Talking-up Scotland

© Richard Wilkins

I’ve already written several pieces describing the boom in North American tourism and some of the likely reasons behind it in:

North Americans lead surge in Scottish tourism because they feel safer here

‘Outlander links see visitors to historic sites soaring’

Visitors to Scotland’s historic sites surge by 470 000 to reach more than 4.5 million, breaking all records, in only 11 months!

In the last of the above in February 2017, I was able to write:

‘For the first time ever, the footfall in Scotland’s castles, abbeys, palaces and other historical sites has passed the 4 million mark and this in only 11 months of the 2016-17 financial year. Historic Environment Scotland announced this 13% increase on 17^th February 2017.

The figure for 2015-16 was also a record at 3.8 million so the trend is very positive news for tourism in Scotland.  St Andrews Cathedral was the location for the 4 millionth visitor.

http://nen.press/2017/02/17/four-million-welcomes/

A number of reasons have been offered for the surge despite the poor weather over the summer of 2016. Accord to eTN Global Travel Industry News, Brexit and terrorism have been two of, but the not the only major factors for Scottish tourism generally:

‘Tourism in Scotland has enjoyed a bumper year mostly due to a combination of Brexit and terrorist incidents in traditional holiday hotspots. Some areas of the country experienced their best summer season in more than a decade, with improved flight connections and the publicity created by films and TV shows such as Outlander adding to the boost.’

http://www.eturbonews.com/74508/bumper-year-scotlands-tourism-booming-thanks-terrorism-and-brexi

One particular record high has been a very large spending increase by American tourists, up 28% to £633 million in the 12 months ending September 2016.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-38678980

Now the Scottish Government website shows the trend is apparently ever upward. See this:

‘Overseas visitors from North America spent £641 million in the 12 months to the end of March 2017, a 40% jump compared to £458 million in the previous 12 months. There was a 19% increase in visits from North America, more than 590,000 choosing Scotland as a destination in the 12 months to the end of March 2017 compared with the previous 12 months.’

And, the North American s are big spenders too it seems. These are big numbers. I’m not watching the MSM so let me know if they’re covering all this good stuff. I’m sure they must be 😊

https://news.gov.scot/news/rise-in-international-tourist-spend

PS, I know there’s a statistical error of some kind in the above figures but I’m just repeating them. Either way, they’re still good.