Americans Boosting Scottish Tourism Market

Scotland has experienced a 6% surge in overseas visitors in 2016, show new figures.

Figures published yesterday (Thursday, 18th) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlighted an extra 155,000 overseas visits were made to Scotland last year compared with 2015. A majority of the rise has come from North American tourists, who have been long time fans of the Scottish holiday.

Visitors to Scotland from abroad spent an extra £155 million during their stay, a staggering increase of 9% compared to the previous year.

The popularity for Scotland's main cities is also flourishing, providing a positive boost for the nation. Edinburgh has been ranked the second most popular city for overseas visitors, while Glasgow has come in sixth place.

Tourism Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, said: "These figures underline Scotland's appeal as a world-class tourism destination and are a credit to our tourism industry's hard work to attract and welcome more than 2.7 million overseas visitors last year.

"Our overseas visitors spent £1.85 billion in 2016. A welcome boost for our tourism and hospitality sectors and wider economy."

Visits from North America have increased by 18% between 2015-2016, and Scotland has welcomed more that 1.6 million visitors from across Europe.

The Scottish Government has pronounced their commitment to working with VisitScotland and the tourism sector to help build Scotland's reputation as a must visit country and a return destination.

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