ASVA Visitor Trend Report, October 2017 Usable data was received from 212 sites. The total number of visits recorded in October 2017 Dashboard Summary was 2,374,895; this compares to 2,304,486 in 2016 and indicates an increase of 3.1%. October 2017

ASVA's Commentary and Observations for October 2017 Excluding Country Parks October 17 2,374,895 3.1% p Year-to-Date 25,246,852 9.0% p As can be seen below, October 2017 shows an overall increase of 3.1% over the same month in 2016 (which is slightly lower than previous months) but the year to date shows good growth with total numbers up so far by 9.0% on 2016. It Including Country Parks should be noted that the respective figures in 2016 showed increases of 5.6% and 4.2%, so growth this year continues October 17 3,082,888 1.7% p to be sustainable. Overall in October, nearly 60% of respondents show an increase. Year-to-Date 34,041,357 6.7% p

The dashboard shows quite a mixed picture with two of the four regions (excluding country parks) showing a decrease Per Region and of the eleven categories, just five show an increase. Museums & Galleries show an above average increase of 7.5% which can be partly attributed to strong performances at larger sites including National Museum of (18%) and Northern Scotland 243,988 2.8% p This report was the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (34%). The Loch Ness area continues to show a considerably above average *Northern Scotland † 197,498 -0.2% q produced for ASVA by increase (25%). Eastern Scotland 1,317,695 6.2% p Southern Scotland 87,968 -11.2% q Weather-wise, October started unsettled with near average temperatures but after the first week it was mainly warm *Southern Scotland † 86,401 -11.4% q with south-westerly winds. The mean temperature was 1.8C above the long-term average. Rainfall was below average Western Scotland 1,433,237 -1.5% q th in the east but above average in the west. But it was a cloudy month with just 75% of average sunshine, the 8 dullest *Western Scotland † 773,301 0.6% p October in a series from 1929. Per Attraction Category

Heritage/historic property/stately 611,123 2.8% p house Museums & Galleries 1,009,949 7.5% p Zoo/wildlife/safari 100,109 -8.4% q park/aquarium Sports & activities 13,241 -27.5% q Forest park/ 707,993 -2.8% q country park Gardens 88,282 -9.0% q Science Centre 32,873 1.3% p Distillery/whisky 84,456 -4.1% q related Visitor Centre 218,264 -0.4% q Boat Trip/Marine 99,034 7.0% p Other 117,564 3.1% p Spend per Ticket SPV1 Retail SPV Catering SPV ticket sold2 4.73 (104) 6.18 (60) 1.83 (65) 0.48 (9) * † Excluding Country Parks 0.8% p -10.5% q -12.9% q -8.7% q

For further information, contact ASVA at: Confidential information for ASVA members only e-mail: [email protected] Please do not further distribute this report without permission from ASVA Tel: 0141 229 0923 Any commentary to press will be managed by ASVA 2 Year-on-Year Visitor Numbers Visitor Numbers

3.1% p

Latest Month 4,171,698

3,765,516 2,374,895 2,304,486

2,917,011 2,651,561 2,746,044 2,685,164 2,374,895

1,341,546 1,433,075 1,197,318 1,242,947 1,160,342

Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Apr-17 May-17 Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17 Oct-17 Additional Comments Oct-17 Oct-16 Positive influences

Blair Castle "Brilliant finish to the season with record breaking numbers, castle now shut to the public and open mon-fri fro travel trade by Ticket SPV Retail SPV Catering SPV Ticket Spend

appointment only." 0.8% p £4.73 Low Parks Museum "The Sonica Festival installation at the Mausoleum brought in some extra visitors as well as our Halloween related events." £4.69 Retail Spend -12.9% q Macduff "Last month has been the busiest October in 20 years as the aquarium reopened following 4 months of closure for the Marine Aquarium refurbishment of our central exhibit. In addition, the number of free visitors was higher than normal, due to the pilot joint scheme for Catering Spend

Aberdeenshire attractions that ran during this time." -8.7% q

£2.10 £1.83 New "On 20-21 October we hosted Shining Lives, an outdoor audio visual light projection event which attracted an estimated

Visitor Centre 4,000 visitors to the site. This free event was part of the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017 celebrations."

£0.52 £0.48

Negative influences Oct 2017 Oct 2016 Calanais Visitor Centre "No Mod in Stornoway this year resulting in visitor numbers down 7% on last October."

Chatelherault Country Park "Main route from Hamilton to Chatelherault was closed for ten days during October which may explain drop in visitor figures."

Museum of Childhood "Closed to public on Tues 24th for Gallery Redevelopment (until April 2018)." Spend per ticket sold

Museum of Lead Mining "We close for the season on 30 September but we do open for parties who express an interest. This is staffed by volunteers." -10.5% q £6.91

The "The Burrell Collection is closed for refurbishment until 2020." £6.18

The Hunterian Museum "The Mackintosh House is being refurbished so this has affected our ticket income as we are offering free entry at times of major and Art Gallery disruption."

______Oct 2017 Oct 2016 1 Ticket spend per visitor (Ticket SPV) divides the total ticket revenue by the number of visitors from ticket-revenue submitting sites. 2 Spend per ticket sold divides the total ticket revenue by the number of tickets sold. 3

Site-specific report October 2017 u Responses for October 2017 were received from 245 sites. u 17 sites requested confidentiality, and although their numbers have been included in the calculations, they do not appear in the tables below. u 10 sites have not submitted results in October 2016 and thus do not appear in the tables below. u 23 sites were closed for the season in October 2016 and thus do not appear in the tables below.

October 2017 October 2017 2017 2016 Y-o-Y 2017 2016 Y-o-Y Aberdour Castle 1332 904 47% Culzean Country Park 16678 13719 22% Aberlour Distillery 1198 1031 16% Dallas Dhu Distillery 520 270 93% 761 694 10% Dalwhinnie Distillery Visitor Centre 4587 5945 -23% Almond Valley Heritage Trust 10036 11477 -13% Dawyck Botanic Garden 3665 5036 -27% Arbroath Abbey 938 772 22% Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery 3560 3636 -2% Arduaine Garden 454 606 -25% Dirleton Castle 1829 2276 -20% Bachelors' Club 14 12 17% Discovery Point 5933 5392 10% Balmoral Castle 550 717 -23% Doune Castle 7895 6702 18% Bannockburn 5343 5161 4% Drum Castle, Garden & Estate 1722 1849 -7% 22 77 -71% Drumpellier Country Park 66179 67599 -2% Benmore Botanic Garden 4780 5611 -15% Dryburgh Abbey 1121 1133 -1% Black House 739 575 29% Dumbarton Castle 1574 1322 19% Blackness Castle 3379 1779 90% & Camera Obscura 1310 1358 -4% Blair Athol Distillery Visitor Centre 5867 7043 -17% Dunblane Cathedral 1439 1518 -5% Castle 218 662 -67% Dunfermline Palace 1110 739 50% Braemar Castle 1142 982 16% Dunstaffnage Castle 1509 850 78% Branklyn Garden 602 186 224% Bus Tours 65568 60799 8% British Golf Museum 19635 17423 13% Edinburgh Castle 164332 151063 9% Brodick Garden & Country Park 4250 3539 20% Edinburgh Zoo 43365 53212 -19% Brodie Castle 2935 1796 63% Elgin Cathedral 1294 1372 -6% Broughton House & Garden 1567 1537 2% Falkland Palace & Garden 6253 4389 42% Caerlaverock Castle 2781 3028 -8% FC Scotland - Glenmore Visitor Centre 10697 10844 -1% Calanais Visitor Centre 3345 3599 -7% FC Scotland - Glentress 20891 20891 0% Calderglen Country Park 75122 97123 -23% FC Scotland - Glentrool Visitor Centre 3770 4712 -20% Callendar House 4195 3331 26% FC Scotland - Kirroughtree Visitor Centre 7316 7874 -7% Caol Ila Distillery Visitor Centre 1073 1532 -30% FC Scotland - The Lodge Forest Visitor Centre 12369 14415 -14% Cardhu Distillery Visitor Centre 812 978 -17% Floors Castle 1711 2178 -21% Castle Campbell 1370 820 67% Fort George 4776 4424 8% Castle Fraser, Garden & Estate 1891 1935 -2% Fyvie Castle 1277 1140 12% Centre for Contemporary Arts 33439 33332 0% Gallery of Modern Art 59707 56694 5% 3104 5699 -46% Geilston Garden 948 1098 -14% Clynelish Distillery Visitor Centre 739 414 79% Georgian House 4068 4384 -7% Cragganmore Distillery Visitor Centre 607 791 -23% Gladstone's Land 1666 3358 -50% Craigievar Castle 271 132 105% Cathedral 20253 20830 -3% Craigmillar Castle 2426 1873 30% Glasgow Museums Resource Centre 1862 1243 50% Crarae Garden 620 863 -28% Glasgow Science Centre 32873 32459 1% Crathes Castle, Garden & Estate 3426 3401 1% Glen Ord Distillery Visitor Centre 2093 2073 1% Cruachan Visitor Centre 5433 4190 30% Glencoe 2950 2548 16% Culloden Battlefield visitor centre 17605 13702 28% Glenkinchie Distillery Visitor Centre 2955 4574 -35% Culzean Castle 6046 6199 -2% Glenlivet Distillery 3453 3665 -6% 4

October 2017 October 2017 2017 2016 Y-o-Y 2017 2016 Y-o-Y Grampian Transport Museum 3557 3511 1% 62535 58572 7% Greenbank Garden 822 1900 -57% Nevis Range 7781 13223 -41% Haddo House 696 609 14% New Abbey Corn Mill 341 255 34% - Newtonmore 6396 6401 0% New Lanark Visitor Centre 9549 6256 53% Highland Wildlife Park 12248 15562 -21% New Lanark World Heritage Site 16000 36494 -56% Hill of Tarvit Mansionhouse & Garden 765 961 -20% Newhailes 676 405 67% Holmwood 453 694 -35% Oban Distillery Visitor Centre 4140 4993 -17% House Of Dun 316 299 6% Paisley Museum 3265 2697 21% House of the Binns 105 78 35% Palacerigg Country Park 36503 35270 3% Hugh Miller Museum & Birthplace Cottage 124 176 -30% Pitmedden Garden 578 402 44% Huntingtower Castle 613 541 13% Pollok House 4902 5048 -3% Huntly Castle 900 722 25% Preston Mill 42 50 -16% Inchcolm Abbey 1377 2130 -35% Priorwood Garden 582 1670 -65% Inchmahome Priory 1362 1529 -11% Provand's Lordship 6610 6207 6% Inveraray Castle 8487 8423 1% Queensferry Museum 407 147 177% Inveresk Lodge Garden 329 33 897% 114087 113644 0% Inverewe Garden & Estate 3819 3933 -3% Robert Burns Birthplace Museum 17988 15967 13% Iona Abbey 2979 3610 -17% Robert Burns Centre 2319 2428 -4% Jacobite Cruises Ltd 17213 14492 19% Robert Burns House 823 851 -3% Jedburgh Abbey 1520 1637 -7% Robert Smail's Printing Works 466 357 31% John Gray Centre 13668 12218 12% Rosslyn Chapel 14329 13649 5% Johnstons of Elgin 14184 16348 -13% Rothesay Castle 749 975 -23% Kellie Castle & Garden 1481 1553 -5% Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 69484 73722 -6% Kelpies Tours 2085 1892 10% Royal Burgh of Culross 1611 1424 13% Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum 103922 105628 -2% Royal Lochnagar Distillery Visitor Centre 1492 1950 -23% Lagavulin Distillery Visitor Centre 1902 2508 -24% Scapa Distillery Visitor Centre 549 341 61% Lauriston Castle 11088 5966 86% Scotland Street School Museum 6701 3994 68% Linlithgow Palace 5347 4681 14% Scottish Crannog Centre 2924 3095 -6% Loch Leven 1175 1411 -17% Scottish Dolphin Centre 8167 8355 -2% Logan Botanic Garden 2070 2338 -11% Scottish Fisheries Museum 7620 7559 1% Low Parks Museum 2119 2340 -9% Scottish National Gallery 116599 115237 1% Macduff Marine Aquarium 9473 5445 74% Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 52695 39203 34% Mackintosh Queen’s Cross 907 443 105% Scottish National Portrait Gallery 32595 28141 16% Malleny Garden 149 436 -66% Scottish Seabird Centre 20868 22360 -7% Melrose Abbey 3297 3030 9% 2978 2658 12% Moirlanich Longhouse 23 42 -45% Souter Johnnie's Cottage 131 42 212% Mugdock Country Park 50584 49326 3% St Andrews Castle 5617 4587 22% Museum of Childhood 9868 13744 -28% St Andrews Cathedral 2983 2737 9% 7688 5807 32% St Giles' Cathedral 103690 100226 3% National Museum of Flight 7635 6797 12% St Vigeans 47 7 571% National Museum of Rural Life 7796 7195 8% Stanley Mills 1232 796 55% National Museum of Scotland 194120 163948 18% Stirling Castle 39548 34360 15% 5

October 2017 2017 2016 Y-o-Y Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum 3594 4096 -12% 403954 413483 -2% Strathisla Distillery 1215 1238 -2% Summerlee Museum 12426 14404 -14% Sweetheart Abbey 605 527 15% Talisker Distillery Visitor Centre 5206 6813 -24% Tantallon Castle 3313 3243 2% House 2519 1879 34% The Black Watch Castle and Museum 8206 8985 -9% The Falkirk Wheel 49579 46961 6% The Famous Grouse Experience 5619 5920 -5% The Glasgow School of Art 942 941 0% The Hill House 3645 3210 14% The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery 16166 18068 -11% The Nelson Monument 2373 1588 49% The People's Palace Museum 31278 18368 70% The People's Story 4088 3689 11% The Real Mary King's Close 23197 23583 -2% The Royal Yacht Britannia 32242 31106 4% The Scotch Whisky Experience 33317 28998 15% The Scott Monument 6268 4728 33% The Scottish Parliament 22896 22514 2% The St Mungo Museum of Religious Life And Art 11744 11542 2% Thomas Carlyle's Birthplace 17 18 -6% Threave Castle 339 1493 -77% Threave Estate 5812 10164 -43% Tomatin Distillery Visitor Centre 3552 3358 6% Urquhart Castle 30053 25797 16% 2866 1403 104% Weaver's Cottage 46 28 64% Writers Museum 4275 4018 6%