Domestic sentiment tracker 

1. Executive summary

The latest report for Scotland is based on data collected from fieldwork conducted between May 2026 to July 2026. It reports on intended UK trips for July to December 2026.

The key findings of the domestic sentiment tracker can be summarised as follows:

• The impact of the cost-of-living crisis is greater than this time last year, with 22% stating that they have been "hit hard", and a growing 45% stating they are "OK" but being careful in July 2026.
• Despite this, the proportion stating the cost of living will impact on UK short breaks / holidays remains similar to last year (53%), with the main changes being spending less or cutting back on accommodation.
• Barriers to taking a trip remain financial. While concern around fuel costs has decreased from a 35% peak in April, concern around cost of accommodation and eating / drinking out are continuing to increase.
• Looking at intentions between July and December 2026, these have fallen compared to the same period in 2025 (65% versus 68%).
• Intentions to visit Scotland have decreased by three percentage points (14% to 11%) for the same period. These decreases are consistent with findings earlier in the year.

Intentions to visit Scotland (July to December 2026)

Looking forward to the second half of the year, Scotland is the fourth most-preferred destination to visit (behind South West, London, and North West).

As seen throughout 2026, booking levels for Scotland are lower for other regions of the UK at 31%. Commitment to visit Scotland is lower than average with 55% very committed compared to 60% across the UK as a whole.

For Scotland intenders, older independents remain the most common group, with younger independents seeing a reduction compared with earlier in the year. Intentions by those of a retirement age and families have returned to 2024 proportions.

Destination types (July to December 2026)

The Highlands are the most popular area for Scotland intenders, both for Scottish residents (37%) and non-Scottish residents.

Edinburgh and Glasgow also remain key areas of intention to visit, with non-Scotland residents more likely than Scotland residents to plan on visiting these areas during autumn 2026.

Motivations for Scotland trip intenders (July to December 2026)

"To get away from it all and have a rest" and "family time or time with my partner" are the leading motivations for a short break or holiday in Scotland and are more likely to be selected by Scottish residents.

Popular activities planned include “trying local food and drink” and “visiting heritage sites”, both of which were more popular than for autumn 2025. Interest has also grown in nature activities this year. 

Accommodation for Scotland trip intenders (July to December 2026)

"Hotel / motel / inn" remains the number one accommodation type for Scotland. However, this option has dropped in popularity from last year, with a growing number of intenders selecting rented accommodation. 

Travelling within the UK for festivals or events

In June 2026, we included some specific questions within the tracker about planning trips around specific events or festivals.

Over half have planned trips around events or festivals, and a fifth do regularly. The majority of respondents would also consider extending their stay in a destination due to an event or festival, and over half have returned to a destination that they visited for an event / festival at a different time of year.

There is willingness to travel to Scotland for an event or festival, with 76% of non-Scottish residents and 92% of Scottish residents "very" or "fairly likely" to come to an event in Scotland that appealed to them. Barriers to attending events in Scotland include distance, weather and perceived expense of accommodation.

3. Methodology

The study uses a monthly online survey based on a UK nationally representative sample of 1,500 adults aged 16 and over. The sample is then boosted in Scotland to ensure sufficient base sizes for separate national analysis.

In total, 1,750 surveys are completed, of which 250 are Scotland residents. The study is conducted by BVA BDRC. The latest Scotland report aggregates the results from waves of fieldwork conducted between November 2025 and January 2026.

Further information on the methodology is available within the PDF report to download.