Blair Castle proving popular with visitors from overseas

Overseas travellers have been credited with fuelling a visitor boom for a Highland Perthshire attraction.

The number of tourists stopping at Blair Castle and Country Park at Pitlochry rose by 10% during the 2017-18 season, which ended in March.

Visitor numbers were up from 118,500 in 2016-17 to more than 130,000.

Bosses at the castle said they had benefited from the weak pound and the introduction of more direct flights to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The venue has also hosted more weddings and other events.

Julia Sim, head of sales and marketing at Blair Castle, said overseas visitors were looking beyond the traditional Scottish destinations and venturing further afield.

“Direct flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Dubai and Canada have benefited the attraction,” she said.

“This has encouraged more long-haul visitors from Australia and North America to come and venture beyond the cities to experience other parts of Scotland.

“It’s not just independent travellers that have been coming to Blair Castle, there has been an excellent level of UK coach trips over the winter months,” she said.

“This has been encouraging as it demonstrates the ongoing power of staycationing.”

The castle is gearing up to host the annual Atholl Gathering this weekend.

It was a backdrop for scenes in the recent ITV period drama Victoria, and has been hosting an exhibition of costumes from the programme, which celebrates the monarch’s ties to the area.