15th February 2024
The latest Scottish Tourism Index suggests some small signs of recovery for domestic tourism in 2024
“Over three in ten of us say that any Scottish holidays they will take are likely to be shorter than before, making them more affordable (31%), whilst 6 in 10 are keeping costs as low as possible by reducing their spending when on holiday (60%) . The overall outcome for domestic tourism will continue to be a trend towards shorter, lower spend trips. Additionally, over a third of us will book holidays at the last possible moment (35%) which adds to the uncertainties for tourism businesses.”
The January 2024 Scottish Tourism Index provides an overview of how the Scottish home holiday market might look for the year ahead. Some 1,006 Scots were interviewed in late January with the primary purpose of establishing the characteristics of Scots’ holiday-taking attitudes and behaviours. As surveys are undertaken at identical times each year, it provides a directly comparable set of measures year-on-year, ensuring predictions for the year ahead can be fine tuned by comparing against previous surveys results. In the report from the survey (downloadable by clicking on the image below) we provide some contextual analysis of the extent to which the economic situation might continue to dampen and shape holiday demand. We then look back at Scots’ holiday behaviours in 2023 and then forward to 2024 to establish where we may see potential growth as well as continued challenges.
When the Scottish Tourism Index was launched in 2020, the main driver of consumer behaviours was Covid-19. As we emerged from the Pandemic, the economic impacts it left behind along with the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine and Government fiscal policies have meant that the cost of living crisis has replaced Covid as the main determinant of consumer holiday behaviours. Last year, whilst more Scots rediscovered foreign holiday destinations, this was often at the expense of home holidays as smaller family budgets constrained domestic spending on hospitality. At the start of 2024 there is some initial evidence that this spending squeeze may have ‘bottomed out’ and although still likely to constrain what we do in the immediate term, our disposable incomes are beginning to show some signs of recovery – and the home holiday market may start a journey back to recovery…
See the link below to access the full report.
