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Overview

  • The Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) is a national consumer survey which includes two core domestic modules, overnight trips and day visits. It measures the volume and value of domestic tourism by residents of Great Britain. This page describes the statistics for overnight trips by domestic visitors in Scotland.
  • This study provides information about trip and visitor characteristics. It covers all aspects of tourism such as holidays, visits to friends and relatives and trips for business and other purposes.
  • The survey is jointly sponsored by VisitEngland, VisitScotland and Visit Wales. The survey is currently undertaken by independent research agency, BMG.
  • A thorough methodological review of the Great Britain Tourism Survey approach and data processing was concluded in August 2024. Further information is available on this page within the "definitions and methodology" section.
  • The latest statistical release contains estimates for the first quarter of 2025 (January to March).

In this article:

1. Executive summary 2025 (January to March)

2.2 million

overnight trips in Scotland by Great Britain residents

6.1 million

nights in Scotland by Great Britain residents

£752 million

total overnight spend in Scotland by Great Britain residents

Source: Great Britain Tourism Survey, overnight trips (2025 quarter one)

During the first quarter of 2025, residents of Great Britain took 2.2 million overnight trips in Scotland, with 6.1 million nights and £752 million spend. When comparing to the same quarter in 2024, there was an increase in trips (+3%), nights (+11%), and spend (+48%).

10% of all Great Britain trips in 2024 included an overnight stay in Scotland, with the share of total Great Britain nights and spend also at 10%.

The average duration of Scotland trips during the first quarter of 2025 was 2.8 nights with an average spend per night of £124 and average spend per trip of £342.

The most common purpose of domestic overnight trips in Scotland during the first quarter of 2025 was visiting friends or relatives, accounting for 30% of trips. This trip purpose also produced the highest proportion of nights at 36%, whereas holiday trips generated the highest level of spend (33%).

Great Britain Tourism Survey: overnight trips January - March 2025

Published June 2025

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2. Executive summary 2024

10.6 million

overnight trips in Scotland by Great Britain residents

29.5 million

nights in Scotland by Great Britain residents

£3.3 billion

total overnight spend in Scotland by Great Britain residents

Source: Great Britain Tourism Survey, overnight trips (2024)

During 2024, residents of Great Britain took 10.6 million overnight trips in Scotland, with 29.5 million nights and £3.3 billion spend. When comparing to 2023, trips and nights had both decreased whereas value of spend had slightly increased.

10% of all Great Britain trips in 2024 included an overnight stay in Scotland, with the share of total Great Britain  nights and spend also at 10%.

Volume of domestic overnight trips steadily increased in 2024, peaking in the final quarter with 3.2 million trips. However, nights and spend both peaked in quarter three of 2024, aligning with traditional seasonal pattern of tourism.

The average duration of Scotland trips during 2024 was 2.8 nights with an average spend per night of £113 and average spend per trip of £315.

While the highest average spend per night was generated by trips taken in quarter four of the year, quarter three saw longer stays and higher spend per trip on average.

Visits to friends and relatives made up the largest proportion of domestic overnight trips in Scotland during 2024, accounting for 34% of trips. Holiday trips produced the highest proportion of nights and spend (both at 42%).

Great Britain Tourism Survey: overnight trips annual report 2024

Published June 2025

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3. Definitions and methodology

The producers of the domestic tourist statistics (VisitScotland, Visit Wales, and VisitEngland) work closely with the appointed research agency on the statistical processing and quality management of the survey. Detailed technical reports are available on request.

Definitions

To qualify as an eligible Great Britain domestic overnight trip, visitors had to have:

  • stayed at least one night in the nations of Great Britain
  • take trips on an infrequent basis (i.e. less than once a week)
Term Definition
Great Britain domestic overnight holiday trips The main purpose of the trip was for holiday, pleasure or leisure.
Great Britain domestic overnight "visiting friends and relatives" trips The main purpose of the trip was for visiting friends and relatives, including such trips that visitors combined with a holiday.
Great Britain domestic overnight business trips The main purpose of the trip was for business.
Great Britain domestic overnight miscellaneous trips The main purpose of the trip was for any other type of trip taken not covered by the previous classifications. These include: personal events, public events, study, medical, religious reasons, any overnight stays in the UK as part of any overseas trip.
Volume An estimate of the grossed-up number of overnight trips if the sample would be representative of the whole population of Great Britain.
Value An estimate of the total expenditure if the sample would be representative of the whole population of  Great Britain.
Bednights An estimate of the grossed-up number of nights spent on overnight trips if the sample would be representative of the whole population of Great Britain.

These criteria and definitions have been revised to align with agreed international standards. This impacts on comparability of the domestic overnight tourism estimates from 2021 onwards from those published in 2019 and previous years.

Methodology

The Great Britain Tourism Survey is a national consumer survey conducted online with residents of Great Britain on their trip taking activity. 

Data is gathered via an online survey. Results are weighted to provide a nationally representative estimation of overnight tourism volume and value. Further detail on methodology can be found in the latest background and quality report to download on this page. 

In 2019, the producers of the domestic tourist statistics undertook a review of the requirements and methods for producing the statistics. This was to help future-proof the data collection methods. 

Results published from April 2021 onwards are not directly comparable with data published for 2019 and previous years because: 

  • statistics from 2021 onwards are based on a new combined survey 

  • changes in survey methodology were introduced in 2021, together with the interruption in data collection due to coronavirus (COVID-19) 

The target annual sample size for GBTS is 60,000 completed interviews for Great Britain. 

Great Britain Tourism Survey: overnight trips 2024 - background quality report

Published March 2025

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4. Official statistics and partners

The Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) is a national consumer survey. It's produced as per the Code of Practice for Official Statistics (2022) as published by the Office for Statistics Regulation.

VisitScotland jointly sponsors the survey with our partners VisitEngland and Visit Wales.

Read more about the Code of Practice for Official Statistics (2022) on gov.uk.

Other things you might like

Domestic day visits

Read the latest statistics on Scotland's domestic day visits performance. This includes the number of visits and spend.