Pictures: Kent's top 10 tourist attractons
Comments |
Picture Gallery
Leeds Castle by Mark McElligott, Haydon Close
Barming
Rochester Cathedral
The new-look approach to the Great Tower at Dover Castle
White cliffs of Dover
Canterbury Cathedral
Kent’s top tourist attractions
have been revealed today – and Canterbury is number one.
Research by tourism group Visit
Kent showed the city, and specifically its cathedral, is our most
popular destination.
Nearly half of all tourists to
the county went to Canterbury, while 32 per cent went to Dover and
22 per cent visited the seaside town of Folkestone.
Nineteen per cent of visitors
chose to go to Ashford and the research shows its Designer
Outlet centre is the town's most visited attraction.
Culture boss at Ashford council
Cllr Bernard Heyes, pictured, said he was delighted that Ashford
and Tenterden both appear in the top 10 places to visit in
Kent.
He said: "In Ashford, the
council is working on a new heritage trail around the town to
encourage more visitors.
"Over the past three years we
have worked closely with the local community on the Tenterden
Improved project to produce new tourism leaflets, walking and
heritage trails and new events such as the Food and Drink Festival
and Tentertainment.
"Tenterden, as the Jewel of the
Weald, is our crowning glory with fascinating history and heritage,
and an excellent range of independent shops, pubs and restaurants.
It is no surprise that the town comes in at number seven, ahead of
some other much bigger towns in Kent."
The authority
has its own tourism team that works with Visit Kent to attract more
visitors. One of the latest plans is to introduce Tenterden
Greeters so that visitors receive a personal welcome from local
people.
Also mentioned in the survey of
visitors as good places to visit were the Biddenden Vineyards with
six per cent of visitors, Tenterden Vineyards with 4.7 per cent of
visitors and Smallhythe place with 3.9 per cent.
Cllr Heyes added: "Attractions
like the Ashford Designer Outlet and Kent & East Sussex Railway
in Tenterden attract thousands of visitors from Kent and further
afield every month, while Ashford’s 37-minute rail service to
London and daily Eurostar connections to Paris, Lille and Brussels
make Ashford an ideal base for national and international
tourists."
Friday, September 10 2010
The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.