Tourism businesses across the South West have described autumn 2002 as the best ever for visitors.

Some attractions claim they have had an increase of 40% in visitor numbers from this time last year.

Good weather and new attractions in the region are among the factors believed to be responsible for the increase.

National Trust spokesman Giles Clotworthy said: "We're having an extraordinary time. September was absolutely storming.

"It was like that for a lot of other people throughout Devon and Cornwall."

Third dome

The news follows the announcement of a major expansion to Cornwall's major tourist attraction, the Eden Project.

New buildings at the centre, which recreates climates from around the world for a huge variety of plants, include a third dome which will recreate arid regions of the world.

More than 1.3 million visitors have been to the project over the summer, and research estimates it has contributed �160m to Cornwall's economy.

It has become Britain's third most popular tourist attraction since it opened in March last year.