Outer Hebrides visitor attractions enjoyed a 0.5% growth in visitor numbers in 2007 compared with 2006, according to VisitScotland’s Scottish Visitor Attraction Monitor, which was announced this week.

Attractions throughout Scotland as a whole were visited by more than 45.5 million visitors in 2007, while An Lanntair on Stornoway saw 186,772 visitors and the Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum Arts Centre welcomed 34,031 visitors over the same period.

Among the top Outer Hebrides performers in terms of growth in numbers from 2006 to 2007 were Kisimul Castle in Castlebay with a 33% growth in visitors, and Gearrannan Blackhouse Village in Carloway on the west coast of Lewis, with 15.1%.

Islands Manager for VisitScotland Outer Hebrides, MaryAnn MacIver, said: “The wide range of visitor attractions across the Outer Hebrides are a crucial part of our tourism industry, attracting visitors from Scotland, the rest of the UK and around the world. Whether castles or museums, history or culture, the Outer Hebrides offer some of the finest sites in the world.

“These attractions play an important role in helping the Scottish tourism industry to reach its shared ambition of growing revenues from tourism by 50 per cent by 2015.”

The annual Visitor Attraction Monitor is compiled on behalf of national tourism agency VisitScotland by the independent research body the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development and represents approximately 700 visitor attractions across the country.