U.S. Space & Rocket Center is Alabama’s Number One Tourism Attraction

More than 625,000 people visited the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville last year, ranking it number one among state attractions that charge admission!

The Space & Rocket Center was followed by the Birmingham Zoo at second with 574,581 and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at third with 568,427 state tourism officials say.

Six of the state’s Top Ten attractions charging admission showed an increase in attendance over previous years, spokesman Brian Jones said. Attendance figures were collected by the Alabama Tourism Department from local tourism organizations.

The USS Alabama Battleship Park in Mobile placed fourth with 381,192 visitors and the McWane Science Center was fifth with 332,492.

Point Mallard Park was sixth with 298,879. The Montgomery Zoo ranked seventh with 236,100 and the Huntsville Botanical Garden was eighth with 236,000. EarlyWorks Museums in Huntsville was ninth with 189,500. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute was tenth with 161,000.

The Alabama Tourism Department also released the Top Ten attendance figures for other categories. Beaches of the Alabama Gulf Coast were the number one natural destination in the state, attracting 5.7 million visitors last year. The Birmingham Botanical Gardens attracted 350,000 visitors to make it the most attended free attraction. More than 1million people celebrated Mobile’s Mardi Gras making it the most attended event. Bryant-Denny Stadium was the number one sports destination with 785,418 fans attending University of Alabama home football games.

Top Ten - Admission Charged Attractions 2014

U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Huntsville
2014 attendance:      626,311
2013 attendance:      584,972

Birmingham Zoo
2014 attendance:      574,581
2013 attendance:      574,176

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail
Birmingham
2014 attendance:      568,427
2013 attendance:      530,678

USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park
Mobile
2014 attendance:      381,192
2013 attendance:      371,229

McWane Science Center
Birmingham
2014 attendance:      332,492
2013 attendance:      350,661

Point Mallard Park
Decatur
2014 attendance:      298,879
2013 attendance:      246,093

Montgomery Zoo
2014 attendance:      236,100
2013 attendance:      244,178

Huntsville Botanical Garden
2014 attendance:      236,000
2013 attendance:      225,000

EarlyWorks Museums
Huntsville
2014 attendance:     189,500
2013 attendance:     189,500

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
2014 attendance:      161,000
2013 attendance:      177,055

For more information visit tourism.alabama.gov.