Numbers up at D2N2 area visitor attractions says survey

An annual survey of tourist attractions across the D2N2 area shows the visitor economy – one of the Local Enterprise Partnership’s eight key economic sectors – is performing well.

VisitEngland, the country’s national tourist board, publishes an annual survey of visitor numbers for regional attractions across the country, with year-on-year comparisons.

Figures just released for the East Midlands, comparing 2014 with 2013, show a marked increase in visitor numbers for attractions in the area covered by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership – Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Those with increased visitors included:

• Wollaton Hall and Park – up from 229,993 to 291,393 (+26.7%)
• Sherwood Forest Country Park – from 345,564 to 371,315 (+7.5%)
• Buxton Museum and Art Gallery – from 34,200 to 36,449 (+6.6%)
• Attenborough Nature Centre – from 217,000 to 230,000 (+6%)
• Rufford Abbey and Country Park – from 458,611 to 476,293 (+3.9%)
• Derby Cathedral – from 54,210 to 54,422 (+0.4%).

Lime Trees in Clumber Park

Clumber Park in North Nottinghamshire (pictured) was the most popular paid attraction in the entire East Midlands, with 709,000 visitors in 2014, up from 672,000 in 2013.

Commenting on the results Experience Nottinghamshire, the county’s tourism body, said visits to attractions across the East Midlands region were up 3% year on year, compared to 2013.

The Nottinghamshire body and its Derbyshire equivalent, Visit Peak District and Derbyshire, have launched a number of marketing campaigns recently to further stimulate the visitor economy.

A major joint campaign by the two agencies and main visitor attractions across the D2N2 area, is ‘The Grand Tour’. Launched last month (July) it is currently promoting its ‘Season One’ cultural packages involving art galleries, venues, the natural landscape and special one-off events, running until September.

The initiative was strongly supported by D2N2, which also invested £35,000 of its own funding into the project’s Season One and Season Two (running March to June, 2016).

Full details of VisitEngland’s latest ‘Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions’ can be found at the link HERE.

For more information about D2N2’s work on the Visitor Economy key economic sector see the web link by clicking HERE.

Media needing further information about the work of the D2N2 LEP can contact D2N2 Communications Officer Sean Kirby on 0115 9578749 or email: sean.kirby@d2n2lep.org

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