Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 04/10/2024

Survey findings

Throughout the year, we have been publishing in depth analysis from our Scotland Visitor Survey 2023 by topic. This week we've published further information on responsible tourism. 

This is an extensive piece of research which ran from March – October last year. Over 11,500 face to face interviews were conducted and a further 3,000 online surveys were submitted. 

The survey aims to understand why visitors take a holiday or a short break in Scotland and what their experience is while they are here. It covers the whole visitor journey from inspiration to planning, booking, and their overall satisfaction, advocacy, and likelihood to return. We also delved into our visitors demand for Scotland’s food and drink.  

The findings will help us build a better picture of what is particularly important to our visitors and will help inform and drive our activities as a tourism industry going forward. 

Knowing what our visitors think and what they want is crucial in ensuring Scotland is kept front of mind in a competitive marketplace.

We’ve summarised each of the areas the survey explored as part of this article.

In this article:

Responsible tourism

It’s vital that we build Scotland’s economy in a responsible and inclusive way that maximises the positive benefits of tourism for everyone. This latest research from our visitor survey looks at visitor attitudes towards different aspects of responsible tourism.  

The results look at:

  • Visitor satisfaction with sustainable practices in Scotland
  • Visitor attitudes towards the impact of tourism on local communities
  • The number of visitors using accommodation with green accreditation
  • The number of visitors using sustainable travel options
Read the full results on responsible tourism

Accommodation

The latest results from our visitor survey focuses on what types of accommodation that leisure, overnight visitors use in Scotland. This survey also gained insights to visitors awareness and use of environmentally accredited accommodation, how visitors booked their accommodation and levels of visitors satisfaction.

Key insights include:

  • visitors will use different types of accommodations during a touring trip to Scotland
  • the highest rating aspects of a visitors accommodation stay were the cleanliness, the welcome they received, and the service provided by staff
  • long-haul visitors tended to give the highest satisfaction scores for accommodation, and Europeans the lowest
  • 57% stayed in at least one type of serviced accommodation (this category includes hotel, motel or inn, guesthouse or B&B, restaurant with rooms and serviced apartment)
  • 61% stayed in at least one type of non-serviced accommodation
  • UK visitors are more likely to stay in non-serviced accommodation, in comparison to overseas visitors
  • visitors from Europe (13%) and long-haul markets (19%) were more likely to stay in accommodation with green accreditation
  • direct booking with the accommodation provider was most popular with UK visitors, while long-haul and European visitors favoured the use of intermediaries.
Read the full accommodation research

Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness.


 

Attractions, activities and events

In the latest results from our visitor survey find out how attractions, activities and events are central to Scotland’s visitor experience. How they connect people to our country, and Scotland’s people creating an emotional bond for visitors.

Our visitors experience with attractions, activities and events can be influenced by a range of factors. The report looks at visitors from the UK, Europe and long-haul markets and the small nuances across markets which may help destinations or businesses identify marketing opportunities to captivate different visitor types.

Read the full results on attractions, activities and events

Planning and booking behaviours

The latest results from our visitor survey focuses on how visitors plan and book their breaks and holidays to Scotland. This stage can be influenced by a diverse range of factors. 

The report looks at visitors from the UK, Europe and long haul markets and the many sources of inspiration, information, processes, and decisions taken when planning and booking a trip. 

Highlights include:

  • how visitors booked their travel, accommodation, activities, and experiences
  • the use of a travel intermediary (travel agents, tour operators, online marketplaces and price comparison websites)
  • how far in advance visitors planned and booked their trip to Scotland
Read the full results on planning and booking behaviours

Transport

Results from phase two of our visitor survey focuses on the travel element of holidaying in Scotland. This includes travel to, and around Scotland, and key insights into their use of public transport.

Key highlights cover

  • the form of transport used to travel to Scotland by visitors from our markets and the gateway airports for arrivals
  • travel within Scotland including use of electric vehicles
  • the use of public transport broken down by market and the reasons for using public transport
  • how satisfied visitors were with public transport
Read the full report on transport

Regional factsheets | know your visitor

We’ve created a series of tourism factsheets for each of Scotland’s regions. 

Visitors were interviewed at 135 sampling points across Scotland to gather valuable visitor insights.

This information will help industry to build a picture of what the visitor experience looks like across our regions. And, allow us to understand the motivations and experience of our visitors, to help develop Scotland as a world-class visitor destination.

These handy factsheets are available to download now

an images of small brightly coloured cottages overlooking the sea.

Cottages at Pittenweem in Fife.

Visitor and trip profile

This research gives a comprehensive visitor and trip profile allowing us to see who visits Scotland and their knowledge of our country. It covers everything from where our visitors come from, key demographics, party composition, if they are repeat visitors and more.

Highlights:

  • 25% were repeat visitors to Scotland (higher for the UK market)
  • Europeans had the youngest visitor profile compared to UK and long haul visitors
  • 10% were on the "trip of a lifetime" (29% of long haul travellers)
  • 30% were travelling as a family group
  • 10% were solo travellers
  • Visitors spent on average 7.3 nights in Scotland

The survey delves into each of our visitor markets – taking a deep dive into the findings.

Read the full report on visitor and trip profile

A group of people standing together in a beach one person is holding a musical instrument

Motivation and inspiration

It comes as no surprise that our scenery and landscape (70%) and our history and culture (48%) remain the top motivators for all our visitors choosing Scotland.

Key motivators for what "calls people to Scotland" within each of our markets:

  • visiting friends and family was a strong motivator from our UK visitors while our Scotland residents highly valued being “close to home”
  • our European visitors also stated “Scotland’s people” as a reason for choosing Scotland
  • across the pond Scotland’s people and food and drink are stronger drivers for our US audience compared to other markets
  • ancestral ties are much more important to our Canadian visitors while our Australian visitors have strong family connections, stating visiting friends and family as a key driver

When it comes to inspiration, personal recommendations came out top. Film, TV and literature were also a source of inspiration for one in five visitors and was particularly strong with our European and long-haul visitors. It tends to have a lasting influence which goes well beyond the film or TV release year or premier.

Read the full report on motivation and inspiration

Some top reasons to choose Scotland

Scenery & landscape

History & culture

Friends & family

Our people

Attractions

Ancestry

Food & drink

Event or festival

Highlights of the visitor experience

This area of the survey looked specifically at the visitor’s experience. It asked if visitors are likely to recommend Scotland to friends and family and the likelihood of visiting again.

Generally, visitors to Scotland were very positive about their holiday or short-break experience in Scotland.

Here is a snapshot of the results:

  • 82% of visitors are likely to recommend Scotland (rating 9 or 10 out of 10)
  • 80% of visitors are quite or very likely to return
  • 59% of long haul visitors stated this was the best holiday they had ever taken (rating 9 or 10 out of 10)
  • 71% of visitors rated their experience in Scotland as 9 or 10 out of 10
  • 52% stated personal recommendations were the most influential source of inspiration
Read the full report on the visitor experience

Image of a sign thats reads "i love Scotland" with a Highland Cow in the background

Food and drink

Survey findings delved into food and drink as a motivator for choosing Scotland, and as an experience as part of a trip and the importance of locally sourced food. Visitors also rated how satisfied they were with their food and drink experience. Headline results include:

  • long-haul visitors (19%) name food and drink as the reason for choosing Scotland as a destination, with scenery and landscape the top motivator across all visitors
  • almost half of visitors (46%) took part in at least one food and drink experience during their trip
  • visiting a whisky, gin distillery or brewery (26%) was a popular food and drink activity – particularly within our German and European markets
  • experiencing locally produced food and drink was important to all visitors, especially those from the US (51%)
  • service and quality of food and drink scored highly, however value for money scored lower across the overall experience
View the full report

Food Tourism Industry Guide

We've created a new Food Tourism Industry Guide in partnership with Scotland Food & Drink to provide a one-stop shop to help businesses succeed and grow in the food tourism industry.

It's packed with:

  • practical advice
  • key research and insights
  • resources
  • inspirational case studies

The guide is designed to help businesses develop, market and deliver a quality food tourism experience for visitors. 

Check out the guide

Related links

Research and insights

Get up-to-date facts, figures, research and insights on various areas of the Scottish tourism industry.

Our marketing calendar

Discover how you can align with our marketing activity throughout the year to get the greatest reach.

Digital skills

Learn how to improve your digital skills and enhance the online performance of your Scottish tourism business.