With the arrival of the millionth visitor to take a boat trip on the world’s only rotating boat lift and a strong rise in towpath visits of 7.5%, it has been an excellent summer season for the Scottish canal network.
Autumn 2009
Despite it being a very rainy period, visitor numbers to The Falkirk Wheel were strong with around 221,000 recorded between June and August which is slightly up on last year.
On three separate occasions, the daily boat trip numbers smashed records last broken in 2004.
The high performing season is proof of the great efforts made to enhance the visitor experience and ensure that The Falkirk Wheel remains one of the top attractions in the country. These efforts include a focused marketing campaign showing visitors that The Falkirk Wheel is much more than a marvel of science and engineering, encouraging them to stay longer and spend more. (Click here to watch our first television advert which ran over five weeks from mid July.)
Looking forward, we have a number of exciting aspirations for developing what’s on offer at The Falkirk Wheel including an innovative children’s play area with mini canal with moving locks and boat. We are also working with Falkirk Council on the development of a masterplan for the Tamfourhill area which will allow us to enhance the environment around The Falkirk Wheel (which was recently recognised with a Gold Green Tourism Award).
Elsewhere, across the Scottish canal network, a rich variety of events, continuous improvements in customer service and amenities, general marketing and two targeted campaigns engaging new visitors in Inverness and Edinburgh, has resulted in 18.3m visits to the towpath between January and the end of August. This represents a significant 7.5% uplift on the same period last year.
Do you have a comment to make on this story or would you like to get involved in some way? If so, please get in touch by emailing joanna.harrison@britishwaterways.co.uk
