The Scotch Whisky Experience, the five-star whisky visitor attraction in Edinburgh, has reported its busiest ever year.
Figures for the attraction’s last financial year indicate a 9% increase in visitors to 326,000, with the number of people taking a tour rising 12% to 176,000.
Overall, gross sales totalled £8.2m; an increase of 12% with all aspects of the attraction’s offering reporting improvements. This includes a 10% rise in revenue from the tour, an 11% increase in revenue generated by the shop, and a 15% uplift in income from the events and hospitality spaces.
Visitor numbers are up for the entire year, although growth strengthened following June’s Brexit decision and the resulting drop in the value of the pound.
Julie Trevisan Hunter, head of marketing at The Scotch Whisky Experience, explains the trends behind the figures: “All of our key regions, which include Europe, North America and England have reported increases of between 15% and 25% over the past year.
“The weakness of the pound following the UK’s Brexit vote made Scotland an attractive holiday destination, especially for short-haul travellers from Europe, for whom Edinburgh is a popular weekend break destination.”
“The value of the pound versus the Euro has made staycations much more attractive for people from the rest of the UK as well.”
Visitors from the Chinese market increased 30%, although this can be attributed more to longer-term trends than Brexit.
Julie continued: “We have a continual programme of investment planned for the centre over the current year, which we hope will help us to build upon these fantastic figures.”
