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Scots attractions bear fruit

Scots attractions bear fruit

More than 32million visits were made to attractions in Scotland last year, figures have revealed.

The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) said the figures showed a rise of over 225,000 (0.6%) on 2012’s numbers.

The 2013 Visitor Trends Report analysed more than 250 of the organisation’s member sites.

Sectors which fared well include heritage properties, sports and outdoor activity venues and distilleries.

For the third year, the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh was the most visited attraction with 1,768,090 visits recorded.

Edinburgh continued to dominate the marketplace, with 11 of the top 20 attractions located in the city. However sites in the north and south of Scotland recorded the biggest increases in numbers, with visits up by over 7% in both regions.

Whisky tourism continued to draw visitors to Scotland. The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh experienced its highest ever visitor numbers, 11.5% up on the previous year.

The Jack Vettriano retrospective at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum was the Glasgow attraction’s most successful special exhibition ever, attracting more than 123,000 visitors in its 23-week run.

At Iona Abbey, which celebrated the 1,450-year anniversary of St Columba establishing the ancient holy site, visitor figures leapt by 1,178%.

Edinburgh Zoo bucked the trend of other giant panda zoos the year after their pair arrived, recording only a small 6% decrease in 2013 – with visitor numbers still remaining 40% higher than “pre-panda” figures.

The Highlands also fared well, with visitor numbers to Glencoe, location of some of the most dramatic scenes in the Bond movie Skyfall, up by over 37%.

The early season low temperatures, combined with snow at altitude, benefited the ski areas at CairnGorm Mountain and Nevis Range too, which saw figures rise by 9.5% and 8% respectively.

David O’Neill, chairman of ASVA said: “Looking forward, we are confident that 2014 will be a bumper year for the visitor attractions sector in Scotland as we reap the benefits from Homecoming 2014 and major events including the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup, as well as the opening of exciting new attractions such as the Bannockburn Visitor Centre.”