Visit Scotland | Alba

Overview

  • Made up of around 70 islands, visitors enjoy the unspoilt landscapes, wide open spaces and the abundant island wildlife in Orkney. With a unique culture and history, there’s no other place quite like it.
  • Statistics on the volume and value of visitors to individual regions of Scotland are collated from several national surveys, where sample sizes are at a robust level.
  • For the Orkney Islands, information has been gathered to estimate the volume and value of visitors via the 2019 Islands Visitor Survey. Appropriate data collection going forward is currently under review.

In this article:

1. Key statistics

192 thousand

visits

£67m

total spend

71%

first time leisure visitors

Figures taken from Orkney Islands Visitor Survey 2019

2. Orkney Islands Visitor Survey 2019

The Islands Visitor Survey 2019 was commissioned by Orkney Islands Council, Shetland Islands Council and VisitScotland. The main aim of the survey was to gather views on a wide range of topics relating to the visitor profile and experience. In addition, due to the  "defined" entry/exit points for each island, information was gathered to estimate the volume and value of visitors to each island at a robust level.

The research was carried out between January and December 2019 by Progressive Partnership Limited. 4,621 calibration interviews were conducted and 1,187 completed online surveys received.

Key highlights include:

  • Profile of visitors to Orkney

    58% were first time visitors to Orkney, 42% were repeat visitors.

    42% were from Scotland, 29% from the rest of the UK.

    16% were from Europe, 8% from North America and 6% from other overseas.

  • Purpose of visit to Orkney

    66% were visiting for a leisure or holiday trip.

    16% were visiting friends or relatives.

    16% were on a business trip.

  • Motivations to visit Orkney

    The scenery, the history and culture were the main factors influencing leisure visitors to visit Orkney.

    Some leisure visitors were also inspired by TV programmes, travel features in the press and books on Orkney.

Orkney Islands Visitor Survey 2019

Published May 2020

Download (1,098Kb)

Orkney Islands Visitor Survey 2019 - executive summary

Published May 2020

Download (1,109Kb)

Notes on the interpretation of Islands Visitor Survey 2019

Published May 2020

Download (180Kb)

Related links

Domestic sentiment tracker 

The latest tracking research on UK residents' holiday intentions. This includes perceptions relating to the cost-of-living crisis, and industry…