Glasgow revealed as the Scottish region that holiday goers feel most excited in
New research from VisitScotland reveals that Glasgow is the most exciting place in Scotland for tourists!
Article Source: VisitScotland
Last Updated: 9 November 2022 12:11
As part of their Scotland is Calling campaign, the national tourism organisation set out to uncover how holiday-goers from across the UK feel about their adventures in Scotland, looking to pinpoint the emotions felt most in each region.
The survey revealed that ‘happiness’ is the strongest emotion felt by those taking a break in Scotland, with 1 in 5 (18%) people saying this across the country and over one in five (22%) saying this about Glasgow specifically.
However, although ‘excited’ was the second-most felt emotion by visitors to Glasgow, the city still comes out on top as the region holiday-goers are most likely to say they felt excited in, with over 1 in 6 (16%) people who selected Glasgow saying this!
The most popular way to visit Glasgow is with family members, with over a quarter (28%) of people saying this.
Interestingly, out of all the UK’s regions, Londoners are the most likely to feel adventurous when they came to Scotland, feeling this especially in Glasgow.
The World’s Friendliest City
Just earlier this year, Glasgow was named by Time Out as the world’s friendliest city, and it seems the respondents of VisitScotland’s research agree. One tourist said that Glasgow was their favourite city in Scotland because, “it has the best people, fabulous architecture and great energy.”
Whilst another paid homage to Glasgow’s UNESCO City of Music status: “Glasgow is my absolute favourite city. I love the music and the liveliness of the place all year round.”
As did another, saying that Glasgow was their favourite place because of its: “great arts and entertainment scene.”
Other previous research from Cambridge University found Scottish people to be the friendliest in the UK and it seems holiday-goers agree.
VisitScotland asked people to agree with statements they felt best described Scottish people and 90% of the statements selected were positive. Statements include “Scottish people always make them feel welcome”, “Scottish people play an integral part in what makes their Scottish holiday experiences more enjoyable” and, “Scottish people always make me feel accepted”.
What’s more, 94% of respondents said that they always have a positive experience when they visit Scotland and another 9 in 10 people (92%) say that their experiences and memories of visiting Scotland make them want to return to their ‘special locations’.
Why do we hold emotions to places?
Pinpointing emotions and memories to specific places isn’t something new; it’s a psychological concept known as “place attachment” and explores the bond between person and place. After ‘happiness’ (22%) and ‘excited’ (16%), the third most felt emotion by tourists in Glasgow was ‘adventurous’ (11%).
That might come as no surprise considering the word Glasgow, translated in Gaelic, quite literally means ‘Dear Green Place’. Glasgow is known for its balanced cosmopolitan culture and being full of things for everyone to enjoy.
Dr Carlos Galan-Diaz, an environmental psychologist at the University of St Andrews explains: “It is consistently proven that human emotions are present in every aspect of our lives, including where we choose to live or visit for a holiday.
“Our time spent in these places has consequences on our feelings from the moment we visit. It can be as simple as being in your favourite place and feeling a sense of happiness immediately, or it can be as long-lasting as our 'moods'—for example, the satisfied feeling continuing when you get home from your favourite place.
“As humans, we have tendencies to bond with and be surrounded by other living things, and our favourite places can help to restore our bodies and minds.”
Vicki Miller, Director of Marketing and Digital at VisitScotland comments: “This new research uncovers some of the reasons why Glasgow holds a special place for visitors, highlighting feelings of happiness, excitement and adventure.
“Our latest marketing campaign, Scotland is Calling focuses on this appeal highlighting the ways in which Scotland can fulfil a visitor’s emotional needs. It is not just about the unmissable things you can see and do in Scotland but how it feels to experience them here which we know people missed during the pandemic.
“Glasgow provides the ideal city escape for this boasting world-class attractions, vibrant neighbourhoods, fantastic food and drink and legendary live music.
“We hope the campaign will inspire more people to discover the magic of visiting Scotland and Glasgow during the autumn and winter months, create new special memories and experience our world-famous warm welcome for themselves.”
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