Domestic tourism spend in Scotland on the rise

Tourists from within the UK spent £400m more in visits to Scotland in 2015 compared to the previous year, newly released figures showed.

There was a 14 per cent increase in domestic tourism expenditure in Scotland in 2015, and although overseas visitors dipped by four per cent, visitor spend was at its highest level for more than a decade.

Spending from around 15 million tourists visits resulted in a 5 per cent increase in combined tourism expenditure (overseas and domestic) to almost £5bn in 2015, compared with the previous year.

RELATED CONTENT

CAP payments: Nicola Sturgeon to meet EU agriculture commissioner

David Cameron gives in to Eurosceptic MPs over TTIP

CalMac wins contract, leaving ferry network in public hands

The Travel Trends figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed that Edinburgh and Glasgow were ranked in the top five for visits outside London.

However, there was a four per cent decrease in overseas tourism visits to Scotland and a eight per cent decrease in overseas tourism expenditure.

Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop, welcoming the overall findings, said: “Our tourism sector is of vital importance to the Scottish economy, employing 196,000 people across the country

“It is encouraging that spending from domestic visitors has increased despite the industry operating in a challenging environment.

“Our tourism industry has worked hard to make Scotland a destination offering quality experiences for visitors building on 2014, a pivotal year for tourism.

“A second programme of themed years is underway, which this year will focus on Innovation, Architecture and Design followed by History, Heritage and Archaeology in 2017 and Young People in 2018.

“The themed years programme is used to shine a spotlight on some of Scotland’s greatest assets, icons and hidden gems through a wide ranging variety of new and existing activity to boost tourism in every corner of Scotland.”