Big rise as visitors flock to Dudley tourist attractions
Bosses are rejoicing after it was revealed visitor numbers at Dudley's three biggest tourist attractions are up by almost a quarter.
The good news comes as work continues on the £10.1 million regeneration of Castle Hill, aimed at attracting thousands more people to the area to visit top attractions Dudley Zoo, Dudley Canal Trust and the Black Country Living Museum.
Dudley's tourism chiefs today welcomed the news as a boost not just for the borough, but the whole of the Black Country.
The biggest increase was at Dudley Zoo, where 290,000 people passed through the gates in 2014. This was up by 25 per cent on 2013. While at Dudley Canal Trust, there was a 23 per cent rise for the last quarter of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013. The overall visitor numbers for the year were up by 10 per cent.
At the Black Country Living Museum, there was an increase of more than 31,000 people visiting the attraction in 2014 compared to 2013. Last year, 271,467 people enjoyed the attraction compared with 240,088 in 2013. This is a rise of around 13 per cent.
The Castle Hill regeneration scheme aims to double the overall visitor numbers to more than one million, as well as creating hundreds of jobs.
The project, which started in 2012, includes the creation of a new entrance off Tipton Road to create one shared arrival point, a new link between the three existing attractions, the new archive and local history centre and a new entrance to Dudley Zoo and visitor hub.
A new 700-space car park with coach drop-off facilities will also be created.
Council leader Pete Lowe said: "These figures go to show what impact the multi-million pound investment is having on three world-class visitor attractions.
"Not only is it good news for each of the attractions, but it has to be good for the borough and the region as a whole."
Dudley Zoo chief executive Peter Suddock said: "
The continued growth reflects the investment that has taken place within the site and the hard work by all our staff to meet visitor aspirations."
Andrew Lovett, chief executive of Black Country Living Museum, added: "One of the main elements which contributed to this increase was the popularity of the museum's special events programme."
