Tourism in Scotland

In addition to these factors, the national tourist agency, VisitScotland, have deployed a strategy of niche marketing, aimed at exploiting, amongst other things, Scotland's strengths in golf, fishing and food and drink tourism.

Most visitors (for any purpose) to Scotland in 2018 came from the following countries:[4] Other areas which are popular for tourists include the Highlands and the Hebrides, such as the Isle of Skye.

[5] The nearby Speyside area has the largest number of distilleries including Aberlour, Balvenie, Cardhu, Cragganmore, Dalwhinnie,[6] Glenfarclas, Glenglassaugh, Glenfiddich, Speyburn, The Macallan, The Glenlivet, and The Glenrothes.

[9][10] Scotland is the home of golf, with historic and famous courses including St Andrews, Gleneagles, Royal Troon, Carnoustie, and Muirfield.

"It's been an incredibly difficult year for all businesses" and added that she did not "underestimate the acute challenges our tourism and hospitality sectors have faced".

[13] The VisitBritain report in April 2021 discussed the effects of the pandemic on domestic within the UK in 2020, citing a significant reduction in spending, for an estimated decline of 62% over the previous year.

[14] A report published in March 2021 by the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde indicated that in the UK, "tourism and hospitality suffered notable losses from the pandemic" and provided detailed specifics for both domestic and international visits.

The group particularly requested support for the tourism/hospitality industry, including financial grants, the funding of marketing for the sector, and a "temporary removal of Air Passenger Duty to boost route competitiveness".

[16] On 24 March 2021, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a £25 million tourism recovery programme "to support the industry for the next 6 months to two years".

The BBC recommended such "staycationing" but reminded readers that travel to "Scotland's islands or across the border at Gretna and Berwick" might not be possible for some time.

(Two days earlier, PM Boris Johnson had made it clear that "We don't want to see the virus being reimported into this country from abroad".