Loch Ness Centre becomes part of the Continuum Attractions family with £1.5 million investment

We are delighted to announce that we are adding another site to the Continuum Attractions group. It just so happens to be one of Scotland’s most famous visitor attractions! The Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition is having £1.5 million invested into its refurbishment, and will join the Continuum Attractions family when it reopens in Spring 2023.

The Inverness-based attraction will become the eighth site in Continuum’s UK-wide portfolio. The company already oversees:

• The Real Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh 
• York’s Chocolate Story in York
• Emmerdale Village Tour in Leeds
• Coronation Street The Tour in Manchester
• Greenwood Family Park in North Wales
• Oxford Castle and Prison in Oxford
• and Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.

The plan over the next 12 weeks is to use the £1.5 million investment to transform the attraction into a world-class visitor experience centre.

The Loch Ness Centre

Continuum are award-winning authentic storytellers, and The Loch Ness Centre certainly has its own story to tell. The transformation will engage, entertain and inform guests. However, despite the exciting development, Continuum Attractions is staying true to the renowned story of the monster. New visitors will have a fresh opportunity to explore the myths and engage with the scientific research that has turned Nessie into one of Scotland’s most famous icons.

The first exhibition was founded in May 1980 by Ronnie Bremner and designer, Tony Hamsworth. The following winter, a lifelong partnership was formed between the Loch Ness Centre and the Loch Ness Project. This was thanks to the help of Adrian Shine, head of the Loch Ness project, and continues to this day. The Projects laboratory and research centre on site continue to further their research.

Continuum’s investment in a new five-star attraction will not only keep the research and mystery of the monster alive, but also promote the history of this world-famous destination: as well as its many year-round activities and attractions.

Juliana Delaney, chief executive of Continuum Attractions, said:

“Continuum tells the real stories in real places about real people. The search for Nessie encapsulates all three. Having had tremendous success with the award-winning Real Mary King’s Close on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, I was keen to seek out another great Scottish story to tell. We found it on Loch Ness. This is a magical place – it could be our Jurassic Park, and if a monster hasn’t been found here yet, this is the place in which it will be discovered! So I will encourage everyone to ‘keep looking’.”

Chris Taylor, VisitScotland Regional Leadership Director, said:

“Loch Ness is renowned the world over for its most elusive resident, Nessie, and indeed the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition has and will continue to attract visitors from around the world each year.”
“In Scotland’s Year of Stories, it is great to hear that this investment will mean that even more people will have the chance to learn all about Nessie – the subject of so many myths, tales and stories over the years.
“Tourism is a force for good. It creates jobs, sustains communities and contributes significantly to the economy. The impact of tourism spreads far beyond the industry itself – it benefits our economy, our community and our wellbeing.”

Michael Golding, CEO at Visit Inverness Loch Ness added:

“We are delighted to welcome Continuum Attractions to the destination and are working with them to ensure the story and experience are authentically local for our 1.6M visitors annually. The destination continues to attract significant investment and collectively this ensures the area remains a must-visit destination in any visit to Scotland.”

Outgoing Managing Director, Robert Bremner, added: 

“This is an exciting time for the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition. Retaining the authenticity of the attraction was always our priority and we know we’re in safe hands working with the award-winning team at Continuum, who have outstanding capability in authentic storytelling and creating an exceptional visitor experience, with a focus on tourism operators; while retaining the families ownership of this historic site.

“As a family we have been in control of the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition for over 40 years and my brother David and I felt the time was right for us to hand over the reins to Continuum to develop the new and improved offering which will allow visitors to experience the history of the Loch Ness Monster by exploring Scotland’s geological past and folklore like never before.”

Find out more on The Loch Ness Centre website.

For media enquiries, images and interviews, contact:

nikki@soundbitepr.co.uk, 0131 510 3252

abie@soundbitepr.co.uk, 0131 510 3252