LONDON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The exhibition of China's Terracotta Warriors has helped National Museums Liverpool (NML) attract record number of visitors, it was announced Tuesday.

The ongoing exhibition at the World Museum in Liverpool has also contributed around 27 million U.S. dollars to the local economy, NML added.

Latest figures show NML has achieved its highest annual visitor figure ever in 2017/18 across Liverpool World Museum and its other seven museums and galleries in the region. It welcomed more than 3.3 million visitors in a year which also saw the opening of its China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition at the World Museum.

With a visitor increase of 9 percent compared to 2016/17, and a 16 percent increase on the year before, NML said it has also beaten its previous best ever year for visitor numbers in 2012-13.

In February 2018, NML opened its blockbuster exhibition, China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors.

"With five months left to run, and tickets still available, it is already proving to be the most popular exhibition National Museums Liverpool has ever held with around half a million people expected to visit throughout the exhibition's run," said a spokeswoman for NML.

It was also a very strong year at World Museum's neighbour, the Walker Art Gallery, where visits increased by 53 percent, with a vibrant exhibition program including Slaves of Fashion: New Works by The Singh Twins and a new partnership with the Arts Council Collection.

Tracey McGeagh, NML's Director of Marketing, said: "In 2017/18, we welcomed a record number of visitors and it is incredibly rewarding and important, that we are attracting so many people into the museums and galleries to share in the collections and hear the stories told in our exhibitions."

According to the director, the Terracotta Warriors exhibition is a main attraction for most of the visitors.

"More than three quarters of visitors told us that our Terracotta Warriors exhibition was the main reason for their visit to Liverpool. We also know from our wider research that there is a substantial upward trend in the number of visitors to our museums and galleries from abroad this year: at least 40,000 more than last year," said McGeagh.

National Museums Liverpool estimated the Terracotta Warriors exhibition has driven around 65,000 staying visits to Liverpool and a wider contribution to the local economy of over 20 million pounds in its first three months.

Since the exhibition of China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors was launched, more than 370,000 tickets for the exhibition have been sold.