The actor and businessman encouraged tourists to look beyond Scotland’s best-known destinations and discover what he described as one of the country’s hidden gems.

Heughan, who purchased the Galloway Distillery in Newton Stewart last year, also said greater attention must be given to infrastructure in the South of Scotland, adding that the area needs further support as visitor numbers grow.

His comments come amid a growing debate about sustainable tourism in Scotland and how to ensure economic benefits are shared more evenly across the country.

Last year, The Herald’s investigative series The Future of Dumfries and Galloway explored concerns in the region, including tourism and depopulation as well as related areas such as travel, housing and health.

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Speaking in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on Wednesday, Mr Heughan told The Herald his region is often overlooked by tourists, who tend to head straight for more established destinations in the north.

“In Galloway people don’t really think about going there,” he said, “They go straight up to the Highlands.

“I’d love to encourage people to come down to Galloway. It’s got everything. It’s got amazing coastlines, incredible history, standing stones, castles and our amazing new distillery.”

Asked about the conversations he wants to have with politicians, Mr Heughan highlighted the pressure faced by some of Scotland’s most popular tourist hotspots and the opportunity to rebalance visitor numbers.

“We are very lucky, we are supported by the South of Scotland enterprise but we know when tourists come to Scotland they go up north and we’ve seen the NC500, Skye and Glencoe, it’s overrun with tourism. It’s hard to have the infrastructure there, so we are trying to encourage more people to come down, to talk about the south of Scotland as there’s a load of great businesses down there.

“Whether it’s leather workers, musicians and to great spirits as well. We want not just ourselves but the politicians to also talk about it as well.”

He also acknowledged that increased tourism would bring challenges, particularly around infrastructure as he said more needs to be done to improve connectivity.

“There’s a lot that we need help with as well,” he said when asked about infrastructure, “Especially if people do start coming more. The great thing about Galloway is that it is a secret, the best kept secret because it’s an amazing place. You can go and wild swim and there’s virtually no one else there and you can go on amazing walks. We want people to come but maybe keep it a secret amongst ourselves.”

Mr Heughan said his roots in the region continue to shape his passion for championing Galloway and the wider region.

“I was born and raised in the South of Scotland in Galloway and I’m very proud of it and I feel like I just want to sing about it from the top of my voice and what better place to talk about it than here in the capital city in Edinburgh,” he said.

Last night saw dozens of local businesses come together at the South of Scotland (SOSE) reception in Holyrood.

Speaking about the event, Mr Heughan said: “It’s a real pleasure to celebrate not only with ourselves at the Galloway distillery our new venture but also with all these other amazing producers and creatives. There’s so much talent and so much to offer in the South of Scotland.”

The event discussed SOSE’s vision for the future of the South with Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and SOSE Chair Russel Griggs also speaking.

During her speech, the Deputy First Minister raised concerns around how “the trend of depopulation” was impacting “far too many” as she said SOSE was delivering “meaningful change” in the region.

“As somebody who cares about people, cares about community and who cares about the future of every part of this wonderful country and our wonderful region, it’s ultimately about the difference that you make to our people and the chances you create to reverse the trend of depopulation that is affecting far too many places.”

She added: “The South of Scotland enterprise has…delivered meaningful change in the region.”

Last night’s reception marked the fifth anniversary of SOSE- the region’s economic and community development agency which has helped created and safeguard over 10,000 jobs in the region since being launched.

An example of the support provided by SOSE was announced earlier in the day when a near £1 million investment was provided to Dumfries and Galloway-based The Carbon Removes to support their plans to become a £1 billion company.

The reception also included a number of performances by a series of talented South of Scotland musicians, including The Burns’ Trio who used the Robert Burns family flute which was restored and played for the first time in 150 years during 2025.

Russel Griggs, Chair of SOSE said: “When we launched in April 2020, we made promise to the promise to the people of the South of Scotland that we would be bold, different, ambitious and would listen.

“We are proud of the businesses and communities we have in our region, and the support we have provided – from Covid-19 support to the creation and safeguarding of jobs to development of entrepreneurship and innovation.

“We were delighted to celebrate our region’s achievements at the Scottish Parliament reception.

“Moving forward, we will ensure we continue to be adaptive, forward thinking, innovative and responsive to the needs of our fantastic region.”