Press release -
VisitScotland Chairman hails ‘truly incredible’ year for Scotland’s world-class attractions
Responding to the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions 2014 Annual Visitor Trend Report
Mike Cantlay, VisitScotland Chairman, said: “2014 was an exceptional year for Scottish tourism, it was the year we welcomed the world. These figures show that as well as attending major events like the Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup and the Year of Homecoming, visitors were also discovering and exploring some of our most cherished cultural and historical attractions.
It is fantastic to see attractions like the Scottish National Gallery and the Riverside Museum enjoying such significant increases in visitors, and to have doubled the number of attractions welcoming over 1million people is truly incredible. Scotland’s tourism offering is world class, with a diverse range of things to see and do from stand up paddle boarding to stand-up comedy; inspirational art and design to magnificent architecture, landscapes and heritage. In 2015, we will build on the energy and excitement of last year, using strengths, such as our food and drink and quality visitor experiences, to take Scotland to the world and enhance our reputation as a must visit, must return destination.”.
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation has three key roles:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, the tourism economy supports 270,000 jobs in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the tourism economy contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
Year of Food and Drink 2015
- 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success.
- Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism.
- A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat
- For more information, visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland
