New figures have revealed that international tourism in Scotland continued to outperform other parts of the UK in the first half of 2024, with almost two million inbound visits.

The Office for National Statistics latest figures for the International Passenger Survey (IPS) show there were a total of 1,975,000 visits to Scotland from international visitors between January and June, an increase of 14% on the same period in 2023 and a rise of 46% on 2019.

Between January and June international visitors spent almost £1.5 billion — up 2% on the same period in 2023 and 30% in 2019, in real terms, when adjusted for inflation.

European visitors were responsible for just over half of all trips during that period, followed by North American visitors who continue to show the largest growth in visits, a 54% increase on 2023.

VisitScotland CEO Vicki Miller said: “These figures show that Scotland continues to be a destination of choice for international visitors in 2024 and is still outperforming other parts of the UK.

“They are a testament to the strength of Scotland’s offering with visits and spend up on 2019 and 2023, which was a record-breaking year for international visitors.

“These visitors, who stay longer and spend more, are crucial to our industry and the visitor economy, supporting businesses and communities across the country.

Scotland’s strong international recovery has been a result of the work carried out by VisitScotland, industry and partners to drive demand over the last few years.

“We must continue building on this across our key markets, inspiring both domestic and international visitors through the channels we know they use to drive the visitor economy, growing its value to Scotland.”