Domestic sentiment tracker 

1. Executive summary

The latest report for Scotland is based on data collected from fieldwork conducted between November 2024 and January 2025. It reports on intended UK trips for January to June 2025.

The key findings of the domestic sentiment tracker can be summarised as follows:

• The cost-of-living crisis continues to have a big impact in January 2025 but there are some positive signs that consumers are adapting to the higher cost of living.
• There are signs that travel behaviour is stabilising.  Intentions for January – June 2025 have increased from 53% in January 2024 to 55% in January 2025.
• Booking levels for Scotland in the spring are stronger than previously seen, and for those that haven’t yet booked there is strong commitment to visiting Scotland.
• Holiday focus has shifted more towards "relaxation" and "quality time" alongside trying local food (with walking / hiking still key).

The impact of the cost-of-living crisis

The cost-of-living crisis continued to have a big impact in January 2024, with 1 in 5 "hit hard".

Following the budget in October 2024, there has also been an increase in the proportion feeling the worst is yet to come, with more than half feeling this way as at January 2025.

Younger independents and retirees are more pessimistic although the proportion of retirees feeling they have been hit hard has fallen in recent months.

Families are more likely to state they have been hit hard and this has increased since the budget in October.

Despite the continued air of pessimism around cost-of-living, there are some reasons to be more positive than in previous months.

Financial barriers to travel continue to fall. Although a similar proportion cite the overall "rising cost-of-living” as a barrier to domestic travel, there is evidence that the proportion stating the "rising cost of holidays/leisure” and the “cost of accommodation” as barriers have fallen slightly compared a year ago.

The impact of the cost-of-living crisis on travel intentions

"Rising cost of living" continued to be the leading barrier to taking a domestic trip. Within which, "accommodation" is the main individual cost barrier. As a result of these barriers, the main ways people expect to moderate their domestic trip spending by doing the following:

• "choosing cheaper accommodation"
• "spending less on eating out"
• "looking for more free things to do"

When non-trip-takers were asked why they did not take a domestic trip in the last 12 months, squeezed finances were front and centre although this proportion is less than it was a year ago.

Intentions to visit Scotland

Looking forward to the Spring (January to June 2025), Scotland was the third most preferred destination to visit, as well as being the top destination for current residents.

Contrary to previous reporting, actual bookings for Scotland spring trips were higher than for other UK destinations. More than two fifths (42%) had booked their trip.

Lower bookings were particularly high amongst non-Scotland residents (who made up a majority of Scotland intenders) as well as for older independents.

Despite this, commitment to visiting Scotland was second only to Wales. 57% said they were very committed to taking the trip.

The life stage profile of Scotland spring 2025 intenders was very similar to the profile of all UK intenders with almost half made up by older lifestages.

Destination types

Consistent with previous reporting, the Highlands and Edinburgh were the two most preferred destinations in Scotland, followed by Glasgow, the west coast and the Scottish isles.

Also consistent with previous research, non-Scotland residents were more likely than Scotland residents to plan on visiting Edinburgh.

Motivations for Scotland trip intenders (January to June 2025)

"To get away from it all and have a rest" and "family time or time with my partner" were the leading motivations for a short break or holiday in Scotland. "Walking / hiking" and "trying local food" dominated the planned activities.

Accommodation for Scotland trip intenders (January to June 2025)

"Hotel / motel / inn" was the number one accommodation type for intended trips to Scotland in the winter. This is followed by "rented house or similar", a trend also seen across the rest of the UK.

3. Methodology

The study uses a monthly online survey based on a UK nationally representative sample of 1,500 adults aged 16 and over. The sample is then boosted in Scotland to ensure sufficient base sizes for separate national analysis.

In total, 1,750 surveys are completed, of which 250 are Scotland residents. The study is conducted by BVA BDRC. The latest Scotland report aggregates the results from waves of fieldwork conducted between July to October 2024.

Further information on the methodology is available within the PDF report to download.