Wallace Monument visited by 90,000 tourists in 2014

OVER 90,000 tourists from 80 different countries visited the national Wallace Monument in the last year, according to new statistics.

More than 100,000 people visited the Wallace Monument in person or virtually. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Another 30,000 people from 122 countries visited “virtually”, via the Monument’s website.

Countries represented in the 2015 tourist influx included most of Europe, the USA, India, China, Iceland, Barbados, Qatar and Taiwan.

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Stirling District Tourism, which manages the 220-ft sandstone tower, said the figures demonstrated the international appeal of the Monument - completed in 1869 in memory of Scots hero Sir William Wallace who led his men to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, and whose life was glamourised in the blockbuster film Braveheart which this year celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Ken Thomson, Stirling District Tourism’s marketing manager said that the Mel Gibson movie was still one of the biggest factors in the Monument’s continuing tourism success.

Mr Thomson said: “Even after 20 years the number of visitors who credit the 1995 Academy Award winning film as their reason to visit the monument is astounding. In a recent survey Braveheart was identified by over 20 per cent of participants as having influenced their decision to visit Stirling and its attractions.”

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Liz Buchanan, Visit Scotland’s Regional Director for Stirling, said: “The National Wallace Monument is one of Scotland’s most instantly recognisable landmarks and, over the past 20 years, it has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity as a site of pilgrimage for fans of Braveheart. Undoubtedly a jewel in our tourism crown, it is no surprise that this icon continues to attract visitors from every corner of the globe.”