‘Outlander effect’ drives £237m boom
VISITSCOTLAND has praised the ‘Outlander effect’, saying the US TV drama had helped to create a £237million tourism boost.
According to the Office for National Statistics, there was a 38 per cent rise in visitors from across the pond, with 707,000 US tourists spending £732million in the 12 months to June this year.
This is up from £495million the previous year and makes up a big slice of the £2billion total spend by international visitors over the period, itself up 19 per cent compared with the previous year.
Historical drama Outlander stars Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall, a nurse who travels back in time and meets hunky Highlander Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan.
Visit-Scotland boss Malcolm Roughead said the tourism boost was down to targeted marketing, favourable exchange rates, increased capacity on flights and ‘the Outlander effect which has taken the country by storm’.