PLACES of worship across Scotland have seen a boom in visitor numbers, as tourists flock to churches across the country.
New figures have shown that there was a 15.1 per cent increase in the number of people visiting churches during the period of 2005-06, up from 999,803 to 1,150,483. This followed a 13.8 per cent increase for the previous period.
Although Rosslyn
Chapel in Midlothian experienced a massive increase following the popularity of the Da Vinci Code book and film, with numbers rising by 48 per cent, it was St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh that topped the league of most-visited sites.
It experienced a 21 per cent increase from 330,152 to 401,405, and entered Scotland's top-20 list of attractions that are free of charge.
Glasgow Cathedral also recorded a large rise, up 16.4 per cent, as did the likes of Dunblane Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of St Paul in Dundee and Dalmeny Church.
A spokeswoman for VisitScotland, which compiled the figures, said the country's churches were not only a valuable draw for people from different denominations, but also for those tracing their family trees or visiting film locations.
She said: "More and more visitors are looking for an authentic experience and our religious buildings offer them that.
"Tourism is everyone's business and it is encouraging to see places of worship around Scotland helping the tourist industry achieve its shared ambition to grow tourism revenues by 50 per cent by 2015."
The Rev Laurence Whitley, the minister of Glasgow Cathedral, said it had experienced a visible increase in visitors.
He said: "Obviously, the explosion in world travel has led to many more people visiting the city, which brings more people to our church. A great majority of those seem to be Japanese.
"Also, where once we saw most of our visitors at the weekend, now we get them seven days a week."
He added that while global tourism may have brought greater numbers, he saw a spiritual need among visitors. "When I speak to those people who come here, I detect a spiritual hunger," Dr Whitley said.
"We get a lot of people who come from what was once the Iron Curtain and who have never experienced a place like the cathedral, and it can quite bowl them over. You will see them sitting here, and when you come back half and hour later, they will still be there, in some sort of spiritual meditative state."
The figures also showed there has been a significant rise in the amount spent by visitors to religious sites, from £6.17 per person in 2005 to £7.68 last year.
The Rt Rev Brian Smith, the Episcopal Church's Bishop of Edinburgh, said that Scotland's unique religious heritage made it particularly attractive.
"There is something very special about the spirituality that flourishes in Scotland," he said.
"Scotland has a distinctive heritage in respect of religious and spiritual values.
"Its long intellectual history has played a significant part in the development of western culture and people are therefore interested in visiting Scotland to see buildings associated with religious and intellectual life."
Colin Danes, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, believed that the rise in popularity of churches reflected a natural spirituality: "Human nature doesn't change. We are all naturally religious creatures and so even if people are not attending weekly worship, it still does not conceal the fact that deep down inside, there is still a natural longing for God."
ANCIENT AND MODERN
THE rise in the popularity of religious sites in Scotland reflects a broader shift in tourism trends across Scotland.
In June, a major drive was unveiled by the tourism industry to target the "green pound". "Sustainable tourism", aims to draw as many people as possible to the country while protecting the landscape and environment.
Elsewhere, once moribund industrial sites are being turned into unique tourist attractions. In July, the 150ft Titan Crane in Clydebank, which was once used in the building of some of the world's best known liners, was re-opened as Scotland's "most unusual" tourist attraction.
And earlier this year, one of Scotland's newest landmarks, the Falkirk Wheel, which was introduced with the regeneration of the Central Belt's canals, enjoyed the largest rise in visitors of any British tourist attraction.
In the past year, more than 400,000 people travelled out to see the vast structure in action, an increase of more than 100,000 over 2005.
