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Visit Scotland | Alba

Overview

  • How visitors plan and book their breaks and holidays to Scotland can be diverse and complex. The visitor journey can involve many sources of inspiration, information, processes, and decisions taken along the way.
  • The planning and booking stages can be influenced by a diverse range of factors. These include the reason for a trip, the type of holiday sought, who is on the trip, knowledge of Scotland and distance travelled. Market and socio-economic factors can also influence visitor decision making.
  • On this page, you will find results from the Scotland Visitor Survey 2023. We explore when visitors to Scotland planned and booked their trip, information sources used, and how they booked their travel, accommodation, activities, and experiences. We explore travel intermediary channels such as travel agents, tour operators, online marketplaces and price comparison websites.
  • We also provide signposting to other research studies which may be of interest.

1. Scotland Visitor Survey 2023

In 2023, we commissioned the Scotland Visitor Survey to gather insight on visitor attitudes and behaviours. The scope of the survey was leisure overnight visitors only.

The survey explores the profile of the visitors who took part in the research. We collated information on the background, methodology, and key highlights from the Scotland Visitor Survey 2023.

Browse our Scotland Visitor Survey 2023 page.

Scotland Visitor Survey 2023 - visitor journey summary

Published August 2024

Key statistics on booking a trip to Scotland

21%

of UK visitors booked their trip within one month of travel

29%

of UK visitors booked their trip between three to six months of travel

18%

of European visitors booked their trip within one month of travel

42%

of European visitors booked their trip between three to six months of travel

7%

of long haul visitors booked their trip within one month of travel

42%

of long haul visitors booked their trip between 3 and 6 months of travel

When did visitors start to plan their trip in Scotland?

Source: Scotland Visitor Survey 2023
When started to plan trip UK visitors Europe visitors Long haul visitors
Less than 2 weeks 7% 3% 1%
2 to 4 weeks 11% 7% 2%
1 to 2 months 23% 18% 6%
3 to 6 months 34% 42% 29%
7 to 12 months 21% 21% 33%
1 to 2 years 4% 4% 18%
Over 2 years 1% 5% 10%

When did visitors start to book their trip in Scotland?

Source: Scotland Visitor Survey 2023
When started to book trip UK visitors Europe visitors Long haul visitors
Did not book in advance 9% 6% 4%
Less than 2 weeks 9% 6% 3%
2 to 4 weeks 12% 12% 4%
1 to 2 months 22% 19% 14%
3 to 6 months 29% 42% 42%
7 to 12 months 15% 12% 26%
1 to 2 years 2% 1% 6%
Over 2 years < 1% <1% 1%

1.1 UK Visitors Executive Summary

Scotland Visitor Survey 2023 - visitor journey UK market

Published August 2024

  • 74% of UK visitors used a source(s) of information to help plan their trip in advance. 25% did not look for prior information. These visitors were more likely to be repeat visitors to Scotland and more likely to stay in one location, rather than touring.
  • 9% of UK visitors did not book their trip before the start of their holiday. Over 40% of UK visitors reported that they booked their trip within 2 months of travel.
  • 64% booked their accommodation directly through the accommodation provider. 15% booked via an online only travel agent. 14% booked via an online marketplace. 5% did not book accommodation in advance.
  • 35% of UK visitors used a travel intermediary to book accommodation (net figure).
  • Visitors from Scotland were more likely to mention booking directly with accommodation provider (69%) than those from the rest of the UK (62%).
  • Repeat visitors were more likely to book directly with the accommodation provider (65%) than first time visitors (52%)
  • Pre nesters (27%) were more likely to use an online marketplace than other life stages.
  • Due to the high proportion travelling to Scotland by car, 49% did not book their travel in advance.
  • 29% of UK visitors booked their activities and experiences in advance of their trip.
  • First time visitors (41%) were more likely to book their activities in advance compared to repeat visitors (27%).

1.2 European Visitors Executive Summary

Scotland Visitor Survey 2023 - visitor journey European market

Published August 2024

  • 85% of European visitors used a source(s) of information to help plan their trip in advance. 14% did not look for prior information.
  • 42% of European visitors booked their holiday 3 to 6 months in advance. 6% of European visitors did not book their trip in advance.
  • 39% booked their accommodation directly through the accommodation provider. 39% booked via an online only travel agent. 21% booked via an online marketplace. 5% did not book in advance.
  • 68% of European visitors used a travel intermediary to book accommodation (net figure).
  • 67% of European visitors booked their travel directly with the transport provider.
  • 44% of European visitors booked their activities and experiences in advance of their trip.

1.3 Long haul Visitors Executive Summary

Scotland Visitor Survey 2023 - visitor journey long haul market

Published August 2024

  • 90% of long haul visitors used a source(s) of information to help plan their trip in advance. 9% did not look for information to help plan in advance.
  • 42% booked their trip 3 to 6 months in advance, 26% between 7 and 12 months in advance. 4% did not book their trip in advance.
  • 54% booked their accommodation directly through the accommodation provider. 22% booked via an online only travel agent. 20% booked via an online marketplace. 2% did not book in advance.
  • 67% of long haul visitors used a travel intermediary to book accommodation (net figure).
  • 67% of long haul visitors booked their travel directly with the transport provider.
  • 63% of long haul visitors booked their activities and experiences in advance of their trip.
Read more about the inspiration stage of the visitor journey

2. VisitBritain MIDAS Research 2022

In 2022, our partner, VisitBritain undertook comprehensive research with international leisure travellers. They spoke to global tourists from across the globe. Please note that this research included people who may not have yet visited Britain or Scotland.

Whilst the research focuses on perceptions and experiences of Britain, there are insights which are useful for the Scottish tourism industry. The research breaks the customer journey down into 3 main stages: inspiration, deciding, planning and booking.

The research identifies three pillars of inspiration: social interaction, everyday life and media and trade information.

Inspiration to visit Britain varies by region, triggered more by deals for European visitors, while social media inspires in Asia and the Middle East, and bargain airfare or tour deals spur Northern European visitors to consider. 

 

When we look at more specific resources used in the Inspiration phase, we note that a broad combination of resources are being used but those providing reviews and comparisons are used more often.

When it comes to the deciding phase, at a global level, we see the role of price comparison sites and airlines significantly increase, whilst the relevance of peer review sites diminishes somewhat.

Long haul travellers engage with more information sources in the deciding stage (than short haul travellers).

Around one-in-three booked as a package to Britain, with short-haul markets tending to book elements more independently. 

Tourists from the Americas and India are disproportionately likely to book as a package, with the Middle East also mirroring this tendency.

Europe has a lower tendency to use travel agents / tour operators to make travel and accommodation bookings.

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