Domestic overnight tourism
| Region | Domestic visits | Domestic nights | Domestic spend |
| Highlands | 1,759,000 | 4,976,000 | £437 million |
Source: Great Britain Tourism Survey, 2023
Overview
- Insight on tourism in the Highlands is available from a range of different sources. These include tourism monitors, national statistics, and commissioned research.
- On this page, you will find key data for the area. There are also links to further information regarding a particular source or study.
- In 2023, there were a total of 2.29 million overnight tourism visits to the Highlands and a total overnight tourism spend of £762 million.
In this article:
1. Key statistics (overnight tourism)
2,285,000
total overnight visits by international and domestic visitors in 2023
7.64 million
total nights spent in accommodations by international and domestic visitors in 2023
£762 million
total spend by international and domestic visitors in 2023
£333
average overnight visitor spend in 2023
Figures shown represent tourism performance for the Highlands, 2023. Sources: International Passenger Survey 2023, Great Britain Tourism Survey 2023.
International overnight tourism
| Region | International visits | International nights | International spend |
| Highlands | 527,000 | 2,664,000 | £325 million |
Source: International Passenger Survey, 2023
Employment and economic performance
| Local Authority | Tourism employment in 2022 | Tourism employment as % of all employment | Tourism businesses in 2023 | Tourism businesses as a% of all businesses | Tourism Turnover in 2021 | Total tourism GVA per head in 2021 |
| Highland | 18,000 | 14.8% | 1,455 | 13.6% | £547 million | £18,558 |
Source: Scottish Growth Sector Statistics, December 2023
View this data as a time series on tourismobservatory.scot2. Scotland Visitor Survey 2023
In 2023, we commissioned the Scotland Visitor Survey to gather insight on visitor attitudes and behaviours. The survey explores all aspects of the visitor experience in Scotland. It also allows us to explore the experiences of visitors who stayed overnight in a specific area.
The scope of the survey was leisure overnight visitors only.
Information is also available at a Scotland level on a variety of topics including motivations, planning and booking, travel, attractions, food and drink and satisfaction. Detail on the background and study methodology is also available.
Profile of overnight visitors to the Highlands
47%
were domestic visitors
53%
were international visitors
63%
were repeat visitors
15%
were on a trip of a lifetime
Source: Scotland Visitor Survey 2023
Scotland Visitor Survey 2023 - Highlands factsheet
Published June 2024
Profile of overnight visitors to Inverness
34%
were domestic visitors
66%
were international visitors
50%
were repeat visitors
19%
were on a trip of a lifetime
Source: Scotland Visitor Survey 2023
Scotland Visitor Survey 2023 - Inverness factsheet
Published June 2024
3. Methodology
The data published on this page is sourced from a number of different studies.
Great Britain Tourism Survey
Jointly sponsored by VisitEngland, VisitScotland and VisitWales. The sample size for the Highlands was 162.
Browse more information on domestic overnight tourism to Scotland.
International Passenger Survey
Carried out by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). VisitBritain, VisitScotland and VisitWales are sponsors of the survey. The sample size for the Highlands was 404.
Browse more information on international tourism performance.
Scotland Visitor Survey
Commissioned by VisitScotland. The sample size for the Highlands was 1,041 and for Inverness was 717.
Explore details from the Scotland Visitor Survey.
Scottish Growth Sector Statistics
