A pair of Courier Country distilleries have enjoyed a jump in visitor numbers in the last year.
Kingsbarns Distillery in Fife welcomed 30% more people through their doors in 2017 compared to the previous year, while Perthshire’s Blair Atholl Distillery saw a rise of 18%.
The two businesses were among a host of attractions across Scotland reporting a bumper year in 2017.
The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) said 232 of its members had reported 30 million visits, a rise of almost 10% on the previous year.
The top two sites – the National Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh Castle – each attracted more than two million visits, the first time any Scottish visitor attraction had surpassed the two million milestone.
Castles and heritage sites fared particularly well with a 14% increase in visits, while visits to museums and galleries were up by 7.5%.
Last year also saw a 13.6% rise in the numbers visiting gardens and an almost 12% increase in people going to distilleries and whisky-related attractions.
Cabinet secretary for culture, tourism and external affairs Fiona Hyslop said: “With Scotland’s iconic tourist sites attracting more than 30 million visits, 2017 was another hugely successful year for our world-class visitor attractions.
“Tourism is of vital importance to communities throughout Scotland, stimulating economic growth and promoting the importance of our cultural heritage to a wider audience.”
