Johnnie Walker Princes Street Has Now Welcomed Over One Million Visitors

Johnnie Walker Princes Street is celebrating a monumental achievement, having officially welcomed over 1 million visitors from 141 countries since its opening in 2021. 

The World’s Leading Spirit Tourism Experience (according to the World Travel Awards 2023), Johnnie Walker Princes Street takes guests on a journey through the world of Johnnie Walker through AI technology, installations, and tastings. 

Johnnie Walker Princes Street Numbers To Date 

Located in the heart of Edinburgh, Johnnie Walker Princes Street serves as the home of one of the world’s most beloved blended scotch whisky brands. The venue was designed with guest experiences in mind and offers tastings, unique retail spaces, and the 1820 Rooftop Bar. 

Another such experience, undertaken by over 100,000 people in three years, is the “Journey of Flavour”. The experience uses AI technology to help guests discover their personal taste profile, which they can then explore through tasting neat drams, such as the Johnnie Walker Black Label, and whisky cocktails. Diageo states that 700,000 highballs and whisky cocktails have been served at the venue since opening. 

In addition to this, 103,403 bottles of blended whisky and 4,195 bottles of single malt whisky have been sold at the venue, as well as 475,174 products such as t-shirts. 

The gender split between visitors has been nearly 50/50 which is “a particular point of pride” for Diageo. 

Reviving Scotch Whisky Tourism 

The city center experience has bolstered the number of guests that experience scotch whisky tourism during their stay in Scotland. According to the Scotland Visitor Survey 2023, 46% of visitors to Scotland engage in food and drink tourism during their stay, with 21% of them visiting a whisky distillery. 

Johnnie Walker Princes Street has also gained an impressive “Net Promoter Score” of 85, which measures customer experience. 91% of visitors walked away with a more positive perception of the brand. 

In addition, 80% of global visitors also perceive Johnnie Walker Princes Street as supporting the growth of Scottish tourism. 

Mark Kent, Chief Executive at the Scotch Whisky Association said: “We’re delighted to see the continued growth of Scotch Whisky visitor centres and Scotch-centred tourism.

“From rural communities to our urban centres, Scotch Whisky is an anchor for economic growth, with visitor centres like Johnnie Walker Princes Street provide a perfect entry point to discover Scotland’s food and drink, landscapes and history.

“People from all over the world visit Scotland to see how their favourite dram is made, and these world-class visitor attractions ensure they go home taking a little of the spirit of Scotland with them.”

‘An Essential Attraction’

Vicki Miller, Chief Executive at VisitScotland, said: “This is an amazing achievement by Johnnie Walker Princes Street. It is a testament to the investment and confidence of Diageo in creating a luxury visitor experience in the centre of the city, and the staff, whose work has maintained its popularity.

“Scotch whisky is a unique part of our cultural heritage and as such is hugely important to what makes Scotland a must-visit destination. Our own research shows that a quarter of all visitors to Scotland take in a whisky, gin or brewery experience.

“Since opening in 2021, Johnnie Walker Princes Street has become an essential attraction while complementing the burgeoning food and drink experiences across the city. Its popularity will no doubt have helped support the successful post-pandemic recovery of international tourism.”

‘Keep Walking’ With Johnnie Walker Princes Street

Speaking about the 1 million visitor milestone, Dafydd Pugh Williams, Managing Director of Diageo’s Scotland Brand Homes said: “Johnnie Walker Princes Street was launched to recruit consumers from around the world to Johnnie Walker and indeed the entire Scotch Whisky category.

“We wanted to disrupt consumer perceptions of whisky through offering a pioneering experience which demonstrated the huge breadth of flavours with the category, the incredible history of Johnnie Walker and champion the people and communities which have helped make the brand a global icon.

“We could not be prouder of the venue’s hugely dedicated team who have made such an impact on so many guests in just three short years. We’d like to thank our colleagues in the Scotch Whisky Association and VisitScotland for their continued support as we work together to showcase Scotch, and Scotland, to the world. Most excitingly we feel like we’re just getting started and there is plenty more growth to come as we Keep Walking.”