22%
Of domestic visitors total trip spend goes on food and drink (on average).
£702 million
Total spend on eating and drinking by GB residents taking overnight trips in Scotland in 2023.
3.18 million
Overnight trips in Scotland by GB residents involved going for a meal.
1.78 million
Overnight trips in Scotland by GB residents involved buying or tasting local food.
Source: Great Britain Tourism Survey, 2023 (numbers have been rounded). Spend figure refers to eating and drinking out and eating and drinking within your accommodation.
In 2023, we commissioned the Scotland Visitor Survey to gather insight on visitor attitudes and behaviours. The scope of the survey was leisure overnight visitors only.
The survey explores the profile of the visitors who took part in the research. We collated information on the background, methodology, and key highlights from the Scotland Visitor Survey 2023.
A nation’s food and drink offering can add character and authenticity to the visitor’s destination experience. The Scotland Visitor Survey shows that long haul visitors in particular are engaging with food and drink as a way to experience Scotland.
Over a quarter of visitors (26%) visited a whisky, gin distillery, or brewery during their trip in Scotland.
Almost half (46%) of visitors participated in at least one food and drink experience whilst on their trip, rising to 62% for long haul visitors. Visiting a farm shop or farmers market was mentioned by over one in five visitors (22%).
Based on a ten point scale and looking at respondents who stated nine or ten on this scale, 36% stated that experiencing locally produced food and drink whilst on their trip in Scotland was important to them. This rose to 48% for long haul visitors.
Across the visitor experience, value for money is a lower scoring category. 32% of visitors rated the value for money of eating out as very good (nine or ten on a ten point scale), and this is a lower scoring category.
Published May 2024
15%
of visitors said food and drink was a reason for choosing Scotland
46%
of visitors took part in at least one food and drink activity
51%
of American visitors said experiencing local food was important to them
26%
of visitors visited a whisky, gin distillery or brewery
Source: Scotland Visitor Survey, 2023
In 2021, we conducted research with a sample of Scottish residents. In doing so, we explored their views on responsible tourism and their potential future travel behaviours. Details of the methodology and sample are available within the full report. Within the research we found that:
We use a segmentation model at VisitScotland to help optimise our marketing spend. You can use this model to find out about our UK consumer segments, including food-loving culturalists.
Explore our target UK consumer segmentsFind out more about the perceptions of food and drink from inbound visitors.
Discover insight for the food and drink industry from the Knowledge Bank, including new provenance research.