Lego exhibit helps visitor numbers soar at cathedral
THE number of visitors to Glasgow Cathedral soared by 24 per cent last year, figures show.
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) releases its annual tourism data for the 2018 calendar year which showed the cathedral welcomed 482,783 visitors in 2018 and was among the top ten attractions.
Part of the surge in growth was attributed to the successful Lego exhibition Brick Wonders which ran from July until September, last year.
Dumbarton Castle, one of Scotland’s oldest strongholds, also had a record year welcoming 28,546 visitors – up six per cent from 2017.
Doune Castle, in Stirling, saw a 14% increase in footfall after 142,091 people visited last year. Urquhart Castle by Loch Ness meanwhile welcomed more than half a million people for the first time, up six per cent to 518,195 visits.
Historic Environment Scotland’s (HES) say the ‘Outlander effect’ has helped draw internationally visitors, keen to explore filming locations featured in the TV series.
With 605,241 people making a trip Stirling Castle – an increase of seven per cent – it was the second most visited of HES staffed heritage sites in 2018.
As in previous years, Edinburgh Castle came out top with 2,111,578 visitors, an increase of two per cent.
Outlander continued to draw people to historic locations, with Blackness Castle in West Lothian reaching 50,000 visitors for the first time – an increase of 36 per cent from the previous year.
Overall footfall to HES staffed sites grew by five per cent from 2017 to 5,229,049.
Stephen Duncan, HES commercial and tourism director, said: “As well as the ‘Outlander effect’ bringing international visitors to Scotland to explore its rich history, we have also seen an increase in the number of Scots visiting heritage sites as evidenced in our highest ever membership figure.”