Scotland has fast become an up and coming tourist destination in the past couple of years with international tourists jumping at the chance to come to beautiful Scotland. This has shown in the last six years, when Scotland has outdone the rest of the UK. So why is it Scotland is punching above its weight?
The UK and particularly Scotland is an inspirational destination, it’s one that everyone wants to come and visit at some point. It’s breath taking scenery and with its affordability it’s easy to see why so many people are flocking upon Scotland.
It’s not just the breath taking scenery which has seen Scotland sore in the past couple of year’s it’s also to do with the interest it’s received through TV shows and movies that have seen showcasing what Scotland’s got to offer. This has come from the likes of The Outlander Effect, Harry Potter, the Disney film Brave and many more.
The Outlander – Over the last year or two the outlander experience has become massive with a huge interest among American tourists who will make the journey across the water to catch a glimpse of the Outlander life style and attractions which have featured within the TV series. As it’s become so popular businesses have been started in Scotland to accommodate the fans and you can find these tours all across which will take you to the must see attractions. The standing stones (pictured above) featured in both Outlander and the Disney movie Brave. They have been a real tourist attraction since the outlander effect hit Scotland. They are a massive part of the story and they really are beautiful to set eyes on. Not only did the outlander feature the Standing Stones but they have many locations around Scotland also. A lot of businesses have been able to create a business out of these by doing outland Experience days and tours. Which have been extremely popular with American tourists. You can find these tours here - https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/attractions/tv-film/outlander/itinerary/
Harry Potter – Not only did JK Rowling first start writing the series in Scotland but it was also where some of the scenes from Harry Potter filmed. One of the famous scenes was the train The Jacobite Steam train this was in more than one of the movies throughout the year’s and even if you aren’t a Harry Potter loyal you are still able to know where this is from. The Steall Fall is the second-highest waterfall in Britain but has also featured in a fair few iconic Potter scenes, but it’s the waterfall’s role as the backdrop during Quidditch match the setting for Harry’s battle against a Hungarian Horntail dragon in the Goblet of Fire, which really get our Potter pulses racing.
The Stats
As you can see from the above stats Scotland has outdone the rest of the UK when it comes to satisfaction of tourists coming into the area. They believe they got the most value for money when it came to the food and drink industry. Overall Scotland was up on every category and was the only place out of 11 locations to manage to get all green scores. Attractions and Actives were up at 66%, Public Transport was up at 61%, Food & Drink were at 48% and value for money was 23%. Which is great over all scores for Scotland!
Report from the times newspaper show how fast the industry is growing – “Newly released figures reveal that Scotland received a record number of visitors last year, with new flight routes and the favourable exchange rate driving a 15 percent increase in overseas arrivals.
The latest figures, announced by the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS), show that the combined number of domestic and overseas tourists in Scotland has increased by two percent, taking the tally to 14.1 million visitors.
Scotland’s population is around 5.3 million, meaning there are now approximately two-and-a-half tourists for every resident in the country.”
