Scottish tourist attractions visitor numbers still down since Covid-19
Big increase in 2022 but the sector is still facing 'tough' conditions
Last updated 5th Apr 2023
Experts are claiming that the number of visits to Scotland's biggest museums and castles are still not as high as before the pandemic.
Paid entry attractions across the country had over 15 million guests combined last year.
Scotland's visitor attractions enjoyed a 53.5% surge in visitor numbers last year as COVID restrictions eased.
Attractions across the country recorded 48,675,631 visits, up 16,961,432 on 2021.
The places pulling the crowds
Kelvingrove Art Gallery
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow saw visitor numbers up 237% with 971,412 through the doors in 2022
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle welcomed 418,180 visitors, an increase of 184%
Urquhart Castle
Urquhart Castle, on Loch Ness, saw a 233% jump in visitors in 2022, with 357,154 looking around the ruins.
Riverside Museum
The Riverside Museum in Glasgow was 4th on the list of free attractions with a 275% increase in visitors to over 1.17 million
National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland is top free visitor attraction with 197,751 visits in 2022, an increase of 198%
Castles are the top tourist draw
Edinburgh Castle returned to the top spot as Scotland's most popular paid-for attraction, with visitor numbers jumping 217.6%.
The National Museum of Scotland remains the number one free attraction with numbers increasing 198.7%.
Among the free attractions Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and the Riverside Museum, in Glasgow, posted strong years, up 237% and 275% respectively.
The Burrell Collection, which reopened last year after a £66 million revamp, recorded 482,984 visits.
Down by 16% since pandemic
Previous procedures to manage visitor numbers, including pre-booking tickets and advised direction of travel, were removed by many venues as restrictions eased.
However, figures from Glasgow Caledonian University show that, despite the surge, overall numbers are 16% down on the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
Professor John Lennon, Director of the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University told Clyde News the cost of living crisis is still impacting the sector.
He said: “This survey evidences a recovering visitor attraction market dominated by domestic demand.
“Scottish visitor attractions face a very daunting trading environment characterised by cost inflation and labour shortages - problems that have been slow to abate.
"Recovery is likely to continue but will remain highly dependent upon UK customers for the medium term.
"The growth in inflation in the last couple of months has really hit visitor attractions hard, particularly with food and power.
"Attractions face almost a perfect storm with increasing visitors, whilst dealing with very tough trading conditions that are making staffing and operations tough."
The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions is calling on the UK and Scottish Governments to take further action to support the industry in the face of rising costs and to revisit any policy decisions that may increase the financial burden on business.
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