THE Commonwealth Games helped boost the number of visitor numbers to UK tourist attractions, it has been claimed.

The city's Riverside Museum had a 41.8% rise in visits last year, while visits to all Scottish attractions increased by nearly 10%.

Great War centenary commemorations, including the poppy display at the Tower of London, were also credited for helping to boost numbers, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva).

Overall there was a 6.5% increase in visits to Alva members' properties in the UK in 2014 compared with 2013.

The boost given to Scottish attractions by Glasgow 2014 was reflected in the fact that Edinburgh Castle visits rose 4% to more than 1.48 million, making it the most-visited, admission-paying attraction outside London.

The display Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red saw the moat at the Tower of London filled with 888,246 ceramic poppies - representing the number of British and Commonwealth fallen in the First World War.

Alva director Bernard Donoghue said: "I am delighted that our members' figures are going from strength to strength.

"Looking forward to our 2015 figures, we are confident that they will rise again with the anticipated increase in overseas visitors this year."