A long-time favourite with Australians, Scotland is now ripe for travel advisors, says VisitScotland CEO Vicki Miller in this exclusive interview with Travel Weekly.
“If your clients want truly immersive, one-of-a-kind experiences, Scotland is the destination,” Vicki Miller tells Travel Weekly at the recent VisitScotland Connect in Glasgow.
“The Australian market remains one of Scotland’s most attractive in terms of trip lengths and value,” she adds, explaining that the average Aussie visit clocks in at 11 nights, making it one of Scotland’s key markets for longer stays.
That naturally lends itself to multi-region, multi-experience itineraries – an area where agents can really add value.
“Aussies are visiting more than one region… that length of stay means that the value of the trip is important,” she notes.
Rather than a simple ‘Edinburgh plus Highlands’ package, there’s scope to build journeys that factor in agritourism, food and drink, coastal and island experiences, outdoor activities and major events while maintaining strong per-trip yield.
From sightseeing to transformative travel
Like many long-haul travellers, Australians are increasingly gravitating toward immersive and meaningful travel rather than simple sightseeing. Scotland is leaning hard into that space.
Miller points to a boom in demand for “experiences, well-being, connection with nature, meaningful travel” and noted, “that’s one of the things that we do well in Scotland.”
A big part of that story is the rise of agritourism and small-group experiences. Farmers across the country are diversifying into tourism, offering farm stays with cooking workshops, dining experiences and guided tours.
These are small-group, host-led experiences that agents can easily package around more traditional itineraries.
Scotland Connect: trade-ready product for agents
This year VisitScotland Connect welcomed 330 buyers from 20 countries to meet with 289 Scottish businesses. This included 68 new suppliers demonstrating the breadth and scale of Scotland’s offering.
To ensure Scotland’s growing portfolio of experiences are trade-ready, VisitScotland offers suppliers a Business Support Program.
The program takes local businesses, often small or first-time trade participants, through a process of refining their product, pricing and distribution for international markets.
Being “trade-ready” in VisitScotland terms means:
- Clear products and pricing
- Thought-through experiences that meet international expectations
- An understanding of working with tour operators and retail agents
For Australian agents, that translates into more reliable, commissionable product that can be confidently included in tailor-made or escorted programs.
How Aussies are travelling
VisitScotland sees a mix of travel styles from Australia, particularly escorted groups, small groups and independent touring.
These styles are often combined within a single trip, meaning the trade remains critical.
“The majority of the travel from the Australian market will come through a travel intermediary,” the Vicki Miller said, adding that because of distance and the tendency to combine multiple destinations, Aussies “more often than not” book through a tour operator or travel agent.
That gives the trade real influence over how and where Australians spend their time and money once they land in Scotland.
Despite changes to some Middle Eastern airline capacity, VisitScotland is still seeing year-on-year growth in international visitation and spend, and search demand from key markets is up. Routes via Asia, North America and mainland Europe remain strong, giving agents multiple ways to get clients into Scotland and on to wider itineraries.
New angles for repeat visitors
Many Australians already have Scotland stamped in their passports, so the challenge for agents is to give them a new reason to return.
Fresh talking points include:
- A heavy investment in the luxury space, from Scenic Scotland by Rail to castle hotel stays such as Fonab Castle Hotel and Inverlochy Castle Hotel. Unique, slow-paced experiences are a major part of the VisitScotland message.
- A fast-evolving food and drink scene, with new gin distilleries and whisky experiences, including one of the most northerly whisky distilleries in the Shetland Islands, with areas like Galloway highlighted as rich agricultural and culinary destinations.
- Events and major sports. From festivals and book events to world-class golf and future headline fixtures such as the Tour de France Grand Départ, The Open at St Andrews and the UEFA Euros. These provide perfect anchors for extended, high-value itineraries.
Australian agents wanting to sell Scotland are well equipped, says Miller.
“There’s a team there that can support and help and plan those itineraries. If what your travellers are looking for is immersive, unique experiences, then Scotland is definitely the destination you want to choose.”
With longer-staying visitors, trade-ready product and a growing experience sector, Scotland is positioned as a premium, story-rich option for Australian clients.
Agents can access a range of resources on the VisitScotland Travel Trade site including a list of travel trade friendly suppliers, latest destination updates, practical information, and themed itineraries to support with Scotland programmes and itinerary development.
