Museums and art galleries in England have witnessed the most significant growth in visitor numbers last year. Visits to England’s attractions rose by 2% in 2018 with revenue up 2% on the previous year. This was revealed by VisitEngland’s Annual Attractions Survey.

The survey, which considers responses from more than 1,500 English attractions saw museums and art galleries perform particularly well in 2018 with an increase of 6% in visitor numbers compared to the previous year.

Visits to places of worship also saw an increase with 3% more visitors in 2018 confirming the upward trend seen in 2017 after three years of decline.

Rebecca Pow, tourism minister of UK said: “We are home to four of the top ten museums and galleries in the world and each year our attractions draw in millions of people wanting to experience, enjoy and engage with our rich and diverse culture. It is brilliant to see such positive growth across a range of destinations.”

“Inviting and inspiring visitors.”

Sally Balcombe, chief executive of VisitEngland said: “England’s outstanding attractions encourage day visits and overnight stays, ensuring visitors have memorable experiences driving visits and growth across the English regions. Our culture is one of the main drivers for international visitors and so it’s not surprising to see our museums and galleries returning to the top spot, confirming England’s position as a cultural hub.”

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England said: “The diversity and variety of historic places across the country is one of our greatest assets – inviting and inspiring visitors, from home and overseas, to discover the richness and diversity of the buildings and heritage all around us, and the stories which they embody.”

The Tate Modern displaced the British Museum for the first time in ten years with 5.87 million visitors with the British Museum following closely welcoming 5.83 million in 2018. Topping the list of paid for attractions for the tenth year was the Tower of London with 2.86 million visitors and Chester Zoo once again in second place with 1.97 million visitors.