Our four museums make an important contribution to the creation and promotion of world-class culture in Scotland which makes it a more attractive place to live, work and visit.

The National Museum of Scotland plays a major role in the cultural and heritage appeal of Edinburgh as a tourist destination, attracting large numbers of domestic and overseas visitors to the city.

In 2024, the Museum attracted 2,314,974 visits. This makes it the most visited tourist attraction in Scotland, and the most visited museum in the UK outside London (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, March 2025). The museum is also the 28th most visited museum in the world (Art Newspaper, April 2025).

In 2025, we commissioned Biggar Economics to undertake a study of the economic and wellbeing impact of our work.

It was estimated that in the financial year 2024/25, National Museums Scotland contributed:

£308.7 million Gross Value Added (GVA) for the Scottish economy and supported nearly 8,500 jobs.
£33.3 million in wellbeing benefits.

Wellbeing benefits come from the contribution to national wellbeing by providing meaningful jobs, volunteering roles and learning opportunities, stimulating and rewarding visitor experiences and a rich and varied learning and engagement programme.

This means that as an organisation we generate nearly £13 for every £1 of direct investment.

Looking at the impact of the National Museum of Scotland as a single museum, it contributed: