5 reasons Scottish tourism is going from strength to strength

Whether it’s the scenic beauty of the Highlands, the world’s best golf courses or Edinburgh’s globally-renowned festivals – it’s little wonder tourists are flocking to Scotland.  

Tourism in Scotland is going from strength to strength – here’s how.

Scotland is the place to be.

A record number of overseas tourists visited Scotland in 2017 – up almost 17 per cent to 3.2 million.

A major new campaign was launched this year – Scotland is Now – to showcase Scotland internationally as a place to visit, invest, work and live.

And with Scotland’s first Design Museum, V&A Dundee set to open next month, Dundee has been named one of the top places to visit in 2018 by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Lonely Planet.

Our growing tourism industry is creating jobs.

There are 207,000 people working in tourism in Scotland – up 12 per cent compared to 2011.

️‍♀️ We have a reputation for hosting world-class sporting events.

In recent years Scotland has had significant success in securing major events, including the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup in 2014.

This year we are hosting the 124th Open Championships at Carnoustie and Glasgow is co-hosting the first-ever European Championships with Berlin. Scotland will also host the Solheim Cup in 2019 and the UEFA European Championships in 2020.

And the benefit to people in Scotland doesn’t stop when the athletes go home – the European Championships will kick-start a £500,000 investment in Community Sports Hubs.

Edinburgh is home to the world’s biggest arts festival.

With a combined audience of 4.5 million in 2015, Edinburgh’s festivals are as big as the World Cup and second only to the Olympic Games. In fact, the economic benefit to Scotland was an incredible £313 million in 2015.

To support our festivals to develop further, the Scottish Government and the City of Edinburgh Council will invest in a new £10 million fund over five years.

We have a global reputation for good food and drink.

From Scotch whisky to Scottish salmon and craft beer – Scotland is known the world over for quality produce.

In 2017 a record 1.9 million visits were made to whisky distilleries in Scotland – up 11.4 per cent on the previous year. And the Scottish Government is now developing a food tourism plan to capitalise on this growing market.

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