Diageo £150 Million Investment In Scotland's Whisky Tourism
19th April 2018
Diageo have
announced a £150 Million investment in
Scotland's whisky tourism, upgrading its
existing network of 12 distillery
visitor centres and opening a new
Johnnie Walker visitor experience in
Edinburgh.
Diageo has
announced a massive £150 million
investment over three years to transform
its Scotch whisky visitor experiences in
the biggest concerted programme ever
seen in Scotland’s whisky tourism
sector.
At the centre of the investment will be
a new state-of-the-art Johnnie Walker
immersive visitor experience based in
Edinburgh, bringing to life the story of
the world’s most popular Scotch whisky
and creating a unique welcome for
millions of Scotch fans around the
world.
The company will
also upgrade its existing network of 12
distillery visitor centres to create a
new generation of Scotch attractions
where people can meet the craftsmen and
craftswomen who make the world’s
greatest distilled spirit and putting
Scotland at the cutting edge of the
global boom in food and drink tourism.
Whisky from Diageo’s distilleries all
over Scotland contribute to Johnnie
Walker, but four distilleries,
Glenkinchie, Cardhu, Caol Ila and
Clynelish, will be linked directly to
the Johnnie Walker venue in Edinburgh,
representing the ‘four corners of
Scotland’ and the regional flavour
variations of Lowland (Glenkinchie),
Speyside (Cardhu), Island (Caol Ila) and
Highland (Clynelish) crucial to the art
of whisky blending. Together this will
create a unique Johnnie Walker tour of
Scotland, encouraging visitors to the
capital city to also travel to the
country’s extraordinary rural
communities.
Diageo’s other
famous visitor distilleries: Lagavulin,
Talisker, Glen Ord, Oban, Dalwhinnie,
Blair Athol, Cragganmore and Royal
Lochnagar, will also see investment to
support the growth of single malt Scotch
whisky. This is in addition to the £35
million already committed to re-open the
‘lost distilleries’ of Port Ellen and
Brora, taking Diageo’s network of
distilleries with specialist visitor
experiences in Scotland to 14.
The announcement comes as tourism in
Scotland is experiencing record growth,
with the global appeal of Scotch whisky
playing a leading role in attracting
visitors. It also comes as the Scottish
Government and its agencies, Scottish
Enterprise and VisitScotland, launch the
Scotland is Now campaign to sell
Scotland to the world as a business and
tourism destination. Having built the
Guinness Storehouse in Dublin into
Ireland’s No1 paid for tourist
attraction, Diageo now plan to partner
with Scottish Enterprise and
VisitScotland to promote Scotch and
Scotland to potential visitors around
the world.
Edinburgh has been chosen as the
preferred location for the Johnnie
Walker investment because of the
capital’s particularly strong tourism
growth, with the city already being home
to some of the most popular visitor
attractions in the UK.
The building in Edinburgh will become a
new hub for Diageo’s business in
Scotland linking to wider social
investment and creating opportunities in
the hospitality sector for young
unemployed people, through increased
investment in the company’s Learning for
Life programme. Diageo will also
leverage its export and innovation
expertise with the venue becoming a
destination to mentor Scotland’s next
generation of entrepreneurs and
exporters.
Diageo chief executive, Ivan Menezes,
said: "Scotch is at the heart of Diageo,
and this new investment reinforces our
ongoing commitment to growing our Scotch
whisky brands and supporting Scotland’s
tourism industry. For decades to come
our distilleries will play a big role in
attracting more international visitors
to Scotland. I am also delighted we will
be able to bring our knowledge and
expertise to help the next generation,
through mentor programmes and skills
training."
Welcoming the investment, First Minister
of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, said:
"This significant investment will not
only help attract more tourists to
Scotland, offering world class visitor
experiences, but it also underlines the
fundamental importance of the whisky
sector to Scotland’s economy. Last week,
I launched Scotland is Now, a new
campaign that will put Scotland in the
international spotlight and showcase the
country’s world-leading assets, such as
whisky, to a global audience. Today’s
announcement highlights to the world
that Scotland is a leading destination
for tourists and business investors."
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