ALVA Press releases

INVESTMENT CONTINUES TO REAP REWARDS FOR SCOTTISH ATTRACTIONS IN 2012 ACCORDING TO VISITOR FIGURES ISSUED BY ALVA

12 March 2013: The most popular visited free attraction outside London was National Museum of Scotland – which had a 29.11% increase to 1,893,521 – placing it as the 9th most visited attraction in the UK, compared to 12th in 2011 and making it the first Scottish attraction to ever appear in the top 10 ALVA figures. The museum re-opened in July 2011 after a £47million development.

Edinburgh Castle was the 2nd most popular paid-for attraction outside London and the most popular in Scotland with 1,230,177 visitors, while Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum in Glasgow was the most popular combined Art Gallery and Museum in the UK, achieving a 5.8% increase with 1,037,594 visitors.

Of the 30 attractions in Scotland, 12 of these saw an increase in visitor numbers, with the biggest increase in visitors being at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, which was also refurbished in 2011, and saw an increase of 520% (comparing September 2011 with September 2012). Three further notable increases were the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art which saw a 4.5% increase, while the People’s Palace in Glasgow achieved a 24.6% increase, and Glasgow Museums Resource Centre saw a 23.5% increase.

Bernard Donoghue, Director of ALVA, commented: “The continual refurbishment in Scotland’s cultural and attraction sector, to locations such as Stirling Castle and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, is still making a huge contribution to the visitor economy.

He continued: “However, it was the weather rather than the displacement effect of the Olympic and Paralympic Games that took its toll on gardens or outdoor attractions throughout Scotland – as the very wet weather, combined with high petrol prices for travel to rural locations, which put many people off taking day
visits.”

For further information on ALVAand to download images,
please visit www.alva.org.uk
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For further Press Information and to arrange interviews, please contact
Rachel Aked
[email protected]
Tel: 07790 732448

NOTES TO EDITORS:
The members of ALVA are the UK's most popular, iconic and important museums, galleries,
palaces, castles, cathedrals, zoos, historic houses, heritage sites, gardens and leisure
attractions. The 44 members manage some nearly 2,000 tourist sites and welcome over 100
million domestic and overseas visitors each year; some 25% of the visits made annually in the
United Kingdom. To qualify for membership, the attractions must host over a million visitors
per year at their singly or centrally-managed sites.

March 2013

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