scotch whisky tourism

8/13/2019 Scotch Whisky Tourism

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Scotch Whisky Tourism

Yaroshok Lada

Certificate in Hotel and Tourism Management Operations

HTMi Switzerland


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Introduction

Scotland is a famous destination for a lot of tourists from all over the world. It

attracts people with its culture, history and traditions. According to Visit

Scotland (2013), there are a big percentage of people (48%), who have visited

historic houses, stately homes and castles. Trying local food and beverages is a

key aspect of experiencing Scotland and a key activity amongst many tourists (50

%). About 20% of people have chosen to visit a whisky distillery as their top

activity (Visit Scotland, 2013). That means, that Whisky plays an important role

in developing of tourism in Scotland. The following paper is trying to find out,

how much Whisky affects the tourism industry in Scotland, who belongs to the

target market and what is the motivation for tourists to visit Scotch Whisky

Trails.

Whisky regions

The Scotch Whisky Association identifies 5 regions of Whisky: Highland,

Speyside, Islay, Lowland and Cambeltown (Scotch Whisky Association, 2013).

Every Whisky has its own special taste, depending on the region where it has

been made and the factors, such as the place where water has been obtained or

the different forms of the copper stills were used. Distillery trails are an essential

experience for visitors, because it helps to explain them a lot of complexities of

Scotch Whiskies (Visit Scotland, 2013).


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Three the most famous distilleries

According to Martinolli and Bereziat (2010), the most popular Whisky Distillery

is Tullibardine Distillery, Blackford. The popularity of this distillery is

conditioned by its rich history and its traditional way of producing Single Malt

Whisky. The history of this distillery goes back to 1488, where King James IV

bought the beer from the brewery, which stood where today the Tullibardine

Distillery can be found. (Tullibardine Highland Single Malt Whisky, 2013). That is

the reason, why it has attracted 130,000 visitors at 2009 (Martinolli and

Bereziat, 2010). Edradour Distillery had 82,195 visitors at 2009 (Martinolli and

Bereziat, 2010). It is known as the smallest distillery in Scotland,still housed intheir original farm building; it is located in Highland Region and Whisky is

produced by hand (Edradour Distillery, 2013).Talisker Distillery Visitor Centre

with its 52,000 visitors in the year 2009 found its position on the top-3 the most

attended distilleries in Scotland (Martinolli and Bereziat, 2010). It is famous

because of the location (The Isle of Skye beautiful views) and the taste of its

Whisky (Discovering Distilleries, 2013).

Target market of Scotch Whisky Trails

According to report of 4-consulting (2013), Nearly nine out of ten visits (86.1%)

came from outside of Scotland with nearly two thirds (62.3%) coming from

outside of the UK.A lot of local people visit distilleries, because in their opinionit is the part of their history and they want to get an experience of trying

different whiskies from different parts of Scotland and to compare them. (BBC

News Scotland, 2011).


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Nationalities

According to 4-Consulting (2013), the most rapid increasing target market for

Scotland is China. Research shows, that tourists from China often bought

products that had a connection to Scotland. Scotland's largest tourism market is

the United States. It was shown through a survey, that when American's had to

think of Products, famous people, brands or even events from Scotland, they first

associated Scotch Whisky (31%) with Scotland, leaving the Edinburgh Festival

Fringe in second place with 17%. (4-Consulting, 2013) Through research

Campbell Evans (Scotland Whisky Association Director of Government and

Consumer Affairs)has found out, that countries which are big export markets for

Scotland often spend more on tourism in Scotland. Meanwhile, many countries,

where the amount of visitors traveling to Scotland has grown, also tend to pay

more for a bottle of Scotch whisky. (ScotlandWhisky, 2011). Hamilton (2011)

mentioned, that Laphroaig (a distillery visitor centre) alone had visitors from

more than 61 different countries within the time interval of June 2010 to May

2011 including countries like the U.S., Sweden, Canada, Denmark, Germany and

the Netherlands.

Economic Impact of Whisky Tourism

As 4-Consulting report indicates (2011), that, regarding to Whisky Tourism,

visitor centres and distilleries provide 640 work places. Moreover, they have a

very important role in the income of Scotland, bringing more than 30.4 million

in profit for the country. It also included approximately 14 million in profit for

employers working within the visitor centres and distilleries across Scotland

with overall estimate of 47.7 million.


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To get the most out of the connection between Scotch whisky and tourism, state

authority and other hospitality organizations in 2003 established Scotch Whisky

Embassy. Taking 90 hotels, golf courses, bars and restaurants in consideration,

which meet certain expectation, the contribution of this network to the economy

of Scotland was 43.2 millions and Scotch Whisky Embassy has offered 1,400

work places (Scotch Whisky Association, 2011).

Spirit of Speyside Festival as a way to attract tourists

One of the biggest Whisky Events in Scotland is Spirit of Speyside Whisky

Festival. It takes place every year at the beginning of May and attracts people

from all around the world (Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, 2013). In 2013 it

attracted 32,000 visitors and generated approximately 1.65 million for the local

economy (Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, 2013). According to the report of

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival (2013), There was a marked increase in

visitors from the USA and Canada, and visitors also travelled from as far afield as

Russia, Brazil and South Africa. Scandinavian visitors continued to represent the

keenest Speyside whisky fans who were attracted by the exceptional choice of

whisky-based events and activities. Some of popular events were included to

the Festival, such as Whisky Awards Judging and Awards Lunch and the Opening

Dinner, as well the exclusive three-day Whisky School at the historic Knockando

Distillery (Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, 2013). It all makes this festival

interesting for visitors and attracts them with its atmosphere, hospitality,

friendliness and expert knowledge, noticed James Campbel, the Festival

Chairman (Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, 2013).


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Touristsmotivation of doing Scotch Whisky Trails

Scotch Whisky Trails are very popular. Scotch Whisky Association (2013) points

out, that many things can influence the different tastes of whiskies, for example

what the source of the water is, or the shape of the still the whisky is coming

from.A lot of visitors want to get an experience in offering Scotch Whisky Trails.

They also can join smelling tours. It helps visitors to understand, how to

determine the quality of Whisky. These trails also offer an excursion around the

major area of whisky distilleries and let the visitors to enjoy breath-taking views

of the beautiful countryside (WhiskyTrail, 2011). Moreover, Scotch whisky is

very fashionable drink nowadays. It has overtaken French cognac as the most

popular premium spirit in Germany's restaurants and bars(Scotland.com, 2007).

As VisitBritain (2010) suggests, that luxurious goods, such as Scotch whisky,

Burberry, Vivienne Westwood and etc. are playing an important role in attracting

visitors from abroad, especially from Asian countries. That means, that Scotch

Whisky Trails can be identified as a prestigious kind of tourism.Germany is one

of the largest target markets of Scotland. According to Scottish Government

Social Research (2007), Germans determine Whisky trails and authentic music

events section as must see and must do activities while travelling to Scotland

for a holiday.However, there are a lot of people from the United Kingdom as well

who are going to Scotch Whisky Tours. As BBC News Scotland (2011) suggests,

the main reason for them to do it is the historical part of their country and it is

the heritage from the previous times. They also point out the beautiful

outstanding sceneries and mention the tasting of whiskies from different parts

of Scotland as the reasons too.


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Conclusion

As a conclusion we can say, that Whisky Tourism plays an important role in

tourism of Scotland. It attracts people from all around the world, including local

people, and helps the economy of this country to grow. We can also add, that

Spirit of Speyside Festival promotes this kind of tourism very well. The visitors

are motivated to make such tours, because they explain the process of making

whisky. It is also considered a prestigious kind of tourism and for many people it

is the main motivation.


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References

BBC News Scotland (2011) Whisky Distilleries draw tourists. Available from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk [Accessed 30 November 2013].

Discovering Distilleries (2013) Visit Talisker Distillery. Available from:

http://www.discovering-distilleries.com [Accessed 30 November 2013].

Edradour.com (2013) Discover. Available from: http://www.edradour.com

[Accessed 30 November 2013].

Frazer, M., Chamberlain, V., MacLardie, J. and Treanor, S. (2011) Scotlands

International Strategy: Research To Support Scotlands Strategy For Stronger

Engagement With Germany. Edinburgh: Crown Publishers.

Hamilton D. (2011) Glasses raised as whisky tourism brings in 27m. Available

from: http://www.heraldscotland.com [Accessed 30 November 2013].

Martinolli, M. and Bereziat, C. (2010) The 2009 Visitor Attraction Monitor.

Glasgow: VisitScotland.

Scotch Whisky Association (2011) Scotch Whisky Tourism Gives Massive Boost to

Economy. Edinburgh: Scotch Whisky Association.

Scotch Whisky Association (2013) Whisky Regions & Tours. Available from:

http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/ [Accessed 30 November 2013].


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Scotland.com (2011) The Whisky Trail. Available at: http://www.scotland.org/

[Accessed 1 December 2013].

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival (2013) 2013 Festival Biggest and Best Yet!

Available from: http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/news.php?id=133 [Accessed

30 November 2013].

VisitBritain (2010) Contemporary Culture. Available at:

http://www.visitbritain.org/ [Accessed 1 December 2013].

VisitScotland (2013) Scotland Visitors Survey 2011 & 2012 Food and Drink

Extract. Available from: http://www.visitscotland.org/ [Accessed 24 October

2013].

VisitScotland (2013) Distilleries. Available from: http://www.visitscotland.com/

[Accessed 30 November 2013].

Whisky.com (2013) Tullibardine Highland Malt Scotch Whisky. Available from:

http://www.whisky.com/brands/tullibardine_brand.html [Accessed 1 December

2013].

WhiskyTrail (2011) What is Scotlands Malt Whisky Trail? Available from:

http://www.whiskytrail.com/what-is-scotlands-malt-whisky-trail/ [Accessed

30 November 2013].


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scotch whisky tourism

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