Based at the city’s Royal Albert Dock tells the story of the ‘Fab Four’ and attracts Beatles fans from all over the world and has recorded its busiest-ever fortnight. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool tourist attraction The Beatles Story is reporting the busiest fortnight in its 29-year history – and its busiest ever day.
Based at the city’s Royal Albert Dock tells the story of the ‘Fab Four’ and attracts Beatles fans from all over the world and, in the two weeks to Sunday, July 21, it saw a 20% year-on-year increase.
Between Monday, July 15, and Sunday, July 21, the attraction saw 10,978 people come through the door and on Saturday, July 13, 2,524 visitors turned up – the busiest day in the attraction’s history.
It follows on from the recent revelation that The Beatles Story had broken record visitor numbers for the 2018/19 season, welcoming a total of 310,894 visitors, a 2% improvement on the previous year. With no sign of The Beatles’ popularity slowing down, the attraction looks well on course to break record numbers again this year.
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The majority of visitors came from overseas, with the attraction experiencing further growth from international markets, which now represents more than 60% of total visitors.
To cater for international audiences, The Beatles Story offers multimedia guides in 12 different languages, which are included in the ticket price, making it one of the most internationally-friendly attractions in the UK.
The Liverpool attraction picked up a host of top awards last year, when it was voted as ‘the People’s Choice’ at the 2018 Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards, the ‘Best Attraction for Group Visits’ at the 2018 Group Travel Awards. Early in 2019, The Beatles Story beat other top UK attractions to win the UKInbound ‘Attraction of the Year’ award.
Profits have been re-invested into the business, developing its products and services to ensure that its growing number of visitors have a valuable and memorable experience. The attraction has also now extended its opening hours to accommodate visitors during the busy summer season.
Next year, The Beatles Story will be celebrating its 30th birthday and the attraction has a host of special announcements planned, including the introduction of new items of memorabilia.
Manager Martin King said: “This is a fantastic result for The Beatles Story as we continue to see increased visitor numbers, especially from our international markets.
“Liverpool is thriving as a must-see tourist destination. As we go into our 30th anniversary year in 2020 we are delighted to be a key factor in the Beatles legacy and tell the amazing story of the world’s greatest band to visitors from all over the world.”