Tourism Spotlights January to April 2024

Each month we are providing an ‘Edinburgh Tourism Economy Spotlight’ through our Forever Edinburgh LinkedIn channel.

Key highlights for January to April 2024 include::

• From our research, Edinburgh welcomed at least 8 new food and beverage businesses along with 4 new retail offerings.
• Maith Design submitted plans for the conversion of the A-listed building at 9-10 St Andrew Square into a hotel. If approved, the 206-bedroom hotel would be operated by Point A Hotels.
• Chris Stewart’s £50m hotel proposal at Queensferry Street and Shandwick Place received approval. The 129-room, carbon net zero hotel is expected to generate £7.4m annual GVA and support 384 jobs in Edinburgh
• The multi-million-pound Ocean Terminal regeneration project will create a pedestrian-focused waterfront, new mixed-use community amenities, and high-quality public spaces.
• MEININGER hybrid hotel concept is coming to Edinburgh’s West End, ‘Osborne House’, featuring 549 beds in 157 rooms, a feature bar, lounge, breakfast room, guest kitchen, and games zone. It will transform a disused 1970s office building. Scotch whisky boosts the UK economy by £7.1 billion and supports 66,000  jobs, with 41,000n Scotland. Edinburgh educates visitors about whisky, from the distillation to regional flavours, enhancing its role in the industry.
• The UK’s top tourist attractions for 2023 have been revealed. The National Museum of Scotland ranked 11th across the UK and was Scotland’s highest visited attraction. Edinburgh Castle was the most visited paid attraction, rising to 16th place from 41st in 2021. Edinburgh boasts six out of Scotland’s top 10 most visited attractions and makes up for 70% of total visitors visiting Scotland’s top 10 attractions.
  1. National Museum of Scotland
  2. Edinburgh Castle
  3. National Galleries of Scotland
  4. Royal Botanic Gardens
  5. Edinburgh National War Museum
  6. Edinburgh Zoo

Follow up on LinkedIn for Tourism Spotlights for Edinburgh.