SCOTLAND registered a 5.5 per cent rise in visitor numbers last year, with Edinburgh Castle proving the top attraction.
VisitScotland has hailed the “spectacular” figures, which exceed the UK average increase of 3.2 per cent.
More than 1.5 million people paid to see Edinburgh Castle, while the National Museum of Scotland was the most visited free attraction – and the most popular museum outside of London.
The figures were published by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA).
The National Museums of Scotland (including the National Museum of Scotland, National War Museum, National Museum of Rural Life and National Museum of Flight) saw a combined total of 2,338,240 visits.
Exhibitions featuring works by MC Escher and Roy Lichtenstein contributed to a double-digit increase in visitors to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, meanwhile, saw a 10 per cent rise which it credited to its Lights programme in the winter months.
Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum enjoyed an increase of 12.4 per cent to 1,261,552 visitors. The city’s Riverside Museum also moved up the rankings, welcoming more than 1.1 million people – an increase of 7.8 per cent.
VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead said: “These really are spectacular results for Scotland’s leading visitor attractions and it is wonderful to see this country performing above the UK average.
“Our attractions play a vital role in Scotland’s visitor economy, with accommodation providers, restaurants, cafes and numerous other businesses also reaping the benefits of this continued growth.”
ALVA director Bernard Donoghue said: “2015 continued to be a record year mainly due to our members continuing to show how diverse the UK is to both domestic and overseas visitors. The current weakness of the pound to the dollar and euro is making the UK a more affordable destination and 2016 is on target to be another memorable year for ALVA members, notably the National Museum of Scotland will see 10 new galleries open on July 8.”
The figures coincided with another report that revealed a strong performance in 2015 and early 2016 for the hotel industry in the central belt – but no such good news for Aberdeen.
The figures, from the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers European hotels forecast, showed Edinburgh hotel room occupancy at 81.5 per cent and Glasgow at 81.7 per cent, but Aberdeen with the worst figures in the UK at 66 per cent.
A growing Scottish film industry, strong line-up of cultural events and a year of food and drink have helped the central belt’s figures, but Aberdeen continues to suffer as low oil prices and redundancies bite.
The remainder of 2016 into 2017 is forecast to see continued growth, especially for Edinburgh, which is expected to overtake Dublin as the city with the second-highest occupancy rates in Europe in 2017. London will continue to be the city with the highest occupancy rates.
Bruce Cartwright, head of business recovery services at PwC in Scotland, said:“Growth in the travel and hospitality sector is expected to continue to outpace the wider economy, all helped by the weak euro.”
Kevin Reynard, senior partner for PwC in Aberdeen, said: “One of the problems facing the hotel industry in the north-east is that companies have pared back on travel to the city.”
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