Scotland’s national tourism organisation VisitScotland is celebrating after welcoming “undeniable demand” from international visitors so far this year.
It comes following the release of the quarterly International Passenger Survey (IPS) tourism statistics by the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The statistics show there were 163,000 inbound visits to Scotland between April and June this year, 27% higher than the number of visits over the same period in 2019 and 50% higher than the number of visits over the same period last year.
Inbound visitors also spent £1,087 million between April and June, up 53% from the same period in 2019. When adjusting for inflation, in real terms visitor spend between April and June was up 36% compared to the same period in 2019, equivalent to £963 million in 2019 prices.
In total, 10.6 million nights were spent in Scotland by inbound visitors, up 46% on the same period in 2019 and 43% from April and June last year.
The average spend per visit was £935 between April and June , up 20% in nominal terms vs 2019 (£778), and up 6% in real terms.
Meanwhile the average length of stay between April and June was 9.1 nights, which was longer than in 2019 (8.0 nights) but shorter than 2022 (9.6 nights).
Responding to the statistics, VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead said: “After a strong start to the year, it is hugely encouraging to see such clear recovery from our international markets, with visits and spend greatly surpassing both 2022 and pre-pandemic levels.
“Our overseas visitors often stay longer and spend more, helping to support jobs and communities in every region across the country.
“These new figures demonstrate an undeniable demand for Scotland’s world-renowned offering and an opportunity for those within the Scottish tourism industry to capitalise on this global interest. While we all continue to navigate the challenging economic landscape, our priority is to use our marketing, partnership work, funding and business support activities to grow appetite for Scotland from all visitors – near and far – and make Scotland a year-round, must-visit destination.”
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