Tourists flock to see no-fee attractions

Recession-hit tourists flocked to free-entry visitor attractions across Shropshire last year, it was revealed today.

Britons staying at home for holidays and overseas tourists attracted by the weak pound also helped leading attractions welcome 10.9 per cent more visitors in 2009 than 2008, figures from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions showed. The effect was felt across Shropshire.

County tourist chiefs said destinations such as Cosford's RAF Museum, the Iron Bridge, Severn Valley Country Park at Alveley and Shrewsbury's Quarry park all proved big hits in 2009 as tourists watched their spending.

Paul Hudson, head of marketing for Cosford RAF Museum whose free Cold War exhibition last year saw its millionth visitor since it opened in 2007, said: "We had an incredibly buoyant year last year.

"Visitor numbers were up 10 per cent on the previous year, with 344,000 visiting during 2009.

"We are particularly pleased with that and feel that the National Cold War Exhibition receiving its millionth visitor in December was a very important milestone."

Alison Patrick, tourism officer for Shropshire Council, also listed the Mere at Ellesmere and the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as popular destinations.

"Shropshire is well-served for free attractions and what is striking is that a lot of them are part of the landscape and the outdoors rather than buildings and structures," she said.

"They do bring in extra visitors and because they are not spending on getting into the attractions they spend on things like local shops."

Nationally, free-admission attractions such as the National Gallery saw a jump in visitor numbers of nine per cent, the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, south east London, was up 15 per cent, and the Victoria and Albert Museum was up 10 per cent in 2009.

Although welcoming 6.1 per cent fewer visitors last year than in 2008 the British Museum, with 5.57 million visits, topped the Alva list, followed by the National Gallery (4.78 million) and Tate Modern (4.74 million).

One of the biggest increases in visits last year was at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, which welcomed 537,120 people - a 43.6 per cent increase on the 2008 total. Alva said 82 per cent of visitor attractions were optimistic about the immediate future, compared with 60 per cent this time last year.