Homecoming 2014 generated £136 million of additional revenue to the Scottish economy and encouraged more than 326,000 visitors from outside of Scotland to travel to the country, it was revealed today (Wednesday 15 July 2015).
The independent research, commissioned by VisitScotland, was presented by Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing on a visit to Glasgow, a city that played a key part in the success of the year.
The key findings in the comprehensive study from Glasgow Caledonian University’s Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development include:
- £136m net additional revenue generated for Scotland
- 326,000 visitors from outside the country who cited Homecoming as the primary reason for traveling to Scotland in 2014
- £94 million net additional expenditure by visitors
- 4.6 million attendances at more than 1000 Homecoming 2014 events
- 1,336 net full time equivalent (FTE) jobs generated by visits associated with Homecoming 2014
The figures show how events such as Bannockburn Live, the John Muir Festival (including ‘Home’ at the Kelpies), Harris Tweed Hebrides Tattoo, Forth Bridges Festival and Highland Homecoming ensured the second year of Homecoming extended the benefits brought to Scotland alongside the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games.
The diverse range of sell-out events and exceptional audience attendance figures across the country, combined with extensive global marketing campaigns by VisitScotland, guaranteed that the spotlight truly shone on Scotland during 2014.
