Brexit boosts The Scotch Whisky Experience

The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh has credited June’s Brexit vote with making 2016 its “busiest ever year”.

The devaluation of the pound following the Brexit vote boosted visitors to The Scotch Whisky Experience in 2016

The attraction welcomed 326,000 visitors in its last financial year – a 9% increase – with the number of people taking tours rising to 176,000 – a rise of 12%.

Gross sales increased 12% to £8.2 million, including a 10% rise in tour revenue, 11% increase in shop revenue, and 15% growth in income from the events and hospitality spaces.

The Scotch Whisky Experience said its figures strengthened following the UK’s EU referendum in June, which resulted in a vote to leave the European Union.

Following the vote, the value of the pound plummeted against the euro and US dollar, meaning the UK became a more attractive destination for foreign travellers and more UK citizens decided to holiday at home.

Visitors from China shot up 30%, but the Scotch Whisky Experience said this “can be attributed to longer-term trends”, rather than Brexit.

“All of our key regions, which include Europe, North America and England have reported increases of between 15% and 25% over the past year,” said Julie Trevisan Hunter, head of marketing at The Scotch Whisky Experience.

“The weakness of the pound following the UK’s Brexit vote made Scotland an attractive holiday destination, especially for short-haul travellers from Europe, for whom Edinburgh is a popular weekend break destination.

“The value of the pound versus the euro has made ‘staycations’ much more attractive for people from the rest of the UK as well.”

She added: “We have a continual programme of investment planned for the centre over the current year, which we hope will help us to build upon these fantastic figures.”