Scotland's hotels overcome Brexit uncertainty in 2017

The hotel and tourism industries in Scotland achieved significant growth in 2017, despite the uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote, according to property consultant GVA’s Hotels Economic and Property Market Review.

International tourist numbers to Scotland contributed to increased investor interest, rising 14.6 percent to 1.26 million in the first nine months of 2017. However, VisitScotland data showed domestic tourist numbers dropped 5.5 percent to 8.29 million during this period.

This boost in tourism supported the increase in hotel industry performance up last year, especially in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. Edinburgh scored the highest results, with a 12.4-percent rise in RevPAR and an increase in ADR to more than £100. Glasgow’s occupancy rose 2.5-percent to 82.1 percent, driving the 5.2-percent increase in RevPAR for the year. Meanwhile, Inverness scored high performance levels with a rise in occupancy from the more than 83 percent recorded in 2016 and an 8.1-percent increase in ADR to £81.77. Demand in the Scottish Highlands also rose last year in response to the TV show Outlander and the launch of the tourism development initiative North Coast 500.