,275,466 total visits in 2020 (down 80%). Getty Images

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  4. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: 1,226,289 total visits in 2020 (down 36%). Getty Images

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  5. The National Gallery: 1,197,143 total visits in 2020 (down 80%). Getty Images

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  6. V&A: 872,240 total visits in 2020 (down 78%). Getty Images

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  7. Science Museum: 862,085 total visits in 2020 (down 74%). Getty Images

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  8. Somerset House: 724,310 total visits in 2020 (down 75%). Getty Images

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  9. Southbank Centre: 679,957 total visits in 2020 (down 84%). Getty Images

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  10. Horniman Museum and Gardens: 606,329 total visits in 2020 (down 36%). Getty Images

International tourists will visit the UK in droves once Covid-19 restrictions are fully lifted, a major tourism body said.

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva), which represents the UK's major tourist drawcards, said it remained confident in Britain's overseas appeal as new figures released on Wednesday showed visitor numbers went into freefall because of lockdowns.

A total of 45.4 million people visited Britain’s major attractions throughout 2020 – a 70 per cent drop on the previous year.

During that time, England faced three national lockdowns, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland suffered similar social restrictions.

Alva’s director Bernard Donoghue said that despite the dire figures, “people realised how important attractions are to them when they’re taken away”.

He said there had been an “explosion in digital activity”, mainly through virtual tours.

"These figures show how vulnerable attractions of whatever kind are to something completely beyond their control," he told The National.

“It goes on to underline the importance of people visiting attractions and spending their leisure time and leisure pound with them.”

In London, Royal Museums Greenwich experienced the biggest decrease in visitor numbers, with a 96 per cent drop in footfall.

Kensington Palace, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, recorded an 86 per cent reduction – the second-largest drop among London’s attractions.

Tate Modern was the most-visited tourist attraction in the UK, with more than 1.4 million visitors in 2020, though this was still a 77 per cent decrease on the previous year.

The Natural History Museum, the second most-visited UK attraction, drew more than 1.2 million visitors – down 76 per cent.

For the first time, two gardens appeared in Britain's top 10 tourist attractions. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, moved up seven places to fourth with 1,226,289 visits, while RHS Garden Wisley jumped 21 places to seventh with 993,516.

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was the most visited attraction in Scotland for the first time.

The rise of outdoor attractions reflects lockdown restrictions preventing most indoor attractions from opening, but Mr Donoghue said there was a “huge appetite” for international tourists to visit once travel resumes.

“International tourism is the lifeblood of the UK tourism industry. We are really looking forward to extending a warm welcome,” he said.

“We’re just waiting for the government to be very clear when international tourism can come back to the UK.”

Coronavirus in the UK - in pictures

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  A volunteer paints hearts on the wall along the embankment opposite parliament as part of the National Covid Memorial Wall in London. EPA

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  Members of the University of the Third Age iPhone photography group take advantage of the easing of lockdown and unseasonably warm weather to have an impromptu get together in Brighton. Getty Images

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  Rodney Hall, left, poses on his vintage Lambretta scooter after stopping at the beach with his friends and fellow members of the Breakfast Crew scooter club as they ride out for the first time in a group of six, in Bournemouth. AFP

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  A swimmer enters the water at the Hampstead Heath ponds in London. AFP

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  A girl stands amid blooming magnolia flowers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London. Reuters

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  Paddleboarders take a rest as they sit on the boards in the sea in Bournemouth. AFP

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  Children play at an Easter festival inspired by Beano comics, at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London. Reuters

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  People enjoy the sunshine in St James Park, central London. AFP