TOURISTS have voted Marlow one of the best market towns in the country following a nationwide survey.

It showed that 85 per cent of visitors rated their stay as good or very good with 93 per cent saying they were likely or very likely to recommend the town to others.

The Southern Tourist Board was commissioned to carry out the benchmark survey of Marlow as a visitor destination compared with 17 other broadly similar destinations.

The overall aim of the survey was to flag up the strengths and weaknesses of Marlow's tourist service.

The results have been welcomed by town officials.

Doug Anson, deputy mayor of Marlow, said: "It is always very good to hear Marlow is well and truly on the tourist map.

"I have had conversations with visitors in the park and High Street who tell me Marlow is a wonderful place. People do come here from all over the world."

The high cost of living in the town is also reflected in the results with nearly half of all visitors in the highest and second highest earner brackets in the country.

The results were not all good news, however, with the cost of parking, traffic congestion and the range and quality of attractions scoring the lowest.

Since the survey was commissioned Marlow now has its own maze in Higginson Park and is set to erect a statue of sporting hero Sir Steve Redgrave.

A giant sundial showing the time across the world has also been donated to the town by business property developers Akeler who are renovating the old Rank Xerox site in Globe Park.

Only three per cent of visitors arrived in Marlow on public transport with 90 per cent arriving by car.

Cllr Anson added: "We are all aware of the lack of public transport and this is something that we will have to look at in the future if we are trying to get people to come to Marlow and enjoy everything it has to offer."