Chester Zoo most visited paid-for attraction in England outside of London with 1,432,867 visitors in 2014

The Cheshire-based zoo swept aside other paid-for attractions outside of the capital after welcoming 1,432,867 visitors in 2014 – a record in the zoo’s history.

The figures have been released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) which represents the UK’s most popular and iconic museums, galleries, palaces, castles, cathedrals, zoos, historic houses, heritage sites, gardens and leisure attractions. It is the fourth year running that the zoo has been the most popular paid-for attraction.

The zoo enjoyed record visitor figures with the last four months of 2014 all being record-breakers. January and February this year have continued the theme smashing previous visitor records.

Chester Zoo’s managing director, Jamie Christon, said: 

2014 ended on a real high with the busiest year in our history and we’re off to a flying start in 2015. Time and again the zoo excels in delivering a great day out for its visitors.

This year is a ground-breaking year for the zoo too with the opening of our new development Islands. It’s the biggest zoo development of its kind in Europe providing a window on the world of conservation in South East Asia.

Islands, which opens in June, will recreate habitats from six areas in South East Asia – Panay, Papua, Bali, Sumatra, Sumba and Sulawesi – and provide a home for a number of animals classed as critically endangered in the wild, including Sumatran tigers, Sumatran orangutans and Visayan warty pigs.

Jamie added:

Islands will drive visitor figures up even further and bring the zoo to a whole new audience. We couldn’t be more pleased with where we are at today and have a lot to look forward to this year.