Britons simply can't resist the lure of pleasure in Blackpool

Jet-setting Brits may consider themselves an increasingly sophisticated lot but it seems the nation still cannot resist the lure of a stick of rock, a Kiss Me Quick hat and a roller-coaster ride.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach has trounced far more refined tourist haunts to clinch the top spot in the annual Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) listings.

The attraction, which promises to turn its visitors' worlds upside down, drew in almost six million people last year, though it suffered a slight dip of four per cent on the year before.

Nevertheless, beneath the knotted handkerchief still beats a cultural heart as museums dominated the remaining top 10 slots in the 2006 list.

Many of the lead attractions, such as the Tate Modern, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London saw increases of more than one-fifth, which the Alva said proved that visitors were returning to Britain following a troubled 2005.

The Tate Modern, which drew in almost five million visitors, outstripping its sister museum, Tate Britain (No 11), by more than three million, came in at second place and enjoyed a 21 per cent increase last year. Tourism experts said it proved that the country was bouncing back after 2005, when visitor numbers fell dramatically following the July 7 bombings in London.

"Despite security alerts and dense fog producing severe airport delays during the summer and December respectively, and the weak US dollar affecting the travel plans of many North American visitors, the industry is vibrant and continues to be a significant contributor to the British economy," said Robin Broke, the director of Alva. "Support for Britain's attractions industry is still required if this country is to compete globally, not least enhanced funding being urgently needed for VisitBritain to market the industry both internally and abroad.

"The figures show a marked increase for several attractions ... This is partly explained by the effect of the July bombings of that year. In June 2006 some attractions were affected by the World Cup football keeping many at home, especially as it coincided with some very hot weather."

The top spots went to key attractions in the capital such as the Tower of London - in eighth place with more than two million visitors - and St Paul's Cathedral - ninth with more than 1.6 million visitors. The annual list is compiled from data provided by Alva's members, who run the country's largest attractions. Nevertheless, there were some notable absences from such as the London Eye or Madame Tussauds, as some commercial companies declined to reveal visitor numbers for the survey.

The list included an array of different attractions from historic houses and castles to zoos with museums on subjects as diverse as mining and the Roman legion. The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool enjoyed the greatest increase, 71 per cent, to over 200,000 visitors while the National Museum of Flight in Scotland saw the greatest dip, of 31 per cent, to about 100,000.

Top, and bottom, tourist destinations

Top Five:

Blackpool Pleasure Beach, 5,730,000 (-4%)

Tate Modern 4,915,000 (+21%)

British Museum 4,837,878 (+7%)

The National Gallery 4,562,471 (+9%)

Natural History Museum 3,754,496 (+22%)

Bottom Five:

National Museum of Rural Life (Scotland) 60,988 (-6%)

National Conservation Centre (Liverpool) 50,992 (+31%)

Glencoe (National Trust Scotland) 46,277 (-6.7%)

National Wool Museum (Wales) 17,535 (+8.1%)

National Museum of Costume, (Scotland) 10,717 (-18%)

Source: Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva)