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Spectacular Scotland is unusually quiet right now. Make the most of it
Ask Rachael Henley, general manager of the Fife Arms in Braemar, when is the perfect time to visit Scotland, and she'd say now. Well, she would, wouldn't she? 'No midges, no heatwaves, 18 hours of sunshine in which to enjoy the great outdoors,' she counters. 'Plus no small amount of art and culture to discover on the odd rainy day.'
As well as the recent clement weather, there's an added attraction this year — anecdotally, at least. It all seems … quieter. Henley, whose luxury boutique hotel is stylishly crammed with art and antiques and, being close to Balmoral, is a honeypot for rich Americans, says that bookings are being made later, ie closer to the departure, rather than being down. But our journalists report that the roads (at least, off the NC500) appear less busy. Campsites — where it's historically hard to find space in during the summer months — have more availability, even popular pitches such as Findhorn at the start of the Moray Malt Whisky Trail. You can even find rooms in the country's upmarket hotels, suggesting that annual block bookings — the preserve of the overseas tour operator and foil of the spur-of-the-moment domestic holidaymaker — have not materialised to the same extent as in previous years.
Even though the US schools havenow alreadybroken up for their seemingly endless (ten-week) summer holidays, the lochs, castles and whisky routes usually favoured by American visitors are quiet, and the Glencoe-Fort William-Loch Ness-Inverness-Aviemore-Speyside-St Andrews-Edinburgh circuit feels to have been humming rather than buzzing.
This apparent downturn also comes as something of a surprise. Provisional International Passenger Survey (IPS) figures released at the end of last week showed an uptick across the whole of 2024 for overseas visitors to Scotland. The survey, carried out by the Office for National Statistics for Visit Scotland, Visit Britain and Visit Wales, records the number and types of trips made by people travelling to and from the UK, and displayed a new record of 4.38 million visitors. This overtook pre-Covid tourism (the enduring benchmark for peak tourism figures) by 27 per cent, and 2023 by 10 per cent. Combined with a rise in the amount those tourists spend once they've arrived, Scotland outperformed all the other UK nations. What's more, despite the pressures of the cost of living and global market disruption, all indicators pointed towards another stellar year.
But look closer, and there are signs of other emerging trends that could be making the country seem quieter while having a positive impact for visitors.
There may be more people visiting, but they are spending less, according to VisitBritain's 2025 Inbound Tourism Forecast. 'VisitBritain recorded 39.2 million visits to the UK for 2024, up 3 per cent versus 2023 and just below — minus 4 per cent — pre-Covid levels,' says Frazer Coupland, CEO of West Highland Chamber of Commerce. 'However, it also notes that spend was slow from long-haul markets in particular in the first half of 2024, driven in part by a decline in length of stay. This suggests that even if US visitor numbers are recovering, their spending habits might be more constrained, impacting the West Highlands … where anecdotal evidence points to a decline.'
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The net result? Overseas visitors taking shorter stays means there are more rooms available, and potentially at lower rates — good news for the canny domestic visitor. That US travellers are booking later could also spell opportunities for UK holidaymakers, who are less likely to find their preferred hotels booked up.
'We are not seeing a dramatic decline in [the number of] Americans travelling to Braemar, what we are seeing is very much last-minute business appearing,' Henley says.
'We have seen a different start to the summer booking season compared to previous years,' agrees Conor O'Leary, managing director of the luxury-hotel-cum-country-estate Gleneagles and its chichi Edinburgh outpost, Gleneagles Townhouse. 'We are seeing a much shorter booking window. April saw strong last-minute uplift, particularly from the US. May was a bit slower, with less group travel business, but the overall picture suggests a shift in travel patterns rather than a decline.'
WildLand, a collection of art houses and cottages across three Highland estates, has had a similar experience. 'Lead times have shortened dramatically, now typically three to six months instead of the usual 12 or more, and there's a greater reluctance to commit, even when interest is high,' says Victoria Marlowe, head of guest relations. 'We've had US families stay at Aldourie, the jewel in our portfolio, with as little as a month's notice.'
Such new patterns reflect a post-pandemic reluctance among UK travellers to book in advance, having become accustomed during international lockdowns to a more uncertain world and developing more spontaneous travel habits. The unpredictability of the US economy and world events may also be a contributing factor.
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Hoteliers also point to an increase in guests actively seeking ways to save money, opting for in-room dining over restaurant meals, or picnicking in their rooms, which can be good news, keeping tables available for speculative diners.
At the opposite end of the market, while the US market isn't key for camping and glamping, those of us looking to visit Scotland under canvas can still benefit from these new booking trends.
'Across the UK, generally the lead time has shortened and bookings are coming in later, especially on [glamping site] Canopy & Stars,'' says Emily Enright of Sawday's. 'There is a marked increase in bookings 2-4 weeks out and even those within seven days, pointing to greater availability.'
According to Dan Yates, founder and MD of the camping booking site while it might seem quiet, it's really not. 'Some 66,000 people have already booked for Scotland this year — 23 per cent up on last year,' he says. 'However, booking value has not spiked, pointing both to lower prices and people booking lower-priced accommodation and taking their own tent or tourer rather than glamping.'
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If this has whet your appetite for an early summer Scottish sortie, don't get carried away and turn up on spec expecting a bargain (or an empty pitch!). Buck the trend and book ahead, but push for the best deal, especially midweek, when you might find you can negotiate added extras. The same goes for booking tickets forvisitor attractions, for which demand remains high among day-trippers as well as overseas visitors. And arm yourself with ideas from our list of oft-overlooked beautiful places that are quiet even at peak times.
Where's your favourite place to visit in Scotland? Let us know in the comments below
