Montgomery, Ala – More than 592,000 golfers played the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail last year, ranking it number one among state attractions that charge admission.  Nine of the state’s Top Ten attractions charging admission showed an increase in attendance over previous years.  Attendance figures were collected by the Alabama Tourism Department from local tourism organizations.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville ranked second with attendance of 572,650.   The Birmingham Zoo was third with 540,816 and the McWane Science Center, also in Birmingham, placed fourth with 413,483 visitors.  The USS Alabama Battleship Park in Mobile was fifth with 368,003.  The Montgomery Zoo was sixth with 249,951.  Huntsville Botanical Garden ranked seventh with 235,000 and the EarlyWorks Museum Complex in Huntsville was eighth with 192,000.  The Alabama Theatre in Birmingham was ninth with 175,000.  Point Mallard Park in Decatur was tenth with 155,066.

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 more than 5 million visitors last year. The Birmingham Botanical Gardens attracted 350,000 visitors to make it the most attended free attraction. More than 800,000 people attended Mobile’s Mardi Gras making it the most attended event.  Bryant-Denny Stadium was the number one sports destination with 712,052 fans attending University of Alabama home football games.

For more information contact the Alabama Tourism Department or visit www.tourism.alabama.gov.

Top Ten – Admission Charged Attractions 2012

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail
Birmingham
205-942-0444
2012 attendance:      592,021
2011 attendance:      512,044

U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Huntsville
256-837-3400
2012 attendance:      572,650
2011 attendance:      553,137

Birmingham Zoo
Birmingham
205-879-0409
2012 attendance:      540,816
2011 attendance:      498,623

McWane Science Center
Birmingham
205-714-8300
2012 attendance:      413,483
2011 attendance:      380,341

USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park
Mobile
251-433-2703
2012 attendance:      368,003
2011 attendance:      322,685

Montgomery Zoo
Montgomery
334-240-4900
2012 attendance:      249,951
2011 attendance:      216,746

Huntsville Botanical Garden
Huntsville
256-830-4447
2012 attendance:      235,000
2011 attendance:      275,000

EarlyWorks Museum Complex
Huntsville
205-324-1911
2012 attendance:     192,000
2011 attendance:     160,000

Alabama Theatre
Birmingham
205-776-1620
2012 attendance:      175,000
2011 attendance:      150,000

Point Mallard Park
Decatur 256-341-4902
2012 attendance:      155,066
2011 attendance:      146,895

Top Ten – Free Attractions 2012

Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Birmingham
205-414-3950
2012 attendance:      350,000
2011 attendance:      350,000

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Montgomery
334-240-4333
2012 attendance:      142,046
2011 attendance:      138,210

Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark
Birmingham
205-324-1911
2012 attendance:     125,000
2011 attendance:     120,000

Alabama State Capitol
Montgomery
334-242-3935
2012 attendance:      117,339
2011 attendance:      125,920

Birmingham Museum of Art
Birmingham
205-254-2565
2012 attendance:      133,917
2011 attendance:      115,697

Jesse Owens Museum
Danville
256-974-3636
2012 attendance:      70,588
2011 attendance:      45,000

Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Hanceville
205-795-5717
2012 attendance:      60,000
2011 attendance:      80,000

Alabama Department of Archives & History
Montgomery
334-242-4364
2012 attendance:        34,769
2011 attendance:        36,635

Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center
Danville
205-905-2494
2012 attendance:      34,418
2011 attendance:      32,218

Civil Rights Memorial
Montgomery
334-956-8439
2012 attendance:      32,568
2011 attendance:      30,365

Top Ten – Events 2012

Mobile Mardi Gras
Mobile
251-208-2018
2012 attendance:    800,673
2011 attendance:  1,093,431

Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival
Fairhope
251-621-8222
2012 attendance:      350,000
2011 attendance:      300,000

Annual National Shrimp Festival
Gulf Shores
251-968-6904
2012 attendance:      250,000
2011 attendance:      250,000

Bayfest
Mobile
251-208-7835
2012 attendance:      220,000
2011 attendance:      250,000

Pepper Place Saturday Market
Birmingham
205-802-2100
2012 attendance:      185,000
2011 attendance:      180,000

W.C. Handy Music Festival
Florence
256-766-7642
2012 attendance:      150,000
2011 attendance:      150,000

SEC Baseball Tournament
Hoover
205-967-4745
2012 attendance:      129,112
2011 attendance:      100,000

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
Birmingham
205-967-4745
2012 attendance:      81,378
2011 attendance:      79,811

Panoply Arts Festival
Huntsville
256-519-2787
2012 attendance:      71,043
2011 attendance:      cancelled due to weather

Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival
Foley
251-943-3291
2012 attendance:        65,000
2011 attendance:        55,000

Top Ten – Parks and Natural Destinations 2012

Alabama Gulf Coast Beaches
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach/Fort Morgan/Dauphin Island
251-968-7511
2012 attendance:     5,150,000
2011 attendance:     4,900,000

Gulf State Park
Gulf Shores
251-948-7275
2012 attendance:   2,102,736
2011 attendance:   1,905,845

Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
McCalla
205-477-5711
2012 attendance:      539,875
2011 attendance:      540,125

Railroad Park
Birmingham
205-521-9933
2012 attendance:      539,265
2011 attendance:      166,374

Oak Mountain State Park
Pelham
205-620-2520
2012 attendance:      445,000
2011attendance:       543,600

Joe Wheeler State Park
Rogersville
256-247-5466
2012 attendance:      280,390
2011 attendance:      233,930

Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge
Eufaula 334-687-4065
2012 attendance:   275,000
2011 attendance:   281,015

Monte Sano State Park
Huntsville
256-534-3757
2012 attendance:       236,002
2011 attendance:       273,460

Wind Creek State Park
Alexander City
256-329-0845
2012 attendance:      235,490
2011 attendance:      242,838

Little River Canyon National
Fort Payne
256-845-9605
2012 attendance:      201,108
2011 attendance:      225,548

Top Ten – Sports Destinations 2012

Bryant-Denny Stadium – University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa
205-348-7166
2012 attendance:      712,052
2011 attendance:      712,747

Jordan-Hare Stadium – Auburn University
Auburn
334-844-4750
2012 attendance:      578,521
2011 attendance:      600,541

Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega
877-Go2-DEGA
2012 attendance:      350,000
2011 attendance:      352,500

Birmingham Barons Baseball
Birmingham
205-988-3200
2012 attendance:      204,269
2011 attendance:      261,623

Montgomery Biscuits Baseball
Montgomery
334-323-2255
2012 attendance:        244,976
2011 attendance:        257,403

Mobile Baybears Baseball
Mobile
251-476-2287
2012 attendance:      133,062
2011 attendance:      210,956

Huntsville Stars Baseball
Huntsville
256-882-2562
2012 attendance:      133,000
2011 attendance:        93,340

Veterans Memorial Stadium- Troy University
Troy 334-670-3832
2012 attendance:      125,709
2011 attendance:        89.492

Ladd Peebles Stadium- University of South Alabama
Mobile
251-414-8032
2012 attendance:      100,759
2011 attendance:      110,654

Burgess-Snow Field- Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville
256-782-5279
2012 attendance:      80,032
2011 attendance:      86,128