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Forest tourism in Scotland is big business, and maturing all the time. The following statistics for Forestry Commission Scotland woodland gives a good overview of this important tourism market segment:
• Total visits: 8.7 million of which tourism visits: 1.9 million
• 18% of tourism visits are day trips, 82% involve overnights
• 91% of visitors are from the UK (51% from Scotland)
• 56% of tourism visitors are male, 44% female
• 18% are aged 60+, 14% are under 16
• 22% are aged 16 – 34, 45% aged 35 - 59
• While 45% of tourism visits take place during July – September and 28% in April – June, another 28% of tourism visits are during October - March
• When overnighting, a variety of accommodation is used: 32% camping/cabins, 22% in B&B/guesthouse/hotel, 20% self-catering,16% with friends/family and 4% in YH or similar
• Average length of stay: 9 nights (of which 8.2 in Scotland)
• Average number of forest visits: 4.7
• Activities undertaken include walking (44%), dog-walking (26%), cycling/mountain biking (17%), sightseeing (5%) and picnicking (2%)
• Average time spent in woodland: 2 hours 15 minutes
• 43% have travelled less than 6 miles from their accommodation to visit woodland, though 11% have travelled over 50 miles
• 78% have travelled by car or van, 18% have walked, 2% gone by bike
• Average daily spend by forest tourism visitor: £53.00
Source
The All Forests Scotland visitor monitoring survey (2004-2007)
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