Tourist trade tops GBP1bn in Edinburgh

EDINBURGH's tourism industry has generated more than GBP 1 billion for the
city in a single year for the first time.

Industry experts predict that record will be beaten again this year, thanks
to the growing success of Edinburgh's summer festivals and spin-offs from
staging the MTV Europe Music Awards earlier this month.

The research, released by Edinburgh and Lothians Tourist Board, showed that
the city's tourism industry is in better shape now than before the double
blow of the foot-and-mouth outbreak and the 11 September terror attacks on
the United States in 2001. It also confirmed Edinburgh's position as the
gateway to Scotland for foreign visitors.

More than half of all overseas tourism visits to Scotland included an
overnight stay in Edinburgh. Overseas expenditure in the city is around a
third of the total foreign visitor spend in Scotland.

The research, compiled from a range of tourism studies, shows that Edinburgh
Castle retained its place as the city's top tourism attraction, with visitor
numbers jumping from 1.12 million to 1.53 million last year.

Earlier this month, it emerged that the lucrative business travel market is
emerging as an area of future growth for the Scottish tourism industry, with
much of it in the Central Belt.

Figures released by VisitScotland, the tourism agency, showed the business
sector spend increasing dramatically - now accounting for one third of all
money spent by visitors to Scotland.

Edinburgh is the ninth most popular conference destination in the world,
according to the International Congress and Convention Association.

Sumamrised from
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/scotland.cfm?id=1303572003

Owain