Alton Towers saw a slight rise in visitor numbers during the 2016 season, according to estimates by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA).
The Staffordshire theme park’s attendance was put at 1.98 million, which is up 55,000 (2.9%) on 2015 estimates.
Owners Merlin Entertainments do not release admission numbers for the their attractions, outside of occasional figures submitted in support of planning applications.
Alton Towers’ 2010 season saw over 3 million visits following the addition of the Thirteen rollercoaster.
Visitor numbers fell sharply following the Smiler accident which seriously injured five people in June 2015.
Merlin’s mixed fortunes
The TEA report put Thorpe Park’s attendance at 1.8 million, a repeat of the 2015 estimate.
Chessington World of Adventures recorded a modest increase of 30,000 guests, to 1.67 million admissions.
Legoland Windsor’s visitation was estimated to be down by 3%, falling to 2.183 million. No other UK theme parks make the TEA’s European top 25.
Previous entrants Flamingo Land and Drayton Manor were deemed as having less than the 1.51 million admissions required to make 2016’s top 20 theme parks.