1. A decade of VisitScotland consumer trends
It has been over ten years since our first trends publication back in 2013. We set out to inform and inspire Scottish tourism businesses on consumer interests and drivers that influence our industry.
Overview
- Consumer trends reflect shifting interests, behaviours, and attitudes of consumers over time.
- We use horizon scanning and secondary research methods to study the consumer environment and to monitor changes that we feel may have an impact on the tourism industry in Scotland.
- On this page, we highlight key trends which tourism businesses may wish to consider within their brand and product development. We encourage businesses to reflect on who their customer is and what motivates their actions and preferences, before considering the trend most relevant for their business.
Four key consumer trends
In early 2024, we looked back at our past trends papers and revisited the following four key trends which continue to offer opportunities for the sector:
- Travel with purpose
- Wellness
- Conscious traveller
- Distinctive Scotland
Key take outs of the consumer trends
- Align with transformational tourism; a connection to community, meaningful travel and learning.
- Consider wellness as a central and holistic approach to brand and product development not just an add on.
- Promote the ways holidays and short breaks can boost mood, improve physical, and mental health.
- Showcase your sustainable business practices and track progress and how actions can make a difference.
A decade of consumer trends
Published March 2024
1.1 Travel with purpose
In our past trends papers, we reflected on the road to transformational tourism. The term refers to a movement amongst consumers to travel with purpose and cause.
We explored how there has been a shift in traveller focus from consumption to purposefulness. There is a broad movement to travel and trips having meaning and challenge. This is driven by the trends of wellness, betterment, and mindfulness.
Some may have a desire to seek powerful change in their life and may be becoming more aware of the environmental cost of their travel.
Many have a desire to give something back to the destination they visit and consciously try to off-set the impact of their travel.
Actionable insights on "travel with purpose"
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Trips to have meaning
Incorporate personal fulfilment and lifestyle choices into your marketing messages and tourism product development. Highlight how tourism can enhance a visitor's personal development.
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Desire to give back
Provide opportunities to enjoy the local landscape, blended with voluntary work such as paddle boarding or beach litter picks.
Promote wider voluntourism opportunities in your area or partner with organisations that offer these.
Highlight social enterprises in the area visitors can support during their stay (e.g. local social enterprise cafes).
These can offer visitors a unique view into the destination and provide informal interactions with local people. They can help to demonstrate how visitors and destinations can work in harmony and enjoy Scotland responsibly.
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New skills and skill-sharing
Identify opportunities for visitors to share and learn new skills within your business or local community. This can range from informal opportunities for guests to lend a hand to formalised courses, such as:
- art or cooking
- bushcraft
- conservation
- experiences in restoration
- writing workshops
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Hunt for achievement
Focus on minor achievements to be gained from visitor experiences such as climbing a mountain, bagging a Munro, or ticking off bucket list experiences.
Promote specific challenges in walking, running, or cycling, such as completing a certain distance or a specific graded route which are unique to the local area.
1.2 Wellness
Wellness has been a consistent theme throughout our annual trends papers. This recognises the growing importance that people are placing upon physical and mental wellbeing.
More and more, we see health and wellness become an integral part of travel as consumers seek to:
- get away from stressful lives
- re-connect with nature and with family and friends
- take moments to disconnect from the digital world
Wellness tourism can have different connotations for different people. For some, it may be a direct definition and the sole purpose for a trip (e.g. yoga or spa break). Others may take part in outdoor or creative activities to improve their wellbeing as part of their trip.
Wellness tourism can be seen as a primary or secondary element of a trip. It therefore offers the potential to be relevant to consumers of all ages and life stages.
Actionable insights on "wellness"
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Escape and recharge
Create experiences that appeal to consumers' desire for escapism and recharge. Find and share unique moments where you can uplift your customers.
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Soft wellness to a full detox
Offer visitors flexibility to personalise breaks to include a broad range of wellness activities, either as the main focus of the visitor experience or as secondary elements.
Incorporate soft wellness approaches into the visitor experience with the addition of:
- healthy cooking classes
- holistic activities
- meditation
- nature walks
- Tai Chi
- yoga
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Happiness travel
Highlight the emotional and physical benefits of a holiday or short break. Travel can alleviate stress, foster resilience, increase creativity, boost confidence, and encourage empathy.
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Silence is tartan
Share messages around tranquility and peacefulness of locations. Promote special areas of quiet within your business (this can be a quiet indoor space or outdoor location) or within your local area.
Remember, tranquility does not need to mean the absence of sound. In fact, it could be said that tranquility is the ability to hear individual sounds that are only possible in a natural environment (rain drops, whistling wind).
Scotland’s four seasons in one day offer the ultimate soundscape experience.
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Close by escapism
It’s not just remote places in Scotland that can offer silence and escapism. You can also promote quiet areas. Tranquility and peace in every corner of Scotland, in our urban areas as well as our rural and coastal destinations. Encourage visitors to slow down and savour every moment of what there is to see, do and learn.
1.3 The conscious traveller
This key theme throughout our trends discussions deals with the rise of the conscious traveller. Consumers, more than ever before:
- are switched off by excessive consumption
- live more responsibly
- embrace localism
Consumers expect businesses to put sustainable practices in place as an operational requirement; not as a point of differentiation. They look to organisations to take ownership of their carbon footprint.
People may still be reluctant to think about sustainability whilst on their holidays and short breaks. There might be other business barriers to sustainable behaviour too, including affordability and distrust which may impact future actions by consumers.
Actionable insights on "conscious traveller"
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Authentically green
Transparency is essential for a trusting consumer / brand relationship. Share evidence of your responsible business practices and make your green credentials and brand history accessible and clear.
Validate your progress and demonstrate sustainable impact. Be factual and back up your sustainable claims with tangible proof.
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A proactive approach
Ensure you are familiar with Scotland’s plans to be net zero by 2045. Highlight to your customers what actions your business is taking to support this.
Discover information and resources to help make your business more sustainable and responsible. Browse our sustainable factsheets.
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Towards a sustainable future
Help to engage visitors and share content that will bring responsible choices to the forefront. Our consumer website has ideas to support your business and inspire potential visitors.
1.4 Distinctive Scotland
We looked at trends which offer opportunities to portray a unique and distinctive visitor experience in Scotland.
Dark tourism was traditionally referred to as "travel to specific places associated with death or tragedy", but now has broader appeal.
Literary tourism highlights opportunities to showcase Scotland's rich heritage of producing world-renowned works of fiction.
Nostalgia can be linked to the growing interest in escapism.
Actionable insights on "distinctive Scotland"
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Dark tourism and storytelling
Use dark history and dark humour as unique ways to connect visitors to Scotland’s places, history, and people. Consider the dark history of local historic areas such as castles, towns or villages, and landmarks.
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Literary connections
Celebrate Scotland’s world-renowned works of fiction and explore how you could incorporate reading potential into your business. Connect or promote book festivals to enhance the visitor experience in your area.
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Bringing the past alive
Consider ways you can trigger nostalgic childhood memories within the visitor experience, using music, food, entertainment, photographs, etc.