Cultural venues across Liverpool have attracted record visitor numbers this year as a result of the city's status as the 2008 European Capital of Culture.

Liverpool City Council (LCC) also revealed that tourism is set to earn Merseyside more than £1bn as a variety of venues and attractions have already pulled in 10 million visitors to the region. Tate Liverpool, which hosted a specially commissioned Gustav Klimt exhibition this summer, reported a 200 per cent increase in visitor numbers between June and August compared with last year, while the Albert Dock is set to attract one million visitors this year for the first time in its history.

Merseyside Maritime Museum has seen 806,000 visitors so far this year, an increase of 71 per cent on last year, while National Museums Liverpool is up almost a third with more than two million visitors. LCC leader, Warren Bradley, said: "These amazing figures once again underline why culture is now a major driver in our economy. All the effort in delivering '08 is reaping huge dividends, and as well as attracting newcomers from across the UK and beyond, the platform European Capital of Culture has given to Liverpool people is proving to be a powerful tool in reshaping countless lives."

President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said: "It's turning out to be one of the most successful Capital of Culture programmes that we have ever had. We're now trying to create a network of European Capitals of Culture to build on Liverpool's experience." In 2006, figures released by Cork City Council revealed that European Capital of Culture status in 2005 had brought about a 38 per cent increase in visitor numbers to the Irish city, worth 414m euro (£322m).