Tourism in Scotland

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Edinburgh Castle, one of Scotland's most visited attractions

Scotland is a well-developed tourist destination, with tourism generally being responsible for sustaining 200,000 jobs mainly in the service sector, with tourist spending averaging at £4bn per year.[1] In 2002, for example, UK visitors made 18.5 million visits to Scotland, staying 64.5 million nights and spending £3.7bn. In contrast, overseas residents made 1.58 million visits to Scotland, staying 15 million nights and spending £806m. In terms of overseas visitors, those from the United States made up 24% of visits to Scotland, with the United States being the largest source of overseas visitors, and Germany (9%), France (8%), Canada (7%) and Australia (6%), following behind.[2]

Scotland is generally seen as a clean, unspoilt destination with beautiful scenery which has a long and complex history, combined with thousands of historic sites and attractions[citation needed]. These include prehistoric stone circles, standing stones and burial chambers, and various Bronze Age, Iron Age and Stone Age remains. There are also many historic castles, houses, and battlegrounds, ruins and museums. Many people are drawn by the culture of Scotland.

The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are increasingly being seen as a cosmopolitan alternative to Scotland's countryside, with visitors year round, but the main tourist season is generally from April to October inclusive. In addition to these factors, the national tourist agency, VisitScotland, have deployed a strategy of niche marketing, aimed at exploiting, amongst other things, Scotland's strengths in golf, fishing and food and drink tourism. Another significant, and increasingly popular reason for tourism to Scotland - especially by those from North America - is genealogy, with many visitors coming to Scotland to explore their family and ancestral roots.



Main article: Transport in Scotland

Scotland is connected to England by a road, rail and air network. The airports Glasgow-International, Glasgow-Prestwick, Edinburgh and Aberdeen serve as the main international gateways to Scotland, with an expanding route network. In terms of international air links with Europe, the country is generally well connected, with daily flights from a variety of European cities, There are also direct flights operated from the main Scottish airports to destinations in North America such as New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. The expanding budget airline network from Scotland's airports is making a significant contribution to bringing more visitors to the country.



Tourist destinations in Scotland[edit]

The world famous Loch Ness
The iconic Clyde Auditorium



Scotland also has some amusement parks. One such park is M&D's in the town of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire.


Scotland's best known export is Scotch Whisky and over a million visitors a year enjoy a tour around its Whisky distilleries.[4]

Scotland has some good hunting, especially deer and grouse.


See also[edit]


  1. ^ "Tourism". The Scottish Government. 
  2. ^ "Visit Britain: Insights and Statistics". 
  3. ^ "CNN names Scotland as top tourist destination". 
  4. ^ "Whisky Tourism - Project history and facts", - Scotland's Whisky tourism site"

External links[edit]