Never mind London or Paris, tourists rate Stirling

Stirling’s tourism industry has a higher approval rating than those of London and Paris say industry insiders.

More than 100 delegates from organisations, businesses and groups across Stirling’s tourism and culture sector packed the Tolbooth last week to promote collaboration among the industry at an event hosted by the Stirling Council’s economic development, culture and tourism team.

Representatives from the area’s extensive tourism network were on hand to hear talks from industry leadersVisitScotland,TripAdvisor and Scottish Enterprise as they discussed the future of the sector and the opportunities available across Stirling’s rich historical landscape.

The council plans to turn the conference into an annual event to build on momentum.

TripAdvisor’s Justin Reid said:“We can see from our statistics that the interest in Scotland and Stirling has gone up year upon year upon year.

“And that is bucking the trend for a lot of UK based destinations.

“When we look at the reviews that Stirling is getting - accommodation is doing well, restaurants are doing well but it’s the visitor attractions that are really standing out from the crowd.

“Stirling is getting higher average reviews than the global average, the European average, the UK average and the London and Paris averages – so very positive news for Stirling.”