Two years after the ambitious announcement and with the development and improvement across 11 sites underway, the covid pandemic hit. Visitor numbers in Scotland plummeted to levels not seen for decades. In 2020 just 95,400 visitors were recorded across all 67 distillery visitor centers in Scotland, compared to over 1.69 million in 2019.
Diageo Invest In Scotch Whisky Tourism
In 2023 the total number of visitors to Diagoe’s 13 visitor centers exceeded 1 million for the first time. The covid pandemic meant the last complete year of data was from 2019. Back then the total visitor numbers across all 67 of Scotland’s distilleries that accept visitors centers was around 1.69 million.
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Diageo’s data suggests that visitor numbers have returned to pre-covid levels. Comparing the performance of Diageo’s individual distilleries it also appears that growth has resumed for the crucial industry.
The Biggest Whisky Attraction In Scotland
That means the Edinburgh site is now likely the most popular whisky attraction in Scotland. The success of the completely new site is impressive, but not that surprising. In the center of Scotland’s capital city it is the easiest to get to. The accessible location means as well as attracting die hard whisky fans, passing traffic who wouldn’t necessarily choose to go out of their way to visit a distillery can get involved in learning more about one of Scotland’s best known brands.
Talisker Is The Most Popular Distillery
Ease of access isn’t everything with whisky fans though, as shown by Diageo’s second most popular attraction and most popular distillery. Talisker distillery on the remote Isle of Skye is more than 5 hours from Glasgow. The recently renovated distillery has seen its visitor numbers increase by over 200% from 59,000 in 2019 to over 184,000 in 2023.
It’s a similar story for the nearby Oban distillery on the west coast. Despite being a hefty three hour drive from Edinburgh Oban has jumped to position three in Diageo’s rankings with an increase in visitors of 100,000 to 157,000. Just to remind you, that would have easily taken first place in the pre-covid rankings!
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Blair Athol Demoted To Fourth
The Blair Athol distillery is home to the Bell’s blend and had previously been Diageo’s most popular visitor center. Conveniently located on one of the main routes to Speyside, Blair Athol is a good example to show the impact Diageo’s attention can have on its distilleries.
Blair Athol wasn’t included in the renovations and its visitor numbers increased just 5%. By comparison Caol Ila, another remote island distillery (the 140 mile trip from Glashow to the Johnnie Walker experience at Caol Ila will still take you 5 hours) was included in the renovations. In terms of Diageo’s total standings Caol Ila still sits at position 11 of 13 however it has seen an impressive 171% increase in visitors compared to 2019. Those increases are in line with the figures seen for the top three distilleries that also benefited from the investment.
Just The Start For Scotch Whisky Tourism
Katie Harris, managing Director of Diageo Scotland Brand Homes, said about the results: “We are incredibly proud to have welcomed more than a million people through our doors for the first time in Scotland, but we believe this is just the start and there is a powerful opportunity for further growth, with all the positive benefits that will bring to Scotland.”
The scotch whisky industry employs more than 41,000 people in Scotland, with a further 25,000 jobs across the rest of the UK indirectly supported by the industry. With more than 2 million visitors across all distilleries in 2022 the Scotch Whisky Association states that whisky is now the most popular tourist attraction in Scotland.
Scotch has a lot of potential, and visitor centers are a proven way of getting customers to engage with brands with long lasting benefits. From Michelin Star restaurants on site and rooftop bars, to more traditional fill your own bottles, distilleries continue to develop their visitor experiences and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
