Strong year for Scottish attractions

MORE than 32 million visits were made to tourist attractions across Scotland in 2013, an increase of  0.6 percent on 2012 figures, says the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions. Sectors which fared particularly well include heritage properties, sports and outdoor activity venues and distilleries.

Whisky tourism continued to draw visitors to Scotland, with the majority of whisky-based attractions reporting a rise in their numbers. The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh experienced its highest ever visitor numbers, 11.5 percent up on the previous year. For the third year, the National Museum of Scotland was the most visited attraction with 1,768,090 visits recorded.  Edinburgh Castle was the highest paid-entry attraction with 1,420,027 visits.

Edinburgh continued to dominate the marketplace, with 11 of the top 20 attractions located in the city, but sites in the north and south of Scotland recorded the biggest increases in numbers, with visits up by more than seven percent in both regions.

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