One fifth of British tourists plan to visit Scotland this year - NFU Mutual

Aside from those already living in Scotland, the country can expect the most holidaymakers coming in from around the Newcastle, Belfast and Manchester regions, for reasons including visiting the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, sightseeing beautiful landscapes at the Isle of Skye, in The Highlands and Loch Lomond, shopping, nights out and visiting friends and family.

Edinburgh also came third place in destination popularity for visits by British tourists, surpassed in popularity only by London and the Lake District and tying with Cornwall.

Darren Seward, hospitality expert at NFU Mutual, said: “It’s brilliant to see that so many Brits are planning to travel across land and sea to explore all that Scotland has to offer this year and that there’s no place like home for Scottish locals.

“The allure of a spontaneous, hassle-free getaway to a familiar and safe place without discomfort or delays is particularly appealing. The weak pound should make the UK a more attractive holiday option and deliver a boost for Scotland’s leisure industry after the late arrival of Spring.”

Over three quarters (79 per cent) of Scots said that they planned a visit to a UK destination this year., with Scottish destinations of Edinburgh, Glasgow, The Highlands, Loch Lomond and the Isle of Skye topping the list, followed by London, York and the Lake District.

People from Scotland said that they are especially likely to choose a UK holiday due to the ease of planning at short notice (47 per cent), followed by travel being less hassle (39 per cent), and simply loving what the UK has to offer (including countryside, towns, beaches and history), 34 per cent.

Just under a quarter of people from Scotland are likely to choose a UK staycation because of feeling safer here, slightly higher than the UK average (23 per cent vs. 21 per cent).

The top reasons people feel less safe abroad include the threat of terrorism (64 per cent) and being an easy target to thieves (45 per cent), followed by civil unrest, poorer healthcare, the inability to understand or communicate in a different language (all 37 per cent) and unfamiliarity in different road layouts or being unable to detect bad neighbourhoods (35 per cent).