Scottish tourism on the journey of recovery as visitor numbers soar

Scotland's visitor attractions experienced a 53.5% increase in numbers last year when restrictions for Covid were relaxed

Scotland received 15.053,896 visitors by 2022 - 63.2 per cent more than the year before.

Previous methods of managing visitors, including advance ticket reservation and guidance, have been dropped in favor of many venues when restrictions were relaxed.

Statewide, venues registered more than 48.6 million visitors - an increase of 53.5 per cent on 2021 although many venues lifted restrictions like prereservations, figures from Glasgow Caledonian University show.

But figures from Cedonian University's Moffat Centre at Glasgow and the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) show the total is still 16 per cent below pre-pandemic levels by 2019, despite the increase.

Professor John Lennon, director of Glasgow Caledonian University's Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism, said: "This survey evidences a recovering visitor attraction market dominated by domestic demand." attractions, dominated by domestic demand.

ASVA, therefore, urges the UK and Scottish governments to take additional measures in the face of rising costs in the industry and reflect on any policy decisions that could bring about increased financial pressure on the companies.

Glaswegian landmarks The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and the Riverside Museum recorded visitor growth of 237 percent and 275 percent respectively.