Scotland sees huge boost in tourism – thanks to Outlander
Author Diana Gabaldon has received a special award for services to Scottish tourism
Scotland has seen a major tourism boost as a direct result of the "Outlander effect", with the number of visitors flocking to attractions featured in the TV series rising by 67 per cent since 2013.
Outlander author Diana Gabaldon, whose fantasy series inspired the 2014 TV adaptation starring Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, was presented an award for services to Scottish tourism following the findings, published by VisitScotland.
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"It's fabulous," Gabaldon said on receiving the award. "I hear a great deal from fans of mine who have read the books and seen the TV show, who come to Scotland because they all write to tell me how wonderful it was and they send me souvenirs of their trips.
"I have a stack of postcards as well as a small number of Loch Ness monsters scattered around the house."
Heughan, who plays Jamie Fraser in the show, posted the study's findings on Twitter, thanking Gabaldon for "celebrating our heritage, culture and bringing it to the rest of the world in your super books".
The Outlander Effect and Tourism report claims that there has been a rise of 887,000 to 1.5million visitors since 2013, with several key locations from the series seeing a huge surge in tourism. Doune Castle, which is used as Castle Leoch in the show, has seen the largest increase: 226.5% between 2013 and 2017.
Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, said: "The impact of Outlander on Scotland has been truly extraordinary.
"It has been amazing to see the global reaction to Diana Gabaldon's stories of adventure, romance and Scottish history - and the subsequent television adaptation - and seeing it translate into visitor growth for Scotland."
Outlander is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the UK
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