DRINKS giant Diageo welcomed a record number of people to its distillery visitor centres across Scotland last year.
Some 440,260 people visited the 12 sites, a 15.2 per cent increase on the previous year and the highest figure reported to date.
To celebrate International Scotch Day on Thursday, February 8, the centres will open their doors free that day and the following Saturday and Sunday.
Diageo says the increasing visitor numbers show the growing contribution whisky is making to the tourism economy in Scotland.
Over the past five years, the attractions have recorded a remarkable 96.3 per cent growth in visitor numbers across the country, fuelled by international visitors to Scotland and the increasing rise of staycations.
VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead said: “Whisky is one of Scotland’s most valuable commodities, with people from all over the world coming to experience an authentic Scottish dram and one in five visitors making a trip to a whisky distillery.”
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