Scottish visitor attractions hold firm despite challenging year, new ASVA report reveals
Added: 18 May 2026
Scotland’s visitor attractions showed resilience throughout 2025, with new figures suggesting ASVA member attractions are continuing to outperform wider industry trends despite ongoing economic pressures.
The latest Scottish Visitor Attraction Report, published by the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) in partnership with the Moffat Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University, revealed that Scotland’s attractions recorded 39.4 million visits in 2025, a marginal decline of just 0.2% compared with 2024.
However, the report indicates that ASVA member attractions remain comparatively resilient, with paid attractions recording a 1.6% increase in visits year-on-year, though free attractions saw a 1.4% decline. Industry leaders say the figures reflect the strength of professional visitor attraction operators that continue to invest in visitor experience, digital engagement and diversified revenue streams.
Free attractions continued to dominate overall footfall, accounting for almost 58% of all visits in 2025, while attractions welcoming more than 100,000 annual visitors generated over half of all reported visits nationwide.
Edinburgh Castle retained its position as Scotland’s most visited paid attraction, welcoming more than two million visitors in 2025, while the National Museum of Scotland remained the country’s leading free attraction with over 2.3 million visits.
The report also highlights strong performance in visitor spending among attractions with established commercial operations. Average visitor spend reached £9.52 per visit on admissions, £3.41 on retail and £3.43 on catering, underlining the growing importance of secondary spend to attraction sustainability.
Digital engagement also remained a major strength across the sector. More than 94% of attractions reported having an active social media presence, while over 60% said they update their websites or social media channels daily.
Seasonality continues to shape the sector, with almost two-thirds of visits taking place between April and September. August remained the busiest month of the year, accounting for more than 13% of annual visits.
The findings also showed continued strength in Scotland’s cultural and heritage offering. Museums and galleries, outdoor attractions and historic sites remained among the country’s strongest-performing categories, while distilleries and breweries continued to attract adult audiences and strong international interest.
The results demonstrate the long-term value of collaboration, professional standards and continued investment across the visitor attraction sector.
The ASVA Scottish Visitor Attraction Report is based on responses from 363 attractions across Scotland, representing a response rate of more than 90%.
The full report can be accessed in the member’s area.