It has thrilled audiences for more than half a decade with its time-travelling tales of Highland heroism and Jacobite drama.
And now it appears that the hit series Outlander is partially immune to Covid, with its enduring appeal surviving even the lockdowns put in place across Scotland during the peaks of the pandemic.
New figures released by national tourism body VisitScotland studying the ‘Outlander effect’ on Scotland’s sights and attractions show that while other tourists spots shut their doors, business stayed brisk at places associated with the series.
Outlander follows the adventures of World War II time-travelling nurse Claire Randall, played by Caitríona Balfe, and her relationship with 18th century Highlander Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan.
It is filmed at locations across Scotland, which have become sites of pilgrimage for its legions of fans worldwide.
READ MORE: Fans queue for six hours ahead of outlander season 6 preview at GFF22
The TV series, based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, has been a boon to screen tourism in the country since its first broadcast in 2014, particularly from US and Canadian visitors.
Now 'Droughtlander' – the nickname for the period between Outlander seasons – ends on Sunday with the premiere of Season Six on Starz.
And tourism bosses are hoping that the end of Covid restrictions coupled with a fresh interest in the series will see even more people come to Scotland this year on the Outlander trail.
Visitor numbers at Outlander-related attractions peaked at 3.2 million in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figures published by the VisitScotland, compiled by the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development, show that despite restrictions and temporary closures during 2020, Outlander-related attractions ranging from the historic to the cultural and filming locations, saw more than 1.7 million visitors.
There was a 64% drop in total visits to all attractions in Scotland between 2019 and 2020. But Outlander-related attractions fared better, falling by 45% over the same period.
4 DAYS...but who's counting. #Outlander pic.twitter.com/LylvA7yrN7
— Outlander Returns SUNDAY! (@Outlander_STARZ) March 2, 2022
VisitScotland is hoping to take advantage of the surge in interest among the shows fans, and is sponsoring the airing of the new series on the W Network in Canada.
A short clip of its 'Scotland is Calling' global marketing video will be screened directly before and after each episode., and is expected to reach 5.6 million viewers.
New data from VisitScotland’s consumer website, visitscotland.com, shows that Outlander-related content generated 352,000 pageviews in 2021 and was the most popular film/TV content on the website, followed by Harry Potter and James Bond
VisitScotland’s main Outlander page ranked first in searches during 2021 for queries related to filming locations and tours or itineraries with just over a half of all visits originating from the UK, USA, and Canada. visitscotland.com has incorporated Outlander content since 2014 with spikes in interest with each new season.
READ MORE: Outlander star Caitriona Balfe forced to defend premiere no-show
Jenni Steele, Film and Creative Industries Manager at VisitScotland, said: “Outlander has had a huge impact on Scottish tourism for many years, especially by visitors from the USA and Canada.
“Despite the devastation to the tourism industry caused by the pandemic, it’s been really encouraging that fans have continued to be drawn to Scotland and our many historic and cultural attractions.
“With season six on our screens and international travel routes returning, we hope this inspires UK, US and Canadian viewers to plan a trip to the home of Outlander.”
The first episode of the new series, titled ‘Echoes’, will be available to stream in the UK on March 6 on Amazon Prime Video via StarzPlay.
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