3 Reasons Paisley Is Quickly Becoming a Hot Spot for Tourists

As the fifth largest city in Scotland, Paisley is quickly becoming a place in the west central lowlands of Scotland that is attracting tourists as they work their way through the UK. Oddly, with a total population of just over 76,220 people as of the latest figures, this little city in Scotland has enormous allure due to recent publicity on major networks like the BBC, stating empirically that this truly is a city of culture. Here are just three of the reasons why Paisley is making its mark in the tourist trade.

1. Even So – We Are Winners

While not having been awarded a City of Culture for 2021, we are the winners in more ways than meets the eye. Due to all the publicity given to Paisley by the media, our city is on the map. In previous years, bigger cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh got all the press, but recent events have captured the attention of historians, interior decorators, scholars, inventors, and techies alike.

2. Paisley Is a Name Well-Recognized in the Textile Industry

At one time, there were two global cities having textile patterns named after them, however, Paisley is the only one to remain. While Scotland is often associated with plaids, Madras in India took some of the fanfare away from traditional Scottish plaids. Madras was renamed in the mid-1900s so that now only Paisley remains. Although the basics for the “Paisley” design came to Britain in days of old, it was Paisley that made an affordable alternative to silk and put the design on the map. Although it lost popularity in Scotland in the latter part of the 1800s, the Paisley pattern gained global renown in the 1960s and has re-emerged on the fashion scene in recent years. When seeking home décor from those days of Flower Power, even companies like Threel.co.uk find that large flowers and bright colours inspired by the Paisley pattern are hot sellers.

3. Famous Celebs Who Put Paisley on the Map

Having been home to an amazing number of world-renowned songwriters, poets, and movie stars, Paisley is often visited by fans who make it a point to see where their idols grew up. Some of the stars of most repute include Gerry Rafferty, singer/songwriter of the 1970s, poet John Byrne, along with actors David Tennant and Gerald Butler. Then, you can’t forget the sex appeal of the more recent multi-million record selling singer/songwriter, Paolo Nutini, who hails from Paisley. While some were born and bred in Paisley, others called the city home for enough years to be hailed as Paisley buddies.

Even though Paisley wasn’t named the latest City of Culture, the notoriety gained from all the press has made the city a popular stop for tourists from around the globe. Gaining that recognition has been good for the economy and now the world knows that we are a city of the future. So, in the world’s eyes, we have won big.

 

Author

Founder of Paisley.org.uk in 1998 and constantly strives to change peoples attitudes to the town, Brian is a self described Paisley Digital Champion who promotes Paisley via any means necessary. You can also follow me on X