INVERNESS hospitality businesses are looking forward to a brighter future, with the city now enjoying both higher visitor numbers and longer stays from those visitors once they arrive.
This week, tourism chiefs recognised the role of the Uile-bheist Distillery and Brewery in that touristic rejuvenation, as the newly opened attraction clocked up over 3000 visitors through its doors in August.
Traditionally, Inverness has had a reputation as a short-break city, with tourists often day-tripping there before going on to visit Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle and other locations in the wider Scottish Highlands.
Hospitality operators have been hoping that a number of new attractions within the city limits will persuade visitors that Inverness deserves more than a one-night stop-off, and the early performance of the ‘River Beast’ bodes well for that aspiration.
The new £7.5million Uile-bheist facility on the River Ness went into production of Highland whisky and craft beer in February, but only formally opened as a visitor experience in June.
Now it is celebrating a 4-Star grading from VisitScotland, with initial visitor figures suggesting it is on target to welcome 50,000 visitors per year in its first phase, prior to planned further development.
This early success was hailed by the new CEO of the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA), Michael Golding, who said the Uile-bheist project was helping transform the Highland capital into a ‘must-stay’ destination.
“Part of the challenge in Inverness is we have a healthy stock of accommodation but we probably don’t have enough year-round, non-weather reliant attractions to encourage people to stay longer and extend the seasonality,” said Golding.
“Thankfully, that is changing. We used to have an under-utilised riverside. Now we have the new renewable energy centre further down the river. You’ve got the Highland Food and Drink Trail, underneath the Cathedral, which is massively increasing footfall.”
Also in the pipeline are £20million worth of UK Government ‘Levelling Up’ projects, such as the redeveloped Northern Meeting Park allied with the opening of Inverness Castle Experience in Spring 2025.
“So, walking the riverside in 2025 is going to look a lot different than it did just a few years ago and Uile-bheist is perfectly positioned, both geographically and in terms of a unique experience, to be a major part of that change,” said Golding. “It is a very exciting project.”
Uile-bheist owners Victoria and Jon Erasmus have been encouraged by the first recorded months of footfall at the distillery, brewery and tap room.
A planned phase 2 of the project, which will increase retail and tour space and integrate an on-site restaurant, is projected to double the visitors to 100,000 per year, once up and running.
“We have opened at a challenging time and effectively in mid-season but we believe in the product we have delivered,” said Victoria. “We are the first ticketed type visitor experience in Inverness but we hope to see, in a few years, Inverness becoming a cultural hub.
“Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to the wider area but, with what’s happening, they could also be staying longer in Inverness. With things like the Academy Street redevelopment, open top city bus tours and the Castle, we are beginning to see the emergence of a city economy and we are really proud to be a part of that.”
