Canterbury Cathedral is one of the attractions being offered

More than 90,000 entries were made for this year's My Kent Big Weekend tickets.

The number of applications topped 92,200 when the ballots closed at midnight on Monday – a staggering 11,000 more than last year.

A total of 17,000 free tickets to more than 120 top visitor destinations across Kent on March 23 and 24 were up for grabs.

Canterbury Cathedral and Dover Castle were among the many attractions to take part.

Sandra Matthews-Marsh, chief executive at Visit Kent, the county’s tourism champions and organisers of My Kent Big Weekend, said: "The enthusiasm for this great Kent event showcasing our tourism and leisure businesses to Kent people just continues to grow and grow.

“Tourism and visitor businesses make a huge contribution to our quality of life in Kent, not least in ensuring our county’s many historic buildings and our heritage are preserved for generations to come.

Successful bidders can tour Dover Castle

“Tourism is conserving not only our iconic castles and cathedrals but also the many smaller gems to be discovered in our towns and villages – frequently open for us all to enjoy as pubs, restaurants, B&Bs or boutique hotels.

“As an industry sector, tourism is perfectly placed to help us drive the Kent economy forward quickly and efficiently creating vital jobs with entry-points at all levels and great career opportunities.

“We have outstanding coast and countryside. Just a quick look at the wide range of attractions on the My Kent Big Weekend 2013 website clearly demonstrates that we have the creative talent and the entrepreneurs able and willing to grow Kent as a top visitor destination.

"They deserve all the support we can give them.”

All those successful in the ballots will receive their free tickets via email – two per Kent household – by March 8.