Record year for overseas visitors
Gavin Newlands, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has welcomed new statistics which show that visits and spending by overseas tourists in Scotland, during 2017, rose to its highest level on record.
The ONS Travel Trends 2017 statistics showed the number of overseas tourists visiting Scotland rose by 16.9% to 3.2 million, while expenditure increased by 23% to £2.3 billion.
The record figures were driven by European visitors who made 1.9 million visits to Scotland, a 17% increase from 2016, with spending rising by 36% to £1.1 billion. Across the UK as a whole the number of European visitors increased by 1% and spending fell by 1%.
Gavin Newlands, SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said:
“Scotland is a fantastic place to visit and tour, not only for oversea visitors but also for people living in Scotland who can visit places where they don’t normally get the opportunity to go to.
“These figures show the strength of Scotland’s tourism sector with 2017 being a record year for overseas tourists visiting and spending money in Scotland. This is great news for the industry and our local economies.
“Tourism is vitally important to the Scottish economy, employing over 200,000 people.
“Let’s not forget that thousands of tourists visit Renfrewshire each year to sample what our area has to offer. Renfrewshire has a thriving tourism sector which supports local jobs. It’s important that we build on this to ensure that we continue to welcome visitors from across the world to Renfrewshire and Scotland.”
