Visitor numbers up at Enchanted Forest 2018 was record breaker
Tickets for next year’s Enchanted Forest event have already gone on sale, just hours after it was confirmed 2018 had been a recordbreaking year.
Over 80,000 visitors descended on Faskally Woods for this year’s light show, entitled ‘Of the Wild - Nature by Night’.
That represented a nine per cent increase on 2017.
Among the visitors was Genna Sawers, a nurse from Glasgow, who became the 500,000th person to visit the attraction since it opened in 2002.
To mark the occasion Genna was offered an allexpenses-paid dinner and overnight stay for two at nearby Fonab Castle Hotel to enjoy during her visit to Pitlochry.
Genna said: “I’d been hoping to go to The Enchanted Forest for a few years after hearing about how amazing it is from friends and family but had never been able to get my hands on tickets until this year.”
The forest also welcomed director Rianne White, who filmed the video for ‘Then It Comes To Me’ by The Proclaimers at the venue.
Event organisers have also announced their charity partners Birks Cinema Trust, Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland and Blairgowrie Riding for the Disabled have each received a donation of £5000.
International visitor numbers have jumped from around 0.97 per cent of audience share in 2014 to 2.97 per cent in 2018, with more than 85 per cent citing the event as a reason for travelling to Scotland.
They came from more than 28 countries.
It is estimated the event is worth around £3 million to the local economy.
Ian Sim, chairman of The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, which operates the event, said: “Once again we are completely blown away by the response to the event.
“We’re delighted it has smashed yet another of its own box office records.
“This is very much an event run by the community of Highland Perthshire and the team behind it are really exceptional, from the creative team who devise the concept, our show producer Zoe Squair and brilliant operations team to the stewards who stand out in the woods night after night for five weeks.
“The Enchanted Forest’s success is testimony to their hard work and commitment to providing a top-quality, family-friendly experience for our thousands of customers.
“We’re also extremely pleased that the event has also been able to contribute to three very worthwhile charity partners and support them in their work in the community.”
Tickets for the 2019 event went on sale yesterday at www.enchantedforest.org.uk
Genna Sawers, with her boyfriend Darrel Clark, was the 500,000th visitor
The team behind it are really exceptional