In 2018 Diageo announced a $190 million (£150 million) plan to invigorate whisky tourism across Scotland. Little did it know that 2019 would be the last normal year of tourism in Scotland until 2023.
Two years after the ambitious announcement and with the development and improvement across 11 sites underway, the Covid pandemic would 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’s total investment into tourism attractions across Scotland was $236 million (£185 million), including $108 million (£85 million) in their new Edinburgh based Johnnie Walker Experience that opened in 2021. This month Diageo’s published visitor numbers show that their investment has finally paid off as visitor numbers exceed pre-covid levels.
Diageo’s Investment In Whisky Tourism
In 2023 the total number of visitors to Diagoe’s 13 visitor centers exceeded 1 million for the first time. For the last complete year of data in 2019 the total visitor numbers across the full 67 distilleries and visitor centers in Scotland was around 1.69 million. This suggests that visitor numbers have not only returned to pre-covid levels. Looking at the performance of Diageo’s individual distilleries, it also appears that growth has resumed.
Unsurprisingly, the Edinburgh based Johnnie Walker Experience is by far Diageo’s biggest attraction. With 359,212 visitors in 2023 the Princess Street venue has seen triple the visitors of the most popular center in 2019, which was Arran/Lochranza with 115,000 visitors—meaning that the Edinburgh site is probably the most popular whisky attraction in Scotland. The success of the completely new site is impressive, but it is also the easiest to get to, and is likely to appeal to passing traffic who wouldn’t necessarily choose to go out of their way to visit a distillery.
Island Appeal For Whisky Lovers
Ease of access isn’t everything with whisky fans though, as shown by Diageo’s second most popular distillery. Talisker distillery on the remote Isle of Skye is more than 5 hours from Glasgow, but 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 Oban on the west coast, which despite being a hefty three hour drive from Edinburgh has jumped to position three in Diageo’s rankings, increasing visitors by 100,000 to 157,000.
Caol Ila on Islay is another remote island distillery that has benefited as part of the investment. In terms of Diageo’s total standings it still sits at position 11 of 13 but it has seen an impressive 171% increase in visitors compared to 2019—in line with the increases seen for the top three. That’s an impressive pilgrimage considering the 140 mile trip from Glashow to the Johnnie Walker experience at Caol Ila will still take you 5 hours.
Just The Start For Scotch 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.