Visit Scotland | Alba

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Overview

  • With strong ancestral ties between the two countries, Canadian visitors to Scotland enjoy exploring many parts of Scotland and hearing unique stories of regional history and culture.
  • In 2023, Canada was Scotland’s eighth largest international source market measured by number of visits. It was fifth by expenditure and fifth by number of nights.
  • Canadian visitors accounted for 4% of all overseas visits to Scotland and 5% of all overseas spend in Scotland in 2023.
  • The number of Canadian visits continued to grow, with a 23% increase since 2022 and a 39% increase from pre-pandemic levels. The number of nights also experienced a significant increase, while tourism spending only grew marginally since 2022.
  • Find methodology information within the official statistics and partner’s section.

In this article:

Key statistics

175,000

total number of visits by Canadian visitors to Scotland in 2023

1.9 million

total number of nights spent in Scotland by Canadian visitors in Scotland in 2023

£180 million

total spend by Canadian visitors to Scotland in 2023

11.0

average nights per visit by Canadian visitors to Scotland in 2023

Source: IPS, 2023 (numbers have been rounded)

1. Executive summary

In 2023, Canada was Scotland’s eighth largest international source market measured by number of visits. It was fifth by expenditure and fifth by number of nights.

Canadian visitors accounted for 4% of all overseas visits to Scotland and 5% of all overseas spend in Scotland in 2023.

Trip intentions in 2023 were very similar to those seen in 2022, where visits to see friends and relatives were more common and holiday visits less common than pre pandemic.

Source: IPS, 2023

Explore more data on tourismobservatory.scot

2. Scotland Visitor Survey 2023

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 explored the profile of the visitors who took part in the research, including:

  • their motivations for visiting
  • their experiences
  • how they have rated aspects of their trip

Information on Canadian visitors will be updated in 2024. Information is available on the background, methodology, and key highlights from the Scotland Visitor Survey 2023.

Browse our visitor survey.

 

3. VisitBritain MIDAS research 2022

In 2022, our partner, VisitBritain undertook comprehensive research with international leisure travellers. They spoke to global tourists from many markets, including Canada.

Whilst the research focuses on perceptions and experiences of Britain, there are insights which are useful for the Scottish tourism industry.

Long-haul markets see Britain more consistently as:

  • offering heritage and history
  • the ability to roam
  • explore a broad mix of "must-do" experiences (both old & new)

Read the full MIDAS research on visitbritain.org.

4. Official statistics and partners

The International Passenger Survey is a continuous survey carried out by the Office for National Statistics. It covers all major air, sea and tunnel ports.

The survey provides information on the numbers and types of visits made by people travelling to and from the UK. Anonymous face to face interviews are undertaken with a sample of passengers entering and leaving the UK.

Find out more on the survey methodology on ons.gov.uk.

Read further ONS publications on ons.gov.uk.

Read how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the IPS data collection on visitbritain.org.

 

5. Additional research resources

VisitBritain’s IPS data viewer by UK nation

visitbritain.org/inbound

VisitBritain’s Canada market and trade profile

visitbritain.org/canada

VisitBritain’s international market segments

visitbritain.org/customer

Related links

Visitors from China

Read key insight into our Chinese visitors including number of trips, nights, and spend.

Visitors from France

Read key insight into our French visitors including number of trips, nights, and spend.