Life on Mars – A Retrospective Look at Tourism in Scotland in 2025

The theme of the popular BBC TV programme ‘Life on Mars’ is used to investigate not only how much the world has changed through today and what it will look like in 2025. Did you know that in 1973:

• Glasgow was the first city in the UK to introduce CCTV cameras,
• The BBC’s CEEFAX service was cutting edge technology
• The world’s first mobile phone call was made.
• Alf Garnet and the Six Million Dollar Man made their debut on TV
• If you were female, your employers could sack you for being pregnant!

Tourism in the world has grown from 25m international arrivals in 1950 to 846m today, making the industry one of the world's most important in the terms of receipts and employment.

So, what are the prospects for Scotland?

Forecasts by the Future Foundation suggest arrivals to Scotland will grow from 17.3m in 2005 to 27.3m by 2025 and receipts increasing from £4.2bn to £9.2bn respectively.

Three scenarios where developed looking at the world of tourism in 2025, through the eyes of three ‘global clans’, namely:

• Freedom Fighter – those 65+ in 2025
• Millennial Sophisticates – those 40-45 years of age in 2025
• Shanghai Virtual Social Network – those 20-25 in 2025

Through each of these clans, the world is explored in the terms of values, family, holidays and trends that shape holiday choice.

Finally the implications for the development and marketing of tourism in Scotland are considered. The research briefing provides an insightful analysis for business of how tourism in Scotland has changed and what the future tourist will look like.

Download the latest Tomorrows World, Consumer & Tourist: Volume 3 Issue 4 PDF document 7 mb

Please note, the article is greater than 7mb.  If you have a problem downloading the article please contact Ian Yeoman at ian.yeoman@visitscotland.com

Further Information

For further details about Scenario Planning at VisitScotland, please contact:

Prof. Ian Yeoman, VisitScotland’s Scenario Planner by email at:
ian.yeoman@visitscotland.com, or tel: 00 44 (0) 131 472 2388.

Alternatively visit Scenario Planning