08/07/2011

Staycations Help Economy

Scotland's tourism businesses have a golden opportunity to exploit the growing market for staycations, Fergus Ewing said today.

The Tourism Minister was commenting on a new report that showed Scotland is continuing to feel the positive effects of those holidaying at home, with Scots making 6.4 million overnight visits and spending £1 billion in Scotland last year.

The 2010 United Kingdom Tourism Survey shows a nine per cent increase in the number of overnight visits to Scotland by Scots and a 13 per cent increase in spending compared to 2009 figures.

While more Scots are choosing to stay and spend more at home, the 2010 International Passenger Survey shows an eight per cent fall in overseas visitors. Despite this fall, overseas visitors spent £1.4 billion in Scotland last year - five per cent more compared to 2009, and more than the total UK increase of one per cent.

Results for key markets such as Germany and Sweden, however, show a positive increase in visitor numbers of seven per cent and 16 per cent respectively. There has also been an increase in the number of visitors from Australia.

Speaking on a visit to Kirkwall's Visitor Information Centre Mr Ewing said: "The trend of staycations contributed £1 billion to Scotland's economy last year, providing a significant boost to our tourism industry during the global economic downturn.

"Scotland is recognised internationally as a first class tourism destination which offers all visitors a warm welcome and a truly unique experience. It is great to see that more Scots are choosing to enjoy our world class attractions and are holidaying close to home during these challenging economic times. With targeted marketing tourism businesses can do more to take advantage of growing staycation opportunities.”

(BMcN/GK)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

12 December 2012
One In Three Year Six Children Overweight
One in three final year primary school children are overweight or obese. The percentage of final year – Year 6 - primary school children (generally aged ten to 11) who were overweight or obese increased to 33.9 per cent in 2011/12, up from 33.4 per cent in the previous year.
06 March 2013
Scottish Debt 'Less Than UK level'
Scotland continues to be in a relatively stronger budget position than the UK as a whole to the value of £824 per person or £4.4 billion as a nation, according to National Statistics published today.
12 May 2010
Scots Trust In UK Government 'Wavers'
The 2009 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey reveals that people trust the Scottish Government to act in Scotland's best interests rather than the UK government by a factor of more than two-to-one. The survey shows 61 per cent of people trusting the Scottish Government to act in Scotland's interests, compared to 25 per cent for the UK government.
26 June 2006
Six per cent rise in income for Prince Charles
The Prince of Wales's private income increased by 6% to more than £14 million last year, according to Clarence House accounts. The rise in the 2005-06 fiscal year was attributed to commercial property rent reviews and increased investment income, the Duchy of Cornwall accounts revealed.
25 April 2003
Undergraduate applications rise by 4 per cent
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) has today released figures today revealing that applications for undergraduate courses is up by nearly 4%. The latest figures from UCAS show that 393,750 applicants applied by 24 March for courses starting in Autumn 2003. This is up by 14,864 (3.9%) on the same point last year.