Visits to Scotland's museums and galleries up 20% in 2014 - Museums Association

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Visits to Scotland’s museums and galleries up 20% in 2014

Sector contributed £890m to the Scottish economy last year
Museums and galleries accounted for 42% of visitors to Scotland’s visitor attractions last year and contributed £890m to the economy, according to new research.

There were 27.65 million visits to the country’s 460 museums and galleries in 2014, up by 20% since 2012. The sector’s contribution to the Scottish economy was estimated to be 41% higher than 2012 figures.

“This research reconfirms the importance of the museums and galleries sector to Scotland’s economy and tourism,” said Joanne Orr, the chief executive officer of Museums Galleries Scotland, which commissioned the research.

“The results illustrate a sector which is developing in line with the national strategy for Scotland’s museums and galleries and undertaking inspirational work to develop their visitor experience for local, domestic and international visitors.”

The research also found that there were 14 million domestic tourism visits and 4.6 million overseas visits to Scottish museums and galleries in 2014. Non-domestic visits were up 16% compared to 2012. During the year, Scotland played host to several high-profile events, including the Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup, and Homecoming 2014.

The Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development, which carried the research, said that 3,522 tourism-related jobs associated with museums and galleries in Scotland last year.

The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh was the top free attraction in 2014 with more than 1.6 million visitors, although this was a 7.5% decrease compared to visitor numbers the previous year. The Scottish National Gallery saw a 39% jump in visits to 1.29 million. 

Historic Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle was the most popular paid attraction with 1.48 visits in 2014. In Glasgow, the Riverside Museum saw visitor numbers rise by 41.8% between 2013 and 2014 to one million.



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