Over half of the people in many of our target markets are online – for example around 75% of Swedes, 70% of Americans and 61% of Germans are internet users.  

Use of the internet is now spread throughout all types of people. Affluent older people using the internet - “silver surfers” - are increasingly common, while younger people are also enthusiastic adopters of the new mobile and wireless technologies. As this e-generation gets older, the proportion of people who do not use the internet will become smaller and smaller.  

The popularity of internet communications and shopping is partly driven by people’s increasingly busy lives. The internet allows people to shop 24 / 7, and gives them a feeling of control, as it enables quick and easy comparison of products and prices. The wider availability of broadband connections allows people to do more of their daily tasks online.

Travel planning and booking is one of the most popular uses of the internet. For many internet users, the internet is the most important source of information on their holidays. Business travellers are also major users of the internet for organising their trips.

For these reasons, VisitScotland is increasingly focussing on online marketing activities, moving away from traditional print communications. In our international markets in particular, this allows us to reach more people, in a timely and cost-effective way.  

We have websites for each of our key markets, in their own languages, as we know that this is something which makes our invitation to visit Scotland even more powerful. We strive to ensure that they provide the mix of practical and inspiring information, necessary to convince people to holiday in Scotland and allow them to plan their trip. Our touring websites highlight the diversity of possible experiences while our websites focussing on Edinburgh and Glasgow  provide lots of ideas for things to see and do on a city break.  A new website has just been launched highlighting the experiences Scotland offers all year round.

We use e-newsletters to communicate regularly with our database of campaign respondents and visitors. The online format of these allows us to tailor their content to each market, and to highlight time-specific things such as events and festivals.

We also use a range of other online marketing techniques, such as search engine marketing, online advertising and partner promotions to further extend our activities.

For more information on our International marketing activities and how you can be involved, please see our Marketing Campaigns section