Scotch whisky tourism has entered a new era. Following the disruption caused by COVID-19, visitor numbers have recovered beyond all previous records with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) reporting that 2.7 million people visited Scotch whisky distilleries in 2024, surpassing the previous pre-pandemic record of 2.61 million set in 2019.
Whisky visitor centres are now collectively Scotland’s most visited tourist attraction.
The 2024 figure is particularly noteworthy because it is a new all-time record and:
- exceeds the previous 2019 record of 2.61 million
- represents around a 35% increase over 2022
- confirms Scotch whisky visitor centres remain Scotland’s most visited tourist attraction.
Scotch whisky visitor centres generated over £85 million in visitor spending across Scotland’s whisky regions (latest published estimate) with Whisky tourism continuing to be particularly important for rural communities across Speyside, Islay, Campbeltown, Highland and the Islands.
Here is a collated list of individual Whisky Distillery visitor numbers sourced – when available – at different stages over the last few years:
Notes:
- Diageo is the only producer to regularly provide these figures and their last data set came from 2023;
- Some of the individual distillery data quoted are considerably out of date (e.g. 2013 for Glenmorangie and Edradour) but I have kept them on the list until I can find a more up to date alternative source. Edradour is also now closed to the public;
- A lot of international cruise ships visit Scottish islands which can inflate their visitor numbers;
- Before criticizing the data above, please help me to make it more accurate if you have more updated sources (online or printed) by contacting me here.
For reference from Inside the Cask: Raising a Dram to Scotch Whisky Tourism
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