Edinburgh first: The Real Mary King’s Close installs self-service kiosks to enhance visitor experience

One of the UK’s leading attractions is celebrating an Edinburgh first to further enhance its guest experience.

The Real Mary King’s Close, located on the Royal Mile, has become the city’s first attraction to host self-service kiosks – boosting the visitor journey for many of the 280,000 guests expected to visit in 2025.

The bespoke booking system was created by the Close’s operator, Continuum Attractions, alongside its business management system partner, FuseMetrix, and sees two digital tills installed in the five-star attraction’s admissions area.

The new additions allow guests to book regular and flexi tickets, as well as onto special tours, at their own convenience. To improve usability for the international market, the new tills are also set to integrate other languages. Behind the scenes, the kiosks have improved data capture and accuracy, providing a more tailored and personalised experience.

Paul Nixon, general manager at The Real Mary King’s Close, said: “We’re really excited to build on our pioneering partnership with FuseMetrix to further enhance the visitor experience for our guests. These new self-service kiosks are designed to speed up and simplify the check-in process, giving our guests more time to enjoy their visit and less time waiting in line.

“But, most importantly, will not replace our famous five-star warm welcome, rather free up our team to interact with guests even more and further their experience. It’s all about blending innovation with tradition – just as you’d expect from our pioneering team.”

The Real Mary King’s Close’s operator announced a record-breaking year in 2024 after welcoming over 282,000 guests underground to explore the hidden streets of Edinburgh and was named the UK’s number one visitor attraction by TripAdvisor.

Located beneath the capital’s iconic Royal Mile, guests visited from 159 countries, and smashed the previous visitor number record set in 2023 by nearly 25,000.

To provide a Scottish twist, each self-service till has been mounted on a bespoke, streamlined whisky barrel – designed by a local craftsman to ensure the new installations match their historic surroundings.

Darren Darkins, CEO of FuseMetrix Group, said: “We’re proud to have supported The Real Mary King’s Close with their rollout of our new self-service kiosk solution, further enhancing the visitor experience. The kiosk streamlines the purchase of admission tickets, reduces queues, and gives guests greater control over their journey.

“We’re excited to continue working with The Real Mary King’s Close to further evolve the kiosk in the coming months. I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big well done to Paul and the team for their efforts in bringing this to life – the whisky barrels look fantastic!”

For more information about The Real Mary King’s Close and bookings please visit: https://www.realmarykingsclose.com