Edinburgh Castle crowns summer glory with record September

Published on Thursday 16 December 2010 15:02

VISITORS flocking to Edinburgh Castle have given the attraction a record-breaking tourism boom.

The castle experienced its best August in four years and the best September on record, with visitor numbers increasing by 12 per cent over the month.

Over the busy tourist season between April and September, the castle saw a four per cent rise in visitor numbers and welcomed 832,399 people through its door.

It has helped Historic Scotland - which runs 78 ticketed attractions across Scotland - record its best season yet.

Throughout its sites, the government agency saw a total of 2,463,461 visitors during the season, beating its previous record from 2006-07 by almost 5,000 visitors.

However, some of the Lothians' other attractions saw a slight drop in visitor numbers between April and September.

Despite being up by 26 per cent in July and 17 per cent in September, the number of people visiting Linlithgow Palace fell six per cent overall.

It had a total of 45,873 visitors during the tourist season.

The number of people taking in Craigmillar Castle fell by 5.5 per cent, with 15,655 visitors in total, although the attraction had a 12 per cent rise in numbers in September.

Along with Edinburgh Castle, which is Scotland's top paid-for attraction, Historic Scotland's other main sites, Stirling Castle and Urquhart Castle near Inverness, also experienced a visitor boom.

Historic Scotland put the increase in visitors to Edinburgh Castle and its other attractions down to a combination of factors, including an increase in membership.

There has also been an increase in tourists from the Far East, as well as from continental and eastern Europe, which has been supported by an increase in the number of direct flights into Scotland.

Historic Scotland's head of commercial and visitor operations, Stephen Duncan, said: "Our membership numbers remain at an all-time high of 114,386 - up 11 per cent on last year - reflecting the superb value for money the Historic Scotland membership scheme offers.

"We've also recorded strong performances in several key commercial areas. For example, our latest weddings income figures are six per cent ahead of last year and our retail takings were five per cent above last year's."