PART 1: Destination Hospitality Needs Meaning, Memory & Margin to Survive in 2026

A quiet shift is happening across Scottish tourism and if you’re running a diversified farm, estate, historic house or destination business, you can likely feel it already in the following areas:

1. Footfall is becoming less predictable.

2. Spend per visitor is under pressure.

3. And “a nice day out” is no longer enough to sustain a business.

   
   

This summer will test the resilience of rural and hospitality-led destinations. Not because people don’t want to come. But because they are becoming more selective about why they choose you and how much they spend when they do.

From where I sit, quite literally, up on a hill overlooking a loch I see things differently. I see the patterns, the flow and where people pause… and pass straight through.

But I’ve noticed the same thing about Scottish tourism:

There is no shortage of visitors, merely a shortage of connection. On paper, tourism is strong, so let’s start with the reality.

Scotland welcomed around 92 million tourism visits in 2024, generating £11.4 billion in spend.

• 76.8 million of these were day visits

• Worth £4 billion, with an average spend of just ~£52 per person

Domestic overnight visitors spend on average £315 per trip. International visitors spend significantly more—around £912 per trip.

So yes, people are coming, and yes, they are spending. But most of that spend is shallow, fragmented and largely untapped at place level.

And 2026 is going to be a tougher year. Not because Scotland isn’t desirable, but because:

• The cost-of-living pressure is still shaping domestic behaviour

• International visitors are returning, but staying shorter periods

• And competition (both within Scotland and globally) is sharper than ever

What does this mean for Scottish tourism? Well, you cannot rely on volume alone. And you cannot assume visitors will naturally spend more.

Whether I’m looking at places like Comrie Croft, larger estates like Atholl, or destinations like Luss—there is a familiar pattern:

You have everything you need:

• Incredible landscapes and structures with meaning

• Food and drink with provenance

• History with depth and stories

• A loyal team who genuinely care

And yet…

• The story isn’t fully told

• The experience isn’t intentionally designed

• The spend isn’t built into the journey

So visitors come, they have a nice time and then, they leave. And the commercial opportunity, quietly, leaves with them.

Reports across Scottish tourism consistently highlight three things visitors are actively seeking:

• A sense of place

• Authentic stories and provenance

• Experiences that feel distinctive and memorable

But there’s a disconnect when they arrive on site. Most places say they offer all this, but very few have operationalised it. The onsite system has not joined the story (highlighted on the website) and the intended experience. From the moment they arrive money is being left on the table, because they were never invited to spend it because they never truly connected due to a fragmented journey and untold stories.

Experience × Provenance × Access = Revenue

If you want to increase resilience this year, you need to design for three things simultaneously:

1. Emotional Connection (Why they care)

What does this place mean?

• Why is this land farmed this way?

• Who are the people behind it?

• What makes this place different from anywhere else in Scotland?

If a visitor leaves without knowing your story, you’ve missed your biggest commercial lever.

2. Perceived Value (Why it’s worth it)

Visitors will spend but only when the experience feels:

• Considered

• Cohesive

• Worth talking about

This is not about lowering prices, it’s about increasing meaning.

3. Frictionless Spend (How they buy)

Once someone is emotionally engaged, spending should feel:

• Easy

• Natural

• Desirable

Not forced, confusing, or hidden.

This Year Isn’t About More Visitors, It’s About Better Ones

With economic pressure tightening across the UK and international travel patterns shifting, relying on volume alone is a risk.

The smarter strategy is this:

Increase the value of every single visitor who already chooses you.

That comes from:

• Designing journeys, not touch points

• Turning stories into systems

• Connecting operations with marketing

• And making spend feel like a natural extension of experience

Where I Come In

Most businesses don’t struggle with ideas. They struggle with execution across teams, spaces, and systems.

I help destination and hospitality businesses:

• Turn their story into a strategic asset

• Design joined-up customer experiences

• Increase average order value without feeling transactional

• Align marketing, operations, and on-site delivery

• Build resilience in uncertain trading condition

You already have the raw materials. The land + The story + The product + The people.

The opportunity now is to connect them and the businesses that do this well this year won’t just survive. They’ll quietly outperform everyone else.

Email me: anna@thehillfortclub.com if this is all sounding very close to home and something you know you need to work on for the benefit of your business.