More staycationers are choosing Stirling
Staycationers going on holiday to Scots cities, including Stirling, are on the rise, according to the latest national visitor statistics.
There were 5.5 million domestic overnight holiday trips from GB visitors, including Scots, in Scotland between January and August this year, raising £1.5 billion for the Scottish economy.
Coastal towns and urban destinations proved the most popular with holidaymakers.
Fife and Central Scotland – including Argyll and the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Trossachs – saw a spike in total visits for the first eight months, with a 25 per cent and 64 per cent increase on 2018 figures to 424,000 and 1.4 million trips, respectively.
Figures from the Great Britain Tourism Survey reveal that domestic tourism in Scotland has grown by 40 per cent over the same period since 2016
Between January and August, there were 4.5 million visits to cities and major towns while 860,000 overnight trips took place in rural areas, with Scottish residents accounting for 54.4 per cent of all GB visitors.
Those aged 55 and over continue to be the main source of domestic tourism, with the millennial and‘Generation Z’markets amounting to almost a fifth of all domestic travellers.
Chris Greenwood, Visit Scotland senior insights manager, said:“Scotland is seeing a resurgence in the staycationer. The UK remains Scotland’s largest tourism market and it is hugely encouraging to see so many more Scots exploring what is right here on their doorstep.
“Uncertainty around Brexit and fluctuations in currency have undoubtably been contributing factors for holidaymakers decided to travel closer to home but it is also an opportunity for tourism businesses to engage with this captive audience to encourage return trips.
“The impact of tourism goes far beyond the holiday experience. It is vital to the Scottish economy, reaching every corner of the country, creating jobs and bringing economic and social change.”