VisitScotland over the years

International visitors

We’ve been able to track international tourism figures since 1970 via the International Passenger Survey. That year there were 620,000 trips to Scotland by international visitors, staying for 8.5 million nights and spending £262 million.  

Fast forward to 2023 and those figures had increased to 3.9 million visits, 34 million nights and a spend of £3.5 billion. 2023 enjoyed the highest number of international visitors to Scotland ever recorded. Our top international market was the USA, followed by Germany, then France. 

The role of influencer marketing

While ‘influencer marketing’ is widely recognised as a fairly recent idea, the use of ‘influencers’ was used in the early years of VisitScotland. (Fun fact: a quick google search suggests that influencer marketing could date all the way back to the roman era when they endorsed olive oil and wine!) 

In 1981, a major TV campaign targeting family holidays and trips to Scotland was launched called ‘Scotland For Me’.  Celebrities got involved in the campaign including actor Larry Hagman and comedian Rod Hull. 

Fast forward to 2024, and while the use of Scottish celebrities continues to be a popular way to promote campaigns (find out how actor James Cosmo helped us launch our Set in Scotland film guide in 2022), we also now work in partnership with social media influencers to reach new audiences online.

Scotland as a major host of events 

A year after the Scottish Tourist Board was set up in 1969, Scotland hosted the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, the first time the event had been held in Scotland since they started in 1930. 

Since then, and with the establishment of EventScotland in 2003 to raise our country's reputation as the perfect stage, Scotland's reputation for hosting major events has gone from strength to strength, earning a stellar reputation around the world as not only a welcoming and friendly host, but a nation that can deliver world-class sporting, cultural and business events. In the past 20 years alone, Scotland has grown and delivered a range of local and regional events, as well as hosting major events including: 

• 2014 Ryder Cup 
• Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games 
• 2018 European Championships 

• 2019 Solheim Cup 
• UEFA EURO 2020 
• COP26 
• A range of golf Major Championships including The 150th and 152nd Open 
• 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships  
• 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships  

Responsible tourism

Being a responsible visitor has always been part of VisitScotland’s messaging and in 1970, the then Scottish Tourist Board’s first UK advertising campaign was launched, promoting off-season travel – a message that we still endorse today, along with protecting our natural and cultural heritage. 
As awareness of environmental issues and climate change increased, VisitScotland began to focus on contributing to the development of Scotland as a globally recognised responsible destination, inspiring and influencing visitors to make sustainable choices at all stages of their journey.

We also work with tourism businesses and events to help them meet their net zero targets and create products and experiences that are inclusive and sustainable.  

In November 2020, we became the first national tourism organisation in the world to sign up to the Tourism Declares initiative aimed at finding solutions to the climate crisis, and the following year COP26, the United Nations climate change conference, was held in Glasgow, turning the eyes of the world to Scotland.