Association of Leading Visitor Attractions - ALVA
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions or ALVA is made up of 42 of Britain’s biggest and best known visitor attractions which are responsible for managing 1,598 tourist sites.
The members of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions or ALVA collectivly welcome over 100 million domestic and overseas visitors each year - some 25% of the visits made annually in the United Kingdom.
To qualify for membership, the attractions must host over a million visitors per year at their singly or centrally-managed sites and be in accord with ALVA’s mission statement and quality standards.
Current members include many of the UK’s most famous museums, galleries and heritage sites whose international standing makes them a magnet for overseas visitors, as well as mass-market commercial leisure attractions which are renowned throughout the world.
They seek to provide people with the highest quality in terms of visitor experience, presentation, interpretation, education, service and enjoyment. They are at the leading edge of Britain’s tourism industry, making substantial contributions to the UK’s economy and employment and together, commanding influence and respect in both government and non-government circles.
Why was ALVA created?
The Association was established in 1990 to fill a perceived gap in the framework of national tourism representative bodies. Organisations representing hotels, restaurants, pleasure parks, zoos and similar enterprises were already geared to the needs of their particular sectors of the industry.
Until ALVA’s formation, there was no forum for addressing specific problems - including the management of large numbers of visitors - which confronted the country’s major sightseeing attractions. Through membership of ALVA, visitor attractions and organisations who would not otherwise have met, or who might have regarded one another as competitors, have been able to benefit from shared information leading to solutions to a wide variety of common issues.