Outlander effect on Scottish tourism ‘astonishing’ – VisitScotland

The Outlander TV series has had an “astonishing” effect on tourism in Scotland, according to a report.

The study, from national tourism organisation VisitScotland, found that people from around the world have been inspired to visit Scotland after watching the show, which has featured several Scottish locations.

Many places have seen visits more than double over the past 10 years such as Blackness Castle, which appeared in the first season and saw 77,326 visitors in 2024, more than four times the number in 2014, which was 16,559.

Newhailes House in Edinburgh, which featured in the fourth series released in 2018, saw visitor numbers leap from 4,831 in 2014 to 304,111 in 2024.

The hit TV show, starring Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, is based on the Outlander novel series by Diana Gabaldon.

The Outlander Effect report also looks at the impact of other productions which have used Scottish locations, such as World War Z, Indiana Jones, Braveheart, The Da Vinci Code, and Shetland.

One in five tourists say they have been inspired by film, TV and books featuring Scotland when choosing to visit the country, according to the report.

Jenni Steele, film and creative industries manager at VisitScotland, said: “The impact Outlander has had on Scottish tourism is astonishing. Not since Braveheart has a screen production had such a profound effect on our industry.

“I can’t believe that it’s only been 10 years since Outlander first premiered.

“We saw straight away how fans were reacting to the show; they had a hunger to visit the real Scotland, to immerse themselves in our history, culture and, of course, our beautiful landscapes, and that desire remains strong.

“Outlander is continually cited by visitors in our surveys, and each season premiere sees a spike in online interest for Scotland. It also looks like new prequel series, Blood Of My Blood, could carry on that Scottish fandom.

“The series provides a platform for us to market Scotland to the North American market and key European markets and is an opportunity for businesses to engage with a captive audience.

“The breadth of the filming locations and Scotland’s integral place in the storyline has helped support our work to spread visitors across the regions and seasons.”

Outlander follows the adventures of English nurse Claire Randall, played by Irish actress Balfe, who travels back in time from 1940s Scotland to the 18th century, where she meets and falls in love with Highlander Jamie Fraser, played by Heughan.

VisitScotland has several pages related to Outlander on its website and said that Outlander filming locations and a 12-day Outlander Itinerary are the most popular, with more than 55,000 pages view over 12 months.

Most users came from the UK, US, Australia and Canada.

The Outlander Effect report comes after a recent Screen Scotland report found that screen tourism had an estimated value of £161 million to Scotland in 2023.

Ms Steele said: “Screen tourism as a whole gets people talking about Scotland.

“There is a real buzz about the major productions that have been shot across the country in recent years and there’s no doubt this trend will continue for many years to come.”

The report drew on data from VisitScotland, VisitBritain, and the Moffat Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University.