DURHAM — Tourism is booming in the Bull City, as more people make Durham a vacation destination.

The number of people visiting Durham is growing 33 percent faster than anywhere else in the Triangle. Last year, 5.5 million people visited the Bull City -- up more than 10 percent from the year before.

Cultural tourism is on the upswing, with more people checking out Duke University's Museum of Art, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and the Sarah Duke Gardens.

Durham's Museum of Life and Science is helping to spearhead the boost in tourism, drawing tons of visitors with its butterfly house. Since it opened in 1999, the number of visitors has soared.

"We get people who make a day out of it, traveling from Virginia and South Carolina," said the museum's Tom Hecker.

The butterfly exhibit will be featured in Southern Living magazine this spring as one of the best places to visit in the South.