Summer of 2009 saw Tourism Boom

19 January 10

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that Scotland enjoyed a rise in visitors between July and September 2009 compared to the same quarter in 2008.

The statistics show an increase of 25 per cent in visits from North America and an increase of 43 per cent in visits from other countries outside Europe and North America between July and September 2009 compared to the same quarter in 2008.

Scotland also saw an increase in tourist expenditure of 7 per cent between the same three months compared to the same quarter in 2008.

Tourism Minister Jim Mather, said:

"Tourism is crucial to Scotland's economic wellbeing and these figures are an excellent indication of the Scottish tourism industry's hard work and resilience in the face of a global economic downturn.

"These figures underline the success of Homecoming 2009 which proved to be an exceptional year with hundreds of events being heavily promoted throughout the world. During these three key months, Scotland saw huge support from overseas visitors who experienced all that our fantastic country has to offer."

"This Government and our tourism industries will continue to do all we can to attract many more visitors to Scotland throughout 2010. We and the industry are forward planning for the years ahead and looking at every opportunity to further improve our tourism product."

The UK as a whole experienced a six per cent increase in visitors from North America and a 1 per cent increase from other countries outside Europe and North America between July and September 2009 compared to the same quarter in 2008.

Provisional figures for the number of visits to Scotland by overseas residents is captured by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the publication 'MQ6: Overseas Travel and Tourism'.

The figures relate to the number of International Inbound trips to Scotland and rest of UK for the period July to September 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. The results do not include expenditure figures for Scotland.

Culloden House Hotel in Inverness is one business which benefited from increased visitors during Summer 2009. General Manager Stephen Davies said:

"Quite simply, Homecoming 2009 has been a phenomenal success for us here at the Culloden House Hotel. In fact, I would go as far to say it has helped us bite back at the credit crunch, it couldn't have come at a better time. We ask every visitor where they heard about the hotel at their time of booking and when they check in many of our guests have mentioned Homecoming as part of their motivation.

"From the end of January to the last weekend in July we've made around £71,000 as a direct result of the Homecoming campaign. Guests have mainly come from Canada and the Australasia markets, many coming back 'home' to trace their roots. At 28 rooms, we're a fairly small hotel, but we've reaped big rewards from Homecoming 2009."

Source: www.scotland.gov.uk