Tourism To Diageo-Owned Scottish Distilleries Almost Doubled In 2017

International drinks mega-giant Diageo owns Johnnie Walker, and to support it they have a stable of 28 malt whisky distilleries that include some of the most illustrious names in Scotch Whisky. The fame and popularity of those individual single malt whiskies is paying off. A dozen of those distilleries have visitor centers, and visitor numbers to those centers rose a staggering 96.3% in 2017, almost doubling tourism to Diageo whisky-makers.

Clynelish Distillery saw the biggest improvement, albeit a relatively modest one in real terms. Visitor numbers there climbed 127% to 8,544. The biggest rise in raw numbers was at Blair Athol, a 26% increase to 86,019 visitors.