Helping Scottish Visitor Attractions with Business Central

Scotland’s attractions sector employs over 200,000 people, contributing approximately £4 billion annually. Scotland welcomed nearly 49.7 million visits to its attractions in 2024, a 3.9% rise year‑on‑year, driven by both international tourism and a surge in film‑location visits. With this rise in visitors, comes the challenge of maximising every penny with robust operational efficiency.

Here we quickly explore the key challenges, and showcase how we can help Scottish visitor attractions achieve better and streamlined efficiency with our portfolio of solutions.

The Key Operational Challenges for Visitor Attractions

1. Peak demand – busy seasons, events, film-tour interest
2. Inventory complexity – gift shops, café supplies, retail stock
3. Ticketing & admission – walk-in and pre-booked entry
4. Visitor analytics – understanding trends by location, offers, events
5. Ticketing, retail & F&B integration – unified experience and accounting

How We Help

As a leading Microsoft Business Central partner, we have a wealth of hands on experience within the heritage and attractions space, helping to address the key points outlined above. Our carefully curated portfolio of solutions, built around Business Central, allows us to tailor solutions that meet the exact needs of the sector, at an affordable price, and at a pace that suits.

Centralised Ticketing & Admission

Business Central integrates with POS and booking systems (e.g. LS Retail, custom add-ons) to manage:

• Walk-up and pre-booked admissions
• Tiered pricing models and event-specific offers
• Automated voucher redemption and real-time reporting

Benefit: Near-zero queue times, balanced capacity, and smarter staffing.

Inventory & Retail Operations

Gift shops and cafés can stock:

• Real-time updates across outlets and warehouses
• Automated replenishment based on sales velocity
• Batch and expiry tracking (important for food & drink)

Benefit: Reduced waste, happier visitors, and increased sweet-demo sales.

F&B and Café Integration

With integrated café systems, attractions can:

• Track food and drink sales per outlet
• Use Power BI to analyse spend per visitor and peak hours
• Automate food costs and supplier invoices using Continia
• Manage compliance (allergens), traceability and more

Benefit: Better cost control, faster service, and lower shrinkage.

Enhanced Visitor Experience & Loyalty

Business Central and LS Retail allows:

• Event bookings (e.g. heritage tours, tastings, exclusives, Birthdays)
• Loyalty schemes across admissions, retail, and F&B
• Customer segmentation for targeted campaigns

Benefit: Deeper engagement, repeat visits, and stronger revenue per visitor.

Data-Driven Insights

With Business Central and Jet Reports or Power BI, attractions can drill into:

• Visitor count trends by location and event
• Spend per guest per touchpoint
• Seasonal demand vs staffing and stock

Benefit: Insight-driven planning

Compliance & Revenue Assurance

Business Central supports:

• Financial transparency across ticketing, retail, and catering
• Compliance with gift-aid, VAT rules, and audit trails
• Traceability for retail and food sales

Benefit: Clear revenue paths, simplified audits, and fewer manual journal entries.

Scalable Multi-Site Management

Scotland has over 240 member organisations covering nearly 500 sites under ASVA.

Business Central offers multi-site capabilities with:

• Central finance and stock control
• Role-based access for local managers
• Site-specific pricing, events, and reporting

Benefit: Growth made simple, perfect for trusts and destination brands

Real-World Example

The Scotsman highlighted that caastles featured in hit shows like Outlander see spikes, in fact +42.8% at Culloden Battlefield. These sites require:

• Quick adaptability in pricing and capacity
• Seamless ticketing and F&B coordination
• Real-time insight into visitor trends

Business Central delivers those capabilities, and Dynavics helps attractions implement them swiftly and cost-effectively.

From smoother admissions and retail, to smarter staffing and data-driven strategy, our  powerful solutions ensure that every visitor experience is seamless and scalable.

Get in-touch today for friendly advise from our expert team. Say hello here