For the sixth year in a row, Scotland has outperformed the rest of the United Kingdom outside of London in terms of numbers of visitors to its tourist attractions. According to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), while 17 of the top 25 spots for 2017-18 were in London – including the British Museum, the Tate Modern and National Gallery – five of the remaining eight draws were located north of the border. Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle and Scottish National Gallery took the 11th, 12th and 16th places on the list respectively. Glasgow’s Riverside transport museum and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum came in at 22nd and 24th.
And the latest figures announced by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) further confirm that holidaying in Scotland is in vogue. The combined number of domestic and overseas tourists increased by 2 per cent last year, taking the tally to 14.1m. Scotland’s population is around 5.3m, which means there are now approximately 2.5 tourists for every resident in the country. During an interview with the Daily Telegraph in January, VisitScotland’s chief executive Malcolm Roughhead credited the boom to “increased air capacity” and “a favourable exchange rate”.
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