Rise in visitor figures at Dalwhinnie Distillery is toasted
Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry has been toasting the success of Scotch whisky tourism at Dalwhinnie Distillery.
Mr Hendry visited the distillery yesterday (Wednesday) to meet the people who make the famous Dalwhinnie Single Malt and to see the part they play in attracting visitors from around the world.
During his visit he welcomed the latest visitor figures for the distillery which highlighted the strong growth in Scotch Whisky tourism, with numbers increasing by 26% in the year to the end of June 2015.
Dalwhinnie Distillery - which is one of Scotland’s best known landmarks and seen by thousands of motorists on the A9 every day – welcomed 44,288 visitors in the year to June 2015, an increase of 9,112 from the previous year’s 35,176.
Diageo, the leading Scotch Whisky company, has 12 distillery visitor centres across Scotland and in total they saw a 13% increase in visitor numbers over the year, attracting a total of 370,150 guests – an increase of 43,775 on the previous year.
Mr Hendry said: "Over 40,000 visitors is an absolutely fantastic achievement! These visitor numbers are a testament to the excellent visitor experience on offer at Dalwhinnie Distillery.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my tour and can see why it is such a popular attraction for tourists. With the Whisky tourism set to continue to grow I am sure that the distillery will continue to go from strength to strength. Dalwhinnie Distillery is a real asset to our constituency and to the Highlands."
Dalwhinnie Distillery Manager Bruce Mackenzie welcomed Mr Hendry’s support and congratulated his team on delivering such a great experience to visitors.
He said: "We are delighted to welcome our new MP to the distillery and to share the success we’ve achieved in our visitor centre.
"People travel from all over the world to visit Dalwhinnie and to see where the Scotch Whisky they love is made and it’s a real privilege to be able to welcome them and to give them the best possible experience we can.
"That not only helps promote Dalwhinnie, it sells Scotch Whisky and Scotland to the world and allows us to contribute positively to the Highland tourist economy."
