EDINBURGH — Tourism to Scotland has dramatically increased within the last few years, particularly from Canada. Tourism officials are looking to the trade for continued growth.
the UK Office of National Statistics released the quarterly (Q3 2016) International Passenger Survey (IPS) tourism stats. The stats have shown an “unparalleled growth” in tourism from North America with visitors from this area increasing 36% in trips and 57% in expenditure during Q3 2016 against the same period in 2015. The figures also show an overall increase in visitors to Scotland in Q1-Q3 2016, largely driven by a 45% increase from Canada.
The boom times are set to continue in 2017 as Scotland celebrates the Year of History, Heritage & Archaeology.
Here are the top three reasons to visit Scotland in 2017:
1. Celebrating Scotland’s built heritage, historic sites and cultural heritage, 2017 will showcase a year-long program of events with the tagline #HHA2017, for the Year of History, Heritage & Archaeology. Highlights include: ‘DigIt2017!’, a festival celebrating local stories and archaeological digs; the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo ‘Splash of Tartan’ reuniting Clans from around the world in Edinburgh this August; Bonnie Prince Charlie & The Jacobites Trail coming May 2017; and the Special Exhibition starting June 2017 at the National Museum of Scotland.
2. The hit TV series, Outlander, has inspired many travellers to visit Scottish filming locations. This year brings the return of Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe to Edinburgh and many other secret Scottish locations as they continue Jamie and Claire’s adventures for Season 3 of Outlander in September.
3. A favorable exchange rate and direct air access into Edinburgh and Glasgow from several key hubs in Canada are in travellers’ favor, as well as new connections via Iceland.
Discover the many travel trade resources Visit Scotland is continuously developing to make planning Scotland vacations for clients easier. From new content, imagery and videos to itineraries and webinars, numerous resources can be found at visitscotland.com/campaign/traveltrade.
Highlights of the site also include an events page, accommodation suggestions, holidays with different themes and a list of ‘See & Do’ activities including a lineup of distillery, castle and island hopping tours to inspire clients.
For more details see visitscotland.com/campaign/traveltrade.
