Press release -
Taste Ye Back!
New research released by VisitBritain in association with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has found that overseas visitors are more likely to purchase food and drink in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK.
The statistics reveal that 40% of visitors who come to Scotland buy food or drink to take home with them, well ahead of the North East of England who came in second place with 32%.
Other findings show that Scotland is the most popular for memento hunters with nearly a quarter (22%) of overseas visitors purchasing holiday souvenirs while in the country - the highest proportion in the UK. Scotland also ranked very highly for purchasing clothes or shoes (43%).
Staff from VisitScotland Information Centres reported that the most popular food and drink items for overseas tourists currently include: Whisky (including whisky fudge), Edinburgh Rock, shortbread, tablet, Irn-Bru, Scottish honey, jam and marmalade, Stornoway Black Pudding and tinned haggis.
In 2015, the Year of Food and Drink, Scotland will celebrate the role that Scottish cuisine plays in shaping the country’s economic success. Food and drink is an integral part of the tourism experience and the industry is worth £13bn a year. The target is to grow this to £16.5bn by 2017.
Every year, VisitBritain adds extra questions to their Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey to help them better understand the needs and characteristics of overseas visitors to Britain.
VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead said:
“Not only did Scotland outperform London in terms of total spend growth between 2012 and 2013, but this country is also leading the way in the UK for overseas visitors purchasing our wonderful food, drink and high quality souvenirs.
“From delicious shortbreads and tasty tablet to local crafts, jewellery and of course whisky, wherever visitors are, they can find a wide range of delicious local flavours and souvenirs to purchase and take home as a reminder of their visit.”
Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy at VisitBritain said:
“This new research underpins Scotland’s growing potential as an international destination, topping the tables for propensity to buy food or drink and souvenirs across all countries polled. International tourists are actually more inclined to buy food or drink in Scotland (40%) than any other part of England and Wales.
“In terms of total spend, Scotland continues to excel, outperforming Britain and London last year with a 20% spike.”
In 2013, British residents taking overnight leisure (or holiday) trips to Scotland spent £391m on shopping as part of their trip. For the same year, British resident tourism day trips in Scotland recorded expenditure of £1001m (or £1bn) on the activity of ‘special shopping’ or shopping for non-everyday items.
In terms of total spend; the percentage growth in expenditure from 2012 to 2013 for Scotland was 20%, outperforming London which grew by 12%.
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- statistics
- visitscotland information centres
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors:
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation has three key roles:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and more than 800 Homecoming events throughout the country.For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com
- The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- For more information on VisitScotland’s annual review please go to www.visitscotland.org/about_us/our_focus/annual_report.aspx
