According to a survey of 2,244 attractions published by tourism body VisitBritain, the BA London Eye is still the most popular paid attraction in Britain.

The Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions 2004, sponsored by English Heritage and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, placed the BA London Eye as the number one paid admission attraction in the UK with 3.7 million visitors, followed by the Tower of London at 2.1 million. It is the fifth year in a row the London Eye has topped the survey.

Museums and art galleries – which experienced a rise in visitor numbers of 4 per cent in the last year – comprised six of the top 10 free admission attractions, with 26 per cent of respondents citing an improvement in events or exhibitions as a very positive factor towards influencing visits.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach was top of the free admission attractions, with 6.2 million visitors, also for the fifth year in a row. Second was the Albert Dock with five million visitors and the National Gallery was third. The British Museum and Tate Modern were also in the top 10.

Of all those surveyed, 45 per cent reported an increase in gross revenue during the particularly wet summer of 2004, from which indoor-based attractions benefited the most with one in 10 believing that the weather was an influential factor for visitors.

Chief executive of VisitBritain, Tom Wright, said: “Our world-renowned attractions offer something for all visitors.” Details: www.visitbritain.com