The Economic Impact of Heritage Tourism

Overview

Historic sites and attractions draw international visitors to Scotland. They also draw Scottish people into other regions for holidays and day trips. Heritage visitors help to sustain local economies and employment through their on-site spend at the attractions and their off-site spend in local shops, restaurants, hotels and on other services. Much of this economic activity would not have occurred if the heritage attraction had not drawn those people to the area. Not only do local businesses benefit from such activity, but they in turn support other businesses when they buy from their own suppliers in order to meet the visitors’ demand (this is known as the multiplier effect).

HES annually estimates the total tourism impact generated by Scotland’s heritage using data from the three largest national annual surveys: The International Passenger Survey; The GB Tourism Survey; and the GB Day Visitor Survey. Our analysis draws on previous impact research in the sector and is used to track progress against Scotland’s National Tourism Strategy. Our report presents an approach we’ve used to capture the impact of the whole heritage sector, and why we’ve used this approach over other methods.