Scotland’s historic environment, which includes five world heritage sites, contributes more than £2.3bn to the economy each year and directly supports 41,000 jobs, according to a report from Historic Scotland.

The 2012 Scottish Historic Environment Audit revealed that more than 16 million tourists visited historic attractions in 2011, which represents just over one third of all visits to all Scottish attractions.

In 2011, 20 per cent of all school trips (almost 130,000 pupils) involved a visit to a historic site.

Cabinet secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop says this report shows the importance of Scotland’s heritage: “We have clear evidence that our historic environment is a major contributor not only to almost every community in the country, but has a major bearing on how we are regarded internationally. With the wealth of history and heritage we have in Scotland, we are well placed to capitalise on the growing interest for this sector.”