When Diana Gabaldon's Outlander novels were adapted into a television series in 2014, few predicted the transformative impact they would have on Scottish tourism. Over the past decade, the time-travel romance has turned quiet Highland villages, moorland battlefields and ancient castles into pilgrimage sites for fans, fuelling a global fascination with Scottish ancestry and culture.
Jenni Steele, film and creative industries manager at VisitScotland, said: 'We knew that Outlander would have a real impact because there was a whole generation of people who loved the books and were then invested in Scotland. So when it was being made into a TV series, that really kind of re-energised the story.' The series, which follows a Second World War nurse transported to 18th-Century Scotland, is filmed in evocative locations across the country, from the Devil's Pulpit to the Calanais Standing Stones.
For Canadian Isheeta Borkar, a tech professional and blogger who travelled to Scotland with her husband, the experience was an emotional pilgrimage. 'As Outlander fans, Scotland wasn't just a trip, it was a full-blown emotional pilgrimage,' she said. 'The second we landed, I had the theme song playing in the car. It set the tone for a trip that was part fandom, part history lesson, part time-travel fantasy.'
A 2023 visitor survey by VisitScotland found that eight per cent of respondents – nearly 700,000 people – were inspired to visit by a TV show, with many citing Outlander specifically. A separate 2022 report, created in collaboration with the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University, found that filming sites across Scotland saw an average 19 per cent increase in visitors between 2014 and 2022. Blackness Castle, which doubles as Fort William, saw visits rise by 379 per cent since the show first aired.
According to Steele, Outlander fans are more interested in rural, cultural and historical destinations, choosing places like the village of Culross or Culloden Battlefield over well-known cities. 'There were actually quite a lot of attractions that had lower footfall, but then once the series showcased that location, the fans were really coming,' she said. 'Some of them [saw an] increase in visitors [that] was absolutely incredible. More than double in some cases.'
However, the popularity presents challenges for conservation. 'You have to think about the conservation of it,' Steele added. '[Can] this building, which is a really ancient castle or monument or something, sustain the number of visitors?' VisitScotland offers a free 12-day Outlander driving route that covers many filming destinations as well as places to learn more about Scottish history and culture.
