A sinkhole which was initially a major catastrophe for Kentucky’s National Corvette Museum, has turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the sinkhole – which swallowed eight cars – has become a popular tourist attraction.

In February, the US museum gained global attention when the sinkhole opened up, with eight classic Corvettes being swallowed into the earth. All of the vehicles have now been recovered from the 40-foot (12 metre) wide by 30-foot (9m) deep chasm which opened up within the museum.

"In terms of visibility, we now have millions of people across the world that know there's a Corvette museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky," said museum spokeswoman Katie Frassinelli.

And her statement is backed by statistics, with attendance up more than 20 per cent for Q1 of 2014 with a 56 per cent increase for March.

Instead of fixing the hole, the museum is considering keeping it as a permanent attraction, with ideas including installing a glass floor to see in, stairs that go down or a bridge that crosses the hole.

“We will continue to explore these ideas as the process has not moved along far enough to know if keeping a portion of the hole is feasible or not,” said Wendell Strode, executive director of the museum. “Our special display focusing on this event is now open in our Exhibit Hall.

“Current plans are to keep the cars on display as they are so that guests through the summer – especially the thousands attending our 20th anniversary celebration – will have a chance to see the cars and witness the sinkhole for themselves.”

The Corvette Museum hopes to have a decision on what to do with the sinkhole by June.