The future of Scottish tourism
Scotland has experienced tremendous success as a global tourist destination in recent years, however, the findings of the Tourism Strategy 2020 Mid-Term Strategy Review revealed that on the current trajectory, there is still much to be done if the industry is to reach its 2020 target.
Scottish tourism is constantly evolving and expectations from visitors are changing. Our customers have to be at the centre of every tourism business. We often think that we know what our customers want, but do we really?
With exciting new trends emerging each year keep up to date with the latest reports below.
Megatrends impacting Scottish tourism to 2025
Report by Euromonitor commissioned by Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Tourism Alliance
What are Megatrends?
Megatrends describe the global shifts that have a huge impact on everything in our lives – business, economy, society, culture and more.
Megatrends are impacting Scottish tourism along with other global markets and we can increasingly see examples of how businesses are capitalising on them to grow and attract new markets.
Global tourism experts refer to twelve Megatrends happening today. By merging these original twelve, four key Megatrends evolved into the most relevant for Scotland looking forward to 2025.
In a nutshell these are the four
1. EXPERIENCE MORE – offering more genuine experiences and helping visitors to be more than ‘tourists’
2. LIMITLESS DISCOVERIES – marketing the whole of Scotland, not just the favourite places
3. EVOLVING TRAVELLER – recognising the many different types of visitors, both culturally and demographically
4. TECHNOLOGY TO STIMULATE AND INFORM – using widely available technology and data capture to improve and influence the visitor experience
The summary below rounds up the key points from in-depth research and consultation that was carried out on behalf Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Tourism Alliance.
Megatrends Case Studies
Trends 2019 – Wellness
Report by VisitScotland
VisitScotland 2019 trends report focuses on the global consumer phenomena of ‘wellness tourism’ and encourages businesses to continue embracing the movement by using natural assets such as stunning landscapes, provenance of food and drink and culture.
Tourism Futures 2069
Report by VisitScotland
As part of VisitScotland’s 50th-anniversary celebration, they’ve taken a tongue-in-cheek look forward into 2069 and unveiled what visitors might be enjoying on their trips to Scotland.
Changing the Mindset: Travel and Sustainability
Report by Euromonitor
Euromonitor International is the world’s leading independent provider of strategic market research. They create data and analysis on thousands of products and services around the world.
A perfect storm has been unleashed. The impacts of tourism (good and bad) are ever more under scrutiny at every level, as the challenge of achieving sustainable, low-impact growth at a local and global level comes into sharp relief.