More than 807,000 visitors attended the Titanic Belfast centre during its first year, it has been announced.

The attraction overlooking the slipways where the legendary liner was launched attracted tourists from 128 countries, management said.

Interpretive galleries in the six-floor building explore the construction of the doomed vessel, including the lives of those who made her.

Titanic Belfast chief executive Tim Husbands said: “We have set the standard for the tourism industry and for the corporate industry and we aim to remain the standard bearer for our shared community hopes and ambitions for Belfast and Northern Ireland.”

RMS Titanic sank in April 1912 after striking an iceberg in the northern Atlantic, with more than 1,500 lives lost.

The visitors’ centre was opened a year ago on the centenary of the sinking. It cost £77m (€117m) to construct – with most of the funding coming from the public purse – and dominates the harbour skyline.

Visitors are guided through nine exhibitions, spread over four storeys, charting the history of the Titanic from its construction in the nearby Harland & Wolff shipyard to its final resting place at the bottom of the Atlantic.

A replica of the ship’s famous staircase has been incorporated into the banqueting hall on the upper floors.