Spirit of Speyside contributes £750k to economy

Published: 21 October, 2010

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival contributed nearly £750,000 to the Scottish economy this year, attracting 26,000 visitors, a survey has shown.

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival contributed nearly £750,000 to the Scottish economy this year, attracting 26,000 visitors, a survey has shown.

A survey of the 2010 Festival found that the five-day event, held across Speyside from April 29 to May 3, generated £741,000 towards the country's economy.

The average spend per person was estimated at £343. This was significantly higher for overseas visitors (£465) and lower for Scottish (£134) and other UK visitors (£217).

More than half of those who attended were from overseas ? key countries were Scandinavia, Germany and Holland, as well as Russia, Congo, South Africa, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Other findings included:
99% of visitors said they were 'very happy' or 'happy' with their visit
67% of visitors were attending for the first time
47% of this year's visitors plan to attend the Festival in 2011.

Popular parts of the festival programme included the sell-out launch of a new Scottish musical, Whisky Kisses, from Highland theatre company Right Lines, which premiered at Dufftown's Glenfiddich Distillery, as well as the exclusive three-day whisky school where enthusiasts learned about the science, art and folklore of the whisky industry at Knockando distillery.

Festival chairman Jim Royan said: "Just over two thirds of the visitors to this year's festival were there for the first time and almost half of them intend to return, which can only mean the festival will continue to grow and offer exceptional entertainment to whisky lovers as well as being an exciting introduction to all that the Speyside area has to offer.

Research was conducted by Enigma Business Consulting. .