Parliament tours voted a success story

FREE guided tours of the Scottish Parliament have been voted a success.

The tours have been running at an average 80 per cent capacity since charges were scrapped in September last year, compared with just 45 per cent when people had to pay.

And a survey of visitors found a positive reaction from the public to the one-hour tours conducted by guides.

Seventy per cent said they had visited the parliament specifically for a guided tour; 93 per cent said the welcome from the guide was good; 89 per cent judged the content of the tour to be good; and 98 per cent said they would recommend a visit to the parliament.

The original decision to charge for tours of the parliament was branded "a disgrace" since taxpayers had already paid 414 million for the over-budget building.

The 3.50 price had risen to 5.85 by the time the cross-party Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body decided to end the charges.

The SPCB scrapped the contract with the Scottish Tour Guides Association after revenue fell 35 per cent below budget.