VisitScotland Chairman welcomes 'bounce back' for Scottish tourism

VisitScotland Chairman, Mike Cantlay responds to the release of the quarterly International Passenger Survey (IPS) tourism statistics by the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) and the Domestic tourism statistics derived from the Great Britain Tourism Survey.

Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland said:

“After a challenging 2012, Scottish tourism bounced back in 2013 and the results are very encouraging.  The growth in our international markets is superb in both visits and expenditure and illustrates increasing confidence within global markets. In particular, these results point to the success of our international marketing campaigns such as Meet the Scots and VisitScotland’s partnership with Disney surrounding the movie, “Brave”.

“Crucial to our success has been attracting more direct flights than ever before to our airports across Scotland.  That ease of access and improved air connectivity has been key.

“Domestic visits were principally affected by a decrease in ‘visiting friends and relatives’.  However, we did see growth in the domestic leisure market with many heading to rural areas for their holidays, which was apt in 2013, the Year of Natural Scotland.

“As we move into an action-packed summer for Scotland with the Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup, and a staggering 830 events under the Homecoming Programme, Scotland is in a perfect position to exploit tourism as a key driver of the Scottish economy.  The events programme of 2014 presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to position Scottish tourism on the world stage and set up the second half of the decade for growth, investment and new Scottish jobs.  The success of 2013 gives us a platform to secure precisely that.”

KEY FACTS

FULL YEAR 2013

Full year 2013 (Jan - December 2013) - Overseas visitors

Overseas visits have increased:  9.8%

Overseas spend has increased:  19.9%

Full year 2013 (Jan - December 2013) - Domestic visitors

Domestic visits have decreased:  -4.9%

Domestic spend has slightly decreased:  -0.1%

Year to date (Jan - Dec 2013)- Combined domestic and overseas visitors

Combined overseas and domestic visits have decreased:  -2.8%

Combined overseas and domestic spend has increased:  6.5%

QUARTER 4 ONLY

Quarter 4 (October – December 2013) - Overseas visitors

Overseas visits have increased: 20.1%

Overseas spend has increased: 27.7%

Quarter 4 (October – December 2013) - Domestic visitors

Domestic visits have decreased: -22.5%

Domestic spend has decreased: -9.8%

Quarter 4 (Oct – Dec 2013) - Combined domestic and overseas visitors

Combined overseas and domestic visits have decreased: -17.9%

Combined overseas and domestic spend has decreased:  -0.3%

ENDS