The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Almost 30million visits to Scottish attractions
Tourism: Mediaeval fortress Urquhart Castle entered top 20
Scottish tourist attractions are more popular than ever, with the news that visitor numbers have significantly increased for the third consecutive year.
Urquhart Castle has made the top 20 in a list published by the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA).
The body, which represents the interests of the key visitor attractions sector in Scotland, has more than 450 members, comprising some of Scotland’s most popular and iconic castles, galleries, museums, historic houses, heritage sites and leisure attractions.
Analysis of statistics submitted by 249 of the organisation’s member sites for its annual Visitor Trends Report confirmed almost 30million visits were made to those sites in Scotland in 2016, a rise of 6% over the previous year’s figures.
The increase followed a 3.4% rise in 2015, which itself followed a 6.1% rise in 2014.
Edinburgh continued to dominate the marketplace, with 11 of the top 20 attractions. The National Museum of Scotland welcomed the most visitors.
The Highlands also had a successful year. The medieval fortress of Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness by Jacobite, which offers scenic cruises on the loch, recorded increases in visitor numbers of 14% and 15% respectively.
Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie reported a 10% rise in numbers, while Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre continued to benefit from media coverage generated by Outlander, recording a 21% increase.
Urquhart Castle had 396,397 visitors and Susan Loch, Head of Visitor Operations and Community Engagement at Historic Environment Scotland, which operates the facility, said: “These latest figures clearly demonstrate the continued draw of Scotland’s heritage attractions, which form an important part of the country’s wider tourism offering.
“Edinburgh, Stirling and Urquhart Castles, which feature in ASVA’s top 20, saw a significant footfall increase.”
Freda Newton, managing director of Loch Ness by Jacobite, added: “The popularity of the area shows no signs of slowing down, with visitor numbers growing year-onyear.
“In 2016, we welcomed 200,000 visitors on board our Loch Ness by Jacobite cruises – a new record.”
Cabinet secretary for tourism Fiona Hyslop, said: “It is fantastic Scottish visitor attractions recorded another successful year with almost 30million visits.”
“The figures demonstrate the draw of heritage attractions”