Scottish tourism statistics

Date: 06 July 2008
Author: taylor
Last updated: 08/04/2008 12:26:18
Page Reference: ###currentlocid###

Scottish tourism:

hosts over 16 million overnight trips each year
83 per cent of visitors to Scotland are UK-based and account for over 13 million trips
overseas visitors spend an estimated £1.4 billion on during their Scottish holiday breaks
overseas tourism accounts for 17 per cent of tourism trips to Scotland
key target markets for tourism, within the UK, are Scotland, the North of England and the South of England
outwith the UK, the main markets are the United States of America, Germany and France
the USA is our biggest single overseas market, accounting for 25 per cent of the overseas trips
European countries in total account for almost half of overseas trips to Scotland
58 per cent of overseas trips are taken between April and September
87 per cent of overseas visitors who come to Scotland arrive in the UK by air and 62 per cent of UK visitors come by car
overseas tourists stay an average of 9.7 nights, Scottish tourists an average of 3.0 nights and English tourists an average of 4.1 nights
average spend per night is £55 for overseas tourists and £65 for English tourists
the most popular destinations, for both overseas and UK tourists, are the Highlands, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
visiting castles, monuments and churches etc is the most popular activity undertaken by both overseas and UK tourists
a total of 45 million visits are made to Scottish visitor attractions each year

About VisitScotland:

employs over 1,000 people and has 15 Network offices from London to Lerwick
For every £1 VisitScotland spends on promotion £14.50 is generated in return on behalf of Scotland’s tourism industry.

Highlands and Islands tourism statistics Quick tourism statistics and tourist industry figures

Short term forecast 2008-09 VisitScotland.org research pages Essential information and analysis on Scotland's visitors, markets and tourism industryTourism Knowledge Scotland Network that helps you access local researchTourism Intelligence Scotland A national joint initiative to provide good quality market intelligence