A social history tour through the underworld of Edinburgh's Royal Mile has reported a record-breaking summer after welcoming over 93,000 guests from around the globe.
Guests have visited the Royal Mile attraction from as far afield as Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tuvalu in the same year that it celebrated being named the UK’s Best Visitor Attraction by TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards.
Over the course of the summer, the heritage attraction ran 4,792 guided tours operating daily between 9am and 10pm. In all, the attraction is celebrating 4 per cent increase in visitor numbers compared to 2023, which was previously a record year.
Paul Nixon, general manager at The Real Mary King’s Close and chair of the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA), remarked: “This summer has been phenomenal for us, and we are thrilled to have played a key part in Edinburgh’s tourism sector.
"The record number of visitors and glowing reviews are a testament to the rich history we share and the passion of our team.”
READ MORE: Top Edinburgh tourist attraction launches brand new tour
From June to August, The Real Mary King’s Close welcomed guests from 127 different countries and received an "unprecedented" number of online reviews from visitors - 93% of whom rated their experience four stars or higher.
Katie Scott, operations manager at The Real Mary King’s Close, emphasised the importance of the team in achieving these milestones. She said: “Our success is a direct result of our passionate storytellers and team, who bring Edinburgh’s history to life for our guests.
"We are proud to have a strong, engaged team, working in such a supportive environment. This summer, we maintained an impressive employee retention rate of 91 per cent, which speaks volumes about our team’s dedication and well-being.”
Since opening to the public in 2003, The Real Mary King’s Close has welcomed over 3.2 million guests.
Back in March, the tourist attraction launched a new tour based on 17th century medicine to coincide with the Edinburgh Science Festival.
The Medical History Tour explored the nature and development of Edinburgh’s last plague outbreak, as well as the stories of Scots who revolutionised medicine to make it what it is today - all whilst exploring Edinburgh’s iconic underground street.
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