Is Scottish whisky tourism on its knees?

Scotland has two assets that bring in serious money: whisky and whisky tourism. Recent developments have put both under considerable pressure, and that could spell major trouble.

Over the past year, a lot has happened that affects the world of whisky. International conflicts, persistent inflation, and shifting import tariffs are directly impacting whisky production and the people who make it. That impact is becoming more and more visible.

Several distilleries are having a hard time and are tightening their belts. Some have even closed their doors altogether. Whisky tourism is feeling the strain as well.

Every year, more than 2 million visitors travel to Scotland to tour distilleries. Together, they spend over £84 million, supporting thousands of jobs. But with distilleries and visitor centers closing, cracks are beginning to show in that picture.

Clynelish Distillery recently shut its visitor center, which had only been open for five years, citing a drop in footfall. Rosebank Distillery has signaled the same trend. According to the BBC, Caol Ila and Glenkinchie have also shortened their opening hours, further dampening tourism.

Elsewhere, the situation is reversed: production has been paused while visitors are still welcome.

Some of these distilleries have whisky worth millions sitting in warehouses, and that needs to be bottled before the stills can be fired up again. Visitors are welcome, but they won’t see the stills running.

This ties into a broader cooldown in demand for Scotch. In recent years, demand was strong and production ramped up, but the global market didn’t grow as fast as expected, leading to a surplus.

There are, however, cautious signs of optimism. The Chinese market appears to be opening up again now that import tariffs have been halved, which could give whisky exports a fresh boost over time.

The question is whether that boost will arrive quickly enough for whisky tourism. For now, growth has stalled and the sector is contracting, which could put a lot of jobs at risk.

Whether whisky tourism will be back up to speed in 2026, as in earlier years, remains to be seen once the season starts again.