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Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 27/11/2024

Glasgow’s mural trail increases demand for visitor experience

Glasgow’s many murals are helping transform the city into a leading destination for street art. 

The interest created by the city’s network of urban art has created a ripple effect, driving demand for visitor experiences that allow people to delve into the stories behind the murals.

As the number of neighbourhoods with murals expands, it’s creating more opportunities for tourism operators to grow their business and develop their product range into new parts of the city.

Graffiti artist Banksy’s 2023 Cut and Run exhibition in Glasgow received national and international coverage, attracting around 180,000 attendees.

In 2024, our insights show the average monthly search volume in the UK for the term ‘Glasgow Mural Trail’ is up by nearly a third (30%).

Our new figures show that the Glasgow Mural Trail have had over 130,000 visits online in the last five years.

Walking Tours in Scotland, based in Glasgow, created a street art tour in 2017 which has become one of their most popular tours - taking more than 11,000 people round the murals since the tour’s launch. 

Information on the City Centre Mural Trail can be found on visitglasgow.com

 

Mural depicting person standing in front of a floating taxi with balloons attached to the roof. Credit: VisitScotland / Kenny Lam.

We know exploring the buildings and architecture in Glasgow are already one of the most popular visitor experiences and the murals make this even more vibrant, colourful and enriching.

Glasgow’s street art is a real success story for growing the visitor economy, by supporting jobs, businesses and by stimulating the kind of investment we see at SWG3.

Working with the city tourism partners we are using our channels to promote Glasgow’s murals all year-round and helping these businesses capitalise on the demand for the city’s sought after street culture.

Lynne Cooper, Regional Director, VisitScotland

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