Tourism numbers soar as visitors go Dippy for dinosaur attraction

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery saw a big rise in visitors in 2018, thanks partly to the visit by the iconic replica diplodocus skeleton “Dippy” the Diplodocus.

The gallery recorded more than 831,548 visits, an increase of 38%, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva), as people flocked to see the skeleton that used to stand in the Hintze Hall of London’s Natural History Museum.

It came to the city between May to September as part of a three-year UK tour – pulling in massive crowds of over a quarter of a million people.

Elsewhere, the figures showed that the British Museum lost its crown as the UK’s most popular visitor attraction for the first time in a decade, overtaken by Tate Modern.

Almost 5.9m people visited the Tate Modern art gallery last year, just above the 5.8m who went to the British Museum.

Meanwhile, an exhibition of Terracotta Warriors helped visitor numbers to Liverpool’s World Museum jump by 111%.

Bernard Donoghue, director of ALVA, said: “Attractions across the UK have shown that by investing in their buildings, gardens and staff, presenting globally significant exhibitions, and working together to bring iconic artefacts – whether poppies or dinosaurs – to more people, has been hugely successful. It’s also clear that the bad weather at the beginning of 2018 – ‘the Beast from the East’ – the very hot summer and the impact of the World Cup resulted in some of our members experiencing a fall in visitor numbers, especially at outdoor attractions. I’m so delighted that every year, more and more people, from here in the UK and from overseas, are experiencing the astonishing array of our leading attractions in every part of the UK. Tourism is our fifth biggest industry and third largest employer and ALVA members are proud to be the principal reason that overseas visitors cite when choosing to visit the UK. ”

Tourism Minister Michael Ellis said: “Britain’s tourism industry is booming. I am delighted to see such strong visitor figures for destinations across the nation. We are home to some of the best art galleries, museums and heritage sites in the world and these figures prove it.

“Tourism creates jobs, boosts our economy and is a force for good. The huge increase in visitors in Birmingham is particularly pleasing following Dippy the Dinosaur’s visit and I am sure the wider benefits will continue to be felt as he continues his tour throughout the UK.”