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June Barometer: Weather volatility, changing domestic spending patterns and stronger international demand

Added: 14 Sep 2026

Moffat Centres’ ASVA Attraction Sector Review

Resilience, changing consumer behaviour and a widening gap between volume and value

June 2026 offered encouraging signs for Scotland’s visitor attraction sector, with visitor numbers moving back into positive year-on-year territory despite continued economic pressures, uneven weather and changing travel patterns.

Across the 328 comparable attractions in the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) Barometer, 3.93 million visits were recorded in June, up 1.7% on June 2025. The wider Moffat Centre Scottish Visitor Attraction Barometer, covering 552 attractions, recorded 4.86 million visits, an increase of 1.2%.

The picture remains more challenging over the first half of the year. Between January and June, visits were 1.7% lower across ASVA attractions and 1.9% lower across the national barometer. June’s growth therefore represents an important improvement, but evidence of a decisive reversal of the year-to-date position is still to be observed.

Who is visiting, and what are they spending?

The headline growth masks a significant change in demand.

Free-to-enter attractions increased visits by 5.1% in June, while paid-entry attractions declined by 2.3%. Outdoor and nature-based attractions performed particularly strongly, increasing by 20.6%.

This divergence suggests a continued degree of consumer price sensitivity. At a time when household budgets remain under pressure, visitors appear increasingly willing to seek out experiences that are free, affordable or offer strong perceived value, while being more selective about paying for admission.

The contrast is particularly evident among attractions where the wider visitor economy depends on discretionary spending. Whisky distilleries were down 9.0%, heritage centres by 30.5% and craft venues by 9.5%.

For the sector, this raises a more fundamental question than footfall alone. Are visitor numbers translating into equivalent commercial value?

Weather creates winners and losers

June also demonstrated how strongly weather continues to shape attraction performance.

Scotland experienced marked regional variation, with western areas significantly wetter than average while parts of the east remained comparatively dry. Western Scotland recorded 148mm of rainfall, 141% of its long-term June average, while East Lothian recorded 43.5mm, just 59% of its seasonal average.

The resulting pattern was reflected in attraction performance. Outdoor and nature attractions benefited where conditions were favourable, while wetter western areas saw greater pressure on open-air activities.

This reinforces the importance of operational flexibility, particularly for attractions whose business model is highly weather-dependent. The ability to provide compelling indoor alternatives, adaptable programming and flexible visitor arrangements is increasingly valuable in an environment of greater weather variability.

International demand is strengthening, but domestic demand remains cautious

Scotland continues to benefit from strong international connectivity. Flight bookings to Scotland increased by 15% year-on-year in June, while Edinburgh Airport handled more than 1.7 million passengers, 3.9% above June 2025 and 20.7% above pre-pandemic levels. Glasgow Airport also reported strong summer performance.

This provides an important opportunity for attractions to capture growing international demand, particularly from North America. Positive media coverage of the Tartan Army in North America will have promoted Brand Scotland and possible future travel plans.

At the same time, June contained an unusual domestic factor, with Scotland’s participation in the FIFA World Cup in the United States encouraging significant outbound travel by Scottish supporters. With more than 50,000 fans estimated to have travelled, the event temporarily removed a substantial group of domestic leisure consumers from the Scottish market.

Taken together, these factors highlight a developing distinction between international visitor growth and the more cautious behaviour of domestic consumers.

Free, local and accessible experiences are gaining ground

One of the clearest signals from the June data is the strength of smaller and more locally accessible attractions.

Accessible Small-Town attractions increased visits by 48.9%, while Remote Small-Town attractions grew by 10.5%. Large urban areas, by contrast, recorded a marginal 0.7% decline.

The strongest growth was seen among the smallest attractions. Sites recording fewer than 5,000 annual visits recorded a tripling of visitors year on year in June, albeit from a relatively small base.

This pattern suggests that Scotland’s visitor economy is not being driven solely by major destinations. Smaller community attractions are increasingly part of the visitor response to current economic conditions, offering accessible experiences that can be incorporated easily into local and regional trips.

For operators, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Large attractions need to demonstrate clear value for admission, while smaller attractions have an opportunity to strengthen their role within local visitor economies and wider regional itineraries.

What does this mean for the months ahead?

June provides grounds for cautious optimism, but it also points to a changing operating environment. The upcoming summer has shown to be a hotter and drier than previous years and with the Commonwealth Games taking place in Glasgow, it further highlights Scotland on the global stage.

For paid attractions strengthening the connection between price and perceived value may offset the consumer cost of living experience. More visitors won’t necessarily mean more income if consumers remain reluctant to pay for admission or spend once inside. Attractions could therefore focus on the overall experience and proposition rather than relying solely on discounting.

For free attractions, rising footfall presents a different challenge: converting strong visitor volumes into sustainable income through retail, food and beverage, donations and other forms of secondary spend.

For all operators, the June results reinforce the importance of flexibility. Weather volatility, changing domestic spending patterns and stronger international demand mean that a single approach to marketing and visitor experience is increasingly unlikely to be sufficient.

The underlying message from June is therefore encouraging but nuanced. Scotland’s attraction sector is proving resilient, but resilience is increasingly being driven by accessibility, value and adaptability. The strongest-performing attractions are not simply attracting more people; they are responding effectively to where visitors want to go, what they are prepared to spend, and the conditions in which they are making those choices.