Factfile - Economy
Tourism
The Western Isles’ unique and attractive environment offers tremendous potential for tourist visitors. The total annual number of visitors to the Western Isles is estimated to be around 179,000, contributing some £39 million to the local economy. There are obvious linkages between tourism and the environment, culture, language and way of life in the Western Isles. Tourism based on culture, environment and outdoor recreation often attracts people ‘out of season’ thus helping to extend economic activity through more of the year. The Gaidhlig language and Gaidhlig culture is a unique selling point of the Western Isles and the Gaidhealtachd. Valuable indigenous resources of the Western isles - the language, culture and way of life – remain under-utilised as an economic development and tourism generator.
A number of websites provide tourist information for the Western Isles, covering areas such as places to stay, travel and things to do etc.
Tourist Attractions
In 2002 the tourist industry was estimated to contribute £39.3 million to the Western Isles economy, and attracted around 180,000 visitors (Western Isles Tourism 2002, MacPherson Research, 2003). Heritage centres, museums and historical buildings are consistently successful attractions to visitors during their stay on the islands. The Visitor Attraction Monitor 2003 compiled a list of the top attractions, for paid and unpaid entry.
Main Attractions |
|
| Paid | |
| Black House, Arnol, Lewis | 13,022 |
| Gearrannan Blackhouse Village, Lewis | 7,321 |
| Uig Heritage Centre, Lewis | 803 |
| Unpaid | |
| Taigh Chearsabhagh Arts Centre, North Uist | 32,379 |
| An Lanntair, Lewis | 23,366 (estimate) |
| Calanais Visitor Centre, Lewis | 20,984 (est) |
| Museum nan Eilean, Lewis | 17,043 (est) |
| Doune Broch Visitor Centre, Lewis | 12,409 |
