An Edinburgh tourist attraction has beaten two Scottish rivals and a third in Italy to be named "Europe's Leading Spirit Tourism Experience" at this year's World Travel Awards.
With more than 650,000 visitors from 130 countries since opening in 2021, Johnnie Walker Princes Street was voted top by the public and tourism experts for creating a vibrant, inclusive and accessible whisky experience. Judges commended the venue’s Journey of Flavour Experience as a particularly innovative way of capturing interest and encouraging guests to banish their presumptions around whisky through a blend of technology and showmanship.
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“At Johnnie Walker Princes Street our team is passionate about making whisky appealing and accessible to everyone, and I have no doubt that this in particular has shone through to judges," venue head Rob Maxwell said. "Our state-of-the-art experience has been designed to appeal to visitors of all walks of life and engage them in the wonderful world of Johnnie Walker, be that through food, cocktails or our fascinating history.
“We’re honoured to be walking away with a prestigious World Travel Award, and I’d like to say a huge thanks to the team for their hard-work and efforts which give our guests a first-class experience each and every time.”
Johnnie Walker Princes Street is the centrepiece of owner Diageo’s £185 million investment into whisky tourism in Scotland. The eight-floor venue takes guests on an exploration of Johnnie Walker and the wider world of Scotsh whisky through a combination of AI technology, immersive storytelling, theatre, personalised whisky cocktails.
Latest data from the Scotch Whisky Association suggests there were a total of two million visits across all the country's whisky attractions in 2022. The other finalists in the spirit tourism experience category were The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh, Glenmorangie House in Tain, and Casa Martini in Turin.
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