Exclusive:Royal Yacht Britannia eyes new horizons as visitor numbers fall

The Royal Yacht Britannia is to concentrate on targeting foreign tourists after seeing its visitor total fall by 50,000.

The ship, which has been moored in Leith for 28 years, is planning its first travelling exhibition and will stage events in Japan and Hong Kong to increase awareness.

It is also about to launch a digital archive of thousands of photographs, charts and documents about the 72-year-old vessel, many of which have been donated by former crew and some which have never been seen before.

Further events are planned throughout next year to mark the 30th anniversary of the yacht being decommissioned after the previous Conservative government decided it was too expensive to keep running and its Labour successor scrapped plans for a replacement. These will focus on its diplomatic role.

Franck Bruyere, the French-born chief executive of the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, told The Scotsman: “The tourism industry in Scotland is changing.

“Our UK visitors are in decline, international [visitors] are in growth, so we have to adapt.

“We were very orientated towards a UK market and we find that market is not travelling as much to Scotland - that’s the main reason why we have been declining.

“It’s our opportunity to focus on the things that are on the up - and international visitors, specifically in the Central Belt and in Edinburgh, are on the up.”

This will include seeking to increase international interest by highlighting the many countries the yacht visited during its million-mile career, which are displayed as flags on a timeline in the visitor centre to show everywhere it docked after being completed in Clydebank in 1954.

Mr Bruyere said the end of last year had been “extremely positive” with increasing numbers of American, French and Spanish visitors while the number of Germans visiting the ship remained static.

The yacht welcomed 312,000 visitors last year compared to 333,000 in 2024 and 361, 000 in 2023.

Mr Bruyere said that was in line with the trend reported by VisitScotland, where UK travel had been hit by cost‑of‑living concerns.

The trust’s net income in 2024 - the latest figure available - fell to £713,000 compared to £2.2 million the previous year, while its deficit increased from £196,000 to £304,000.

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Mr Bruyere said last year’s admissions were affected by construction delays postponing the opening of a new visitor centre in the adjacent Ocean Terminal shopping centre, which acts as a gateway and introduction to ship.

However, he said reaction to displays which tell the yacht’s history had been “exceptional” and feedback “outstanding”, while the centre had also increased spend per visitor.

He said: “It provides the context for the yacht which we didn’t have in the past.”

Mr Bruyere said 2026 was shaping up positively”.

He said: “We are looking to grow this year. We are on the up, and not carrying on that downward trend which has been observed in the last few years.

“Ticket admissions represent only one part of our overall revenue and we remain buoyed by the continued success of our world‑class evening events on board, which perform exceptionally well and contribute significantly to the strength of the business.

“We have got a fantastic asset - it’s about finding new ways to tell the story that’s relevant to the coming generations who will not have witnessed [the yacht in service].

“We are very attractive because we are the only royal yacht that you can visit in the world.

“We will also be putting to the forefront what we are all about - the opportunity to see a ship which made a massive contribution to diplomacy, and has been a palace at sea as well as a family home for two weeks every year around the Hebrides.”

Staff from the yacht have been invited to Japan to mark the 100th anniversary of the late Queen Elizabeth’s birth this year, while royal sailing yacht Bluebottle, which was owned by her late husband Prince Philip, will compete in a world championship race in Hong Kong in November.

The travelling exhibition will appear first at the bicentenary of the Cowes Week yachting regatta on the Isle of Wight in August, in which Britannia previously played a part.

In 2024, the yacht was the seventh most popular paid attraction in Scotland, and fourth in Edinburgh after Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh Bus Tours and Edinburgh Zoo.

It boasts audio guides in 34 languages, including Egyptian Arabic and “basic” English, which Mr Bruyere hopes will be verified as a world record.

Eavey Hacker, the yacht’s digital archives project coordinator, said 9,000 items had been catalogued so far, with “a lot more on the way”.

They include the vessel’s running club kit, one of at least eight sports clubs on board that also included football and rugby.

There are also certificates from the traditional Royal Navy “crossing the line” ceremonies held for people crossing the Equator for the first time, such as Princess Anne, who are dunked in water by someone dressed as King Neptune, the lord of the seas.

The memories of surviving former Royal Yachtsmen or “Yotties” - the estimated 3,300 Royal Navy men who served on board over its 44-year service - are also to be recorded as oral histories.

Ms Hacker said: “There is a massive wave moving towards this micro history. This is important knowledge that we need to get now before it is too late.”

She also said the personal scrapbooks which Yotties had donated provided “great insight into Britannia and how much pride they took in looking after and preserving this part of history.”