Visitors flock to historic properties

VISITENGLAND'S Annual Attractions Survey shows historic properties experienced significant growth in visitor numbers in 2017.

Of the 1,400 English attractions surveyed the research found that historic properties such as mills, monuments, boats and burial grounds saw the largest increase in visitor numbers, up 8% on 2016.

The British Museum was the most visited 'free' attraction in England in 2017 for the 10th consecutive year with nearly 6 million visitors, and the Tate Modern came a close second with more than five and a half million.

The Tower of London topped the list as the most visited ‘paid for’ attraction for the ninth year running with 2.8 million visitors and Chester Zoo came in second place with 1.9 million.



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Justice is served

JUSTICE has been served at Madame Tussauds Sydney as the globally-recognised attraction has officially launched the world-first Justice League: A Call for Heroes interactive experience. The epic, new experience unites an all-star cast of DC Super Heroes including the first moving wax figure in Australia, and transports guests to Gotham City on an interactive mission to save the world. 

Guests will star alongside Justice League’s Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, and Ezra Miller as The Flash as they fight to save the world from Lex Luthor’s evil corporation, LexCorp.

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Family time in NYC

AS neighborhoods across NYC continue to develop, NYC & Company is pleased to share some exciting news on one of the City’s most well-known areas, Midtown #Manhattan. Known for its bustling neighborhood, #Midtown is adding new attractions and destinations that will appeal to families and more.

● SPYSCAPE: Set to open February 16, families can enjoy the world’s largest interactive spy museum featuring world class artifacts, technology and experiences. Visitors will be able to test hacking, code breaking and espionage skills to discover their inner James Bond. spyscape.com.

● National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey: The National Geographic is known for its unique storytelling and they’re expanding those abilities using cutting-edge technology in its Ocean Odyssey experience. Visitors are transported on an underwater journey - without getting wet - through this interactive attraction. natgeoencounter.com.

● Gulliver’s Gate: Finding it hard to accomplish your travel goals? The new Gulliver’s Gate attraction has visitors covered with its exhibit featuring miniature 3-D replicas of iconic global landmarks, allowing them to visit the entire world in Times Square. Take a trip to world wonders such as the Hoover Dam, the Colosseum, the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China and many more all in one place. gulliversgate.com.

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Travel back to The Alamo

THE Alamo’s iconic battleground and stories are being brought to life through an upcoming augmented and virtual reality experience It’s a groundbreaking union of technology and historical accuracy launching at one of the nation’s most significant landmarks.

One of the world’s most famous battle sites, the Alamo, is being recreated through an unparalleled union of historical scholarship and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR). Alamo Reality’s Experience Real History: Alamo Edition, is set to debut March 1, 2018 during San Antonio’s 300th birthday celebration and the 182nd anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo. Currently, the #Alamo is the most-visited site in #Texas. This interactive photoreal journey back in time will greatly enhance the overall visitor experience, and is expected to increase the time and quality of visitation. 

The Alamo Reality app will be free and available to download on both iOS and Android devices. 


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Explore the Golden State

THE all-new 2018 California Visitor’s Guide is now available, and features 727 travel ideas for exploring the Golden State. The 196-page magazine provides potential visitors with information and inspiration designed to make their next #California vacation the trip of a lifetime.

“California has so much to offer travelers no matter what they’re seeking, from adventure to relaxation, and family activities to world class dining experiences,” said Visit California President & CEO Caroline Beteta. “The 2018 California Visitor’s Guide is the best tool to start dreaming up the perfect Golden State vacation.”

The 2018 guide also includes:

• “Choose Your Own Family Adventure,” a helpful look at kid-friendly attractions throughout the state
• An annotated map showcasing 12 fascinating California museums
• A look at all 21 California Missions dotting the coastline
• Information on urban walking tours
• And comprehensive guides to all 12 regions of the state

The 2018 California Visitor’s Guide is available at California Welcome Centers, select newsstands, and on VisitCalifornia.com/cvg

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Thrills and Spills

A new study shows that ‘good thrills’ are a major factor helping people feeling a prolonged sense of happiness – as 65 per cent of Brits report enjoying the thrill of a man-made adrenaline rush. 

The research, commissioned by Alton Towers Resort, helps to further explain the psychological and physiological reasons why people enjoy thrill rides – with 56 per cent of Brits regularly doing something they deem scary, such as watching a horror film or sky-diving, to feel a subsequent sense of joy or happiness. Amongst 18-24 year olds, 67 per cent said they feel an immediate sense of joy from thrilling experiences. 

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Face your fears at the Natural History Museum this Autumn

EXPLORE the visceral fear and ever-lasting fascination that venom evokes, in the Natural History Museum’s new autumn exhibition, Venom: Killer and Cure.

Opening on November 10, this groundbreaking exhibition will explore venom as the ultimate weapon found in nature occurring throughout the animal kingdom. Unlock the mysteries and the diversity of its world, as we explore how across cultures and time humans have attempted to harness and neutralise this terrible power, approaching it with both fear and fascination.

Venom will take visitors on a journey through the eyes of both predator and prey, exploring the effects caused by venomous attacks and the attempt to scientifically measure the power that venom holds. It will reveal the different biological roles that venom plays - from predation to mating, discuss the development of anti-venom, as well as ranking these venomous animals and the pain they inflict.

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Toy Story fun in Florida

IN the US Summer of 2018, Walt Disney World Resort in #Florida will introduce the newest addition to the #Disney Parks family: Toy Story Land, a magical new land located in the larger-then-life setting of Andy’s backyard. Located within Disney’s Hollywood Studios, guests will think they’ve been shrunk to the size of Woody and Buzz as they are surrounded by oversized toys from the blockbuster movie Toy Story.

The 11-acre new land features two news attractions alongside giant building blocks, game board pieces and the toys and characters of the beloved Toy Story movies. Two new attractions: Slinky Dog Dash will be a family coaster attraction that zips, dodges and dashes guests around many turns and drops, stretching Slinky’s coils to their limits. Alien Swirling Saucers is designed to look like a play set Andy received from Pizza Planet. The famous little green Aliens from the movie will fly around in their flying saucers and try to capture guest’s rocket vehicle with the ‘claw’.

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Michigan for the world's largest . . .

#MICHIGAN is home to a number of unique and record-breaking attractions you won't find anywhere else. From the world's largest giant cherry pie pan to the world's largest Christmas store - you name it, the Great Lakes state has got it! 

World's Largest Haunted House - Erebus Haunted Attraction: Pontiac
Erebus, located in Pontiac, is a four story haunted house that was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s Largest Walk-Through Haunted Attraction in 2005.

World’s Largest Christmas Store - Bronner's Christmas Wonderland: Frankenmuth. The world's largest Christmas store, Bronner's is bigger than one and a half football pitches in size featuring over 50,000 decorations & gifts.

World’s Largest Cherry Pie Pan: Traverse City - Near Traverse City, the cherry capital of the USA, at the Sara Lee Bakery Group, stands the World’s Largest Cherry Pie Pan. The pan was made to hold the World’s Largest Cherry Pie at the time (1987-1992). The huge pie weighed 28,350 pounds and was 17 feet, 6 inches in diameter.

World’s Largest Weather Vane: Montague - This functioning weathervane is 48 feet tall with an arrow 26 feet long. The towering figure of the White Lake lumber schooner “Ella Ellenwood” which sails atop the World’s Largest Weathervane was chosen because it best typifies the colourful but rugged history of the area.

World's Largest Horse & Buggy Livery - Mackinac Island Carriage Tours: Mackinac. Visitors to this beautiful island, a National Historic Landmark where cars are not allowed, can take a historic and scenic horse carriage tour through the island on the largest horse and buggy livery which seats seven.

World’s Longest Front Porch – Grand Hotel: Mackinac Island. - The 19th century Grand Hotel is an icon on Michigan’s Mackinac Island with a 660 foot front porch, making it the longest in the word.

World's largest Tyre model. - The Uniroyal tyre is the largest tyre model ever built, and was originally a Ferris wheel made for the 1964 New York World's Fair. It weighs nearly 12 tons and is 86 feet high and now stands in Allen Park, Detroit and can be seen on the way to Detroit Metro Airport.

To find out more about Michigan visit: www.michigan.org




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Escape and unlock Lasko

STIK Laško (the Sport, Tourism, Information and Cultural Centre of Laško) and Enigmarium have joined forces in a new project and opened a unique Escape room: Brewer’s Gold. It is located in the building where the first mug of beer was brewed in Laško nearly 200 years ago.

The town of Laško is located only an hour’s drive away from the capital, Ljubljana. The brewing tradition in the town dates back to 1825, when the mead producer and gingerbread baker Franz Geyer brewed the first Laško beer. in August a new and unforgettable adventure opened in Laško: the ENIGMARIUM® Laško – the world’s first brewery-themed escape room.

Anyone who would like to experience the town of Laško in a new way can now fulfil that wish in the exciting town adventure game UNLOCK Laško. Representing a completely new and original concept of an outdoor game, using the legend of the parish priest “Divji Farovž”, the game includes elements in the old town centre, transforming the streets into fascinating spots full of secrets, hidden codes and puzzles.

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Safety upgrades at Concord Waterfall Grenada

THE Government of #Grenada, through the Ministry of Tourism, continues to make every effort to enhance and to improve safety at our various attraction and recreational sites. As such, work was recently completed at the Concord Waterfall to improve the experience for both locals and visitors, particularly as it relates to safety at the site.

Through collaboration with our various stakeholders improvements included installation of new railings and the erection of a multilingual sign which serves to remind all users to exercise a level of responsibility and safety when enjoying the falls.

Adding to the enhancement and safety of the premier tourist attraction is the inclusion of two inflatable lifeguard rings to assist in cases of emergency. While the physical and safety amenities have been upgraded, quality service delivery will also be addressed.

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As it used to be . . .

A garden terrace where Queen Victoria sat and painted watercolours at Osborne, her Isle of Wight home, will open to the public for the very first time after a major conservation project, English Heritage announced.

The terrace’s panoramic views across the Solent – compared by Prince Albert to the Bay of Naples – can now be enjoyed by the public for the first time as they would have been by the royal couple over 150 years ago.

In a project worth over £600,000, the terrace’s centrepiece Andromeda fountain, bought by Queen Victoria during the Great Exhibition in 1851, has been returned to working order and the elaborate Shell Alcove, decorated with thousands of seashells from the beach below, has been painstakingly restored to its former aqua blue and vivid red glory. The public will also be able to experience the terrace’s Victorian planting scheme and the famous royal myrtle plant, given to Victoria by Prince Albert’s grandmother, up-close.

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New permit system in operation for Machu Picchu

THE Ministry of Culture of #Peru has announced a new permit system for tourists visiting #MachuPicchu which took effect as of 1st July 2017.

The permit system will require all travellers to makes reservations online from the official Machu Picchu website or via a UK or Peru-based tour operator or agent. Visitors will also be restricted to two entry periods, in the morning from 6.00 – 12.00 or in the afternoon from 12.00 to 17.30. Those wishing to stay for the day will have to purchase two tickets, one for the morning and one for the afternoon.

From 1st July, the use of an official Machu Picchu Tour guide or licensed tour guide when visiting the site will be compulsory and guides will be able to lead groups of a maximum of 16 people.

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Cumbrian tourism numbers climb

BETWEEN 2015 and 2016, there was an overall 5.2% increase in tourist numbers and 4.1% in tourism revenue in #Cumbria. 

This is mainly due to increasing numbers of day trippers over the last 12 months, which were up 6% on 2015. It also reflects the 2016 Visitor Attractions Performance Survey carried out by Cumbria Tourism’s research team, which showed an average 7.2% rise in people visiting tourist attractions across the county.

There is also a longer-term upward trend in overnight stays, which have grown by 1.2 million visits (or 22.3%) since 2013.

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Studio Ghibli Theme Park to open in 2020

PLANS have been unveiled for a Studio Ghibli theme park bringing to life the world and characters of "My Neighbour Totoro" to open near Nagoya in Aichi prefecture.

The tentatively named “Ghibli Park” will be located on the former site of the 2005 World EXPO Park near Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture, in central Japan. It will recreate landmarks and locations from the well-loved Studio Ghibli film “My Neighbour Totoro”, but reportedly will not feature any theme park rides.

The EXPO Park is located 30-45 minutes’ journey east of Nagoya in Nagakute city. Originally opened in 1970 as Aichi Youth Park, the spacious site hosted the World EXPO in 2005. After the end of the EXPO, the land was transferred to Aichi prefecture’s ownership and reopened in 2006 as Aichi Commemorative Park. The site will be transformed into the "Ghibli Park” by 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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Tirpitz – A Hidden Bunker Museum

IN Blåvand, on the coast of South-West Jutland, the Germans started building the Tirpitz Bunker as a part of the Atlantic Wall in 1944 but never finished it. 

In 2017, the Danish architect group, Bjarke Ingels Group, will complete work on an impressive new hidden away, state-of-the-art, glass and grass roofed museum, Tirpitz, in the coastal dunes that will run alongside the WWII bunker. 

Helping to bring the former historic building to life, the museum will comprise four separate exhibition spaces featuring the Atlantic Wall, life on the Danish West Coast, the World’s largest collection of amber and a visiting exhibitions area.

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Universal Eruption

VOLCANO Bay, Universal Orlando’s third theme park, opened on May 25. The South Pacific-themed park welcomed its first guests to much fanfare and a ceremony featuring performances by an array of Maori water dancers and ‘Haka’ war dancers.

Spanning 25 acres Volcano Bay is being billed as the ‘next-level’ water theme park and combines storytelling and immersive guest experiences with innovative technology.

It features more than 30 experiences including 18 separate attractions such as a multi-directional wave pool with sandy beaches, a peaceful winding river, twisting multi-rider raft rides, speeding body slides that drop from the top of the volcano into the waters below and more.

Among its many features are the ability for guests to enjoy many 'TapTu Play' experiences throughout the park - like controlling streams of water spurting from whales in Tot Tiki Reef, shooting water cannons at guests snaking down Kopiko Wai Winding River or illuminating images in the volcano’s hidden caves. Guests can make purchases throughout the entire park with their TapuTapu wearable, eliminating the need to carry cash, credit cards or a wallet throughout the park.

Over the last seven years, 25 new experiences – entire themed areas, attractions, restaurants, and hotels – have been added across #Universal #Orlando and the theme park now has 5,600 rooms across its five (soon to be six) on-site hotels.

universalorlando.com

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Trails to follow in the Stubai Valley

AT the ‘WildeWasserWeg’ trail in the Stubai Valley, you can follow the journey of a water drop from its origins in ice to the rushing stream. There is also a new round-trip hike to the ‘Langetalbach’, showing that there are also interesting offshoots off the main course, on which there are no less spectacular natural sites. From July 2017, a pleasant one-hour hike to a small but spectacular waterfall will be available. A combination with all the stages of the ‘WildeWasserWeg’ trail is also possible.

The ‘WildeWasserWeg’ trail in the Stubai Valley is a protective natural jewel with picturesque meadows, rich green Alpine plateaus, bizarrely shaped rock formations, gently flowing streams, thrashing waterfalls, turquoise blue mountain lakes and glacial fields that shimmer in the sun all help to round off the tour of the deeper Stubai Valley. The trail consists of three stages which can be completed individually or together stretching over 10 km and 1,200 altitude meters up to the Sulzenauferner, a glacial field set at 2,477m above sea level.

‘WildeWasserWeg’ events

The Gourmet Hiking Evenings on 29 July at the Ruetz Katarakt, and on 12 August 2016 at the Grawa Waterfall. Hikers can stroll at night with nothing blocking the path, soaking up the wonderful atmosphere and enjoying culinary Stubai delicacies.

For more information, please visit: www.stubai.at/en/accommodations/all-inclusive-packages/summer/

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English Tourism Week

ENGLISH Tourism Weeks runs from Saturday March 25 - Sunday April 2 and is a celebration of the vibrancy and quality of England's visitor attractions and tourism experiences.

Events will be taking place all over the UK and there are special offers and deals on entry to tourist attractions, meal deals and accommodation to help everyone celebrate our tourism industry.

Have a look at www.visitengland.com/english-tourism-week# to see whats happening in your county.

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Campaign Canute Fundraising Reaches Key Milestone

YORK Archaeological Trust’s Campaign Canute, the fundraising initiative to help re-imagine and further develop JORVIK Viking Centre following the floods of December 2015, has received an extra boost with HRH The Prince of Wales, supporting the campaign as its Patron.

The news of The Prince of Wales’s patronage comes as Campaign Canute has raised over £1 million, over two thirds of the way towards the £1.5 million target to help re-imagine the attraction for its public re-opening on 8 April 2017.

The Prince of Wales is the Patron of Campaign Canute, with other leading names acting as Ambassadors for the initiative including Brian Blessed, Dan Snow and Horrible Histories author, Terry Deary.

Campaign Canute was launched in the immediate aftermath of the flooding of JORVIK Viking Centre, whose plans to highlight the 1000th anniversary of King Canute’s taking of the English throne were foiled by unstoppable water. The fundraising initiative aimed to bridge the gap between the costs of restoring JORVIK to its pre-flood condition – the insurance settlement covered £2.83 million – and the anticipated cost of updating and re-imaging JORVIK with the latest research findings and technology.

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