Whisky festival brings a big boost to the region

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival continues to provide a major economic boost to the North's economy, attracting a significant loyal audience.

And a large number of people attended the celebrated festival for the first time, according to a survey published today.

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Market Research and Festival Evaluation 2011 report found that the five-day event, which ran from April 28 to May 2, attracted over 47,000 visits to its packed programme of whisky-themed events.

It generated £613,000 towards the Speyside economy and £722,000 towards Scotland as a whole.

There were well over 200 events running throughout the five days.

The festival has grown in importance over the past 12 years to become one of the leading whisky events in the world.

Almost half of this year’s festival visitors were from overseas, with whisky aficionados travelling from as far afield as Israel, Columbia, New Zealand, Australia and Russia.

Scandinavian visitors continue to represent the keenest Speyside whisky fans with other connoisseurs coming from countries such as Germany, US, Netherlands, Canada, Italy and Japan.

Festival chairman Jim Royan said: “Year after year the festival continues to attract visitors from around the globe, with many already having attended twice or even up to six times before.

"And encouragingly a large percentage of new visitors this year were experiencing the festival for the first time.

"Hopefully they will find the festival as compelling as our many loyal and regular visitors, and come back to join in the festivities with us time and time again.

“We certainly know they enjoyed themselves, because almost 100% of our visitors said they were 'very happy' or 'happy' with their festival experience, enjoying the atmosphere, hospitality, friendliness, expert knowledge and, this year in particular, the weather!”

Popular events on this year’s festival programme included the Whisky Awards Finals and the opening dinner; the many whisky dinners running throughout the festival as well as the highly regarded and exclusive three-day Whisky School where enthusiasts learned about the science, art and folklore of the whisky industry at the historic Knockando Distillery.

Several events also take place locally including at Teh Glenlivet Distillery and also at Craggan Mill restaurant by Grantown.

Mr Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland commented: “It is wonderful to see the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival continuing to attract large numbers of Scottish and overseas visitors to the event.

“The economic impact generated for the local area shows the importance of events in Scotland and its continued success shows the appetite for Scottish produce, culture and heritage in an iconic setting.”

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