Visit Scotland | Alba

Overview

  • Speaking to people when they're on holiday in Scotland is a great way to gather valuable insight on our visitors’ experience. Our visitor surveys help us understand why visitors take a holiday or short break in Scotland and how they rate their experiences when here.
  • Due to the scale of this work, we typically conduct a comprehensive Scotland Visitor Survey every three or four years. This includes speaking to a sample of both domestic (Scotland residents and rest of UK overnight visitors) as well as international visitors.
  • The last survey undertaken was in 2015/2016, with the planned 2020 survey postponed due to the pandemic. We're now conducting the Scotland Visitor Survey 2023.
  • The visitor survey will allow us to speak to overnight holidaymakers on the ground in Scotland. We'll then follow up with them on their return home so that we have a full picture of their visitor journey from start to finish.
  • The results of the Scotland Visitor Survey 2023 will be available in 2024.
Read more about the Scotland Visitor Survey 2023

In this article:

1. Visitor Survey results for 2015 and 2016

Scotland Visitor Survey 2015 and 2016 - overview

Published April 2027

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Scotland Visitor Survey 2015 and 2016 - full version

Published April 2017

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2. Methodology

The Scotland Visitor Survey 2015 and 2016 was undertaken to understand visitors through the analysis of their behaviour and their visitor experience. 11,743 face to face interviews were conducted around Scotland and 2,999 follow up online surveys were completed by visitors on their return home.

The Scotland Visitor Survey should not be viewed in isolation. The survey collates views on a wide range of topics to understand visitor attitudes and behaviours. This data supplements data on tourism in Scotland which is gathered by the annual statistical surveys undertaken at a national level, the Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) and the International Passenger Survey (IPS).

The face-to-face fieldwork was conducted during the high season only, based on a need to gather visitors views in an efficient manner. This means the results reflect the views of those visiting Scotland between May and September 2015 and 2016 only.

Related links

Types of visitors

Explore insights on different types of visitors, including young travellers and families.

Regions

Research and insights on regions across Scotland.

Working in partnership

We’re dedicated to working with many organisations to help grow the Scottish visitor economy.