Tourism - Scotland

Scotland is a well-known tourism destination with tourist spending averaging around 4 billion Euros per year.  Since tourism is a big attraction in Scotland, it is responsible for creating 200,000 jobs mainly in the service sector.  It is also shocking to see that citizens of the United Kingdom also spend the most money while they are in Scotland, as opposed to other foreigners.  “In 2002, UK visitors made 18.5 million visits to Scotland, staying 64.5 million nights and spending 3.7 billion Euros.  In contrast, overseas residents made 1.58 million visits to Scotland, staying 15 million nights and spending 806 million Euros.”  The overseas visitors comprise mostly of individuals from the United States, which accounts for 24% of the population that visits Scotland.  Other countries include Germany (9%), France (8%), Canada (7%), Australia (6%), and a variety of other countries making up the rest of the visits to Scotland.

Scotland is composed of thousands of historic sites and attractions, which include prehistoric stone circles, standing stones, burial chambers, and Bronze Age remains.  There are also several historic castles, houses, battlegrounds, ruins, and museums.  However, the Edinburgh Castle is one of Scotland’s largest tourist attractions and the ruins of Melrose Abbey on the Scottish border are also nearly equally popular.  Other attractions include Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Glasgow, Stirling, and Aberdeen.  In fact, the United States news channel “CNN” has named Scotland as the number one destination for tourists to visit in 2013.

            At the Cairngorms National Park, visitors can find castles, historic sites, breweries and can even participate in adventure sports including mountain biking and white water rafting.  This national park is UK’s largest national park located in northeast Scotland, and established in 2003.  There are several unique species of nearly extinct animals including ospreys, red squirrels, and the Scottish wildcat.  Further to the south near Glasgow is Scotland’s other national park called Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.  Loch Lomond is the largest inland area of freshwater in Britain and this location is a popular destination for windsurfing in Scotland.  The loch also offers sailing, canoeing, waterskiing, and tours around the loch via boat.