Aberdeen ranks 7th for spending by overnight visitors in UK cities

An independent report issued by Centre for Cities today (Wednesday 20 November) has revealed that Aberdeen ranks 7^th for spending by overnight visitors in UK cities.

Its report, 'Spending time: the role of the visitor economy in UK cities' showed that, with an average of £100 spent per person, overnight stays are more than twice as lucrative as day trips (£42 on average). Aberdeen's average spend per overnight visit is £107.60. Across the top ten destinations for overnight city breaks in the UK, an average of one in every £5 of in-person spending comes from visitors.

The study also sets out how visitors help places sustain a greater variety of local businesses and experiences in the most-visited destinations.

Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Ian Yuill, said: "We know that Aberdeen is a great city to live and work, however this report highlights its appeal to overnight visitors too. The figures in the report cover June 2022 to June 2024, a period when significant improvements in the city began as part of a £150million commitment by Aberdeen City Council towards the City Centre and Beach Master Plan.

"These improvements continue at pace and will ensure that Aberdeen continues to be a city where people want to live, work, play and visit."

Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Christian Allard, said: "It is clear that our investment in the city is paying dividends. There are huge opportunities for local businesses to be part of the unique offering Aberdeen has for people living here and visitors alike. We want to continue to build on our offering to attract more people to spend time here and for longer, which will benefit the local and regional economy."

Centre for Cities is a leading independent think tank dedicated to improving the economies of the UK's largest cities and towns. It is a charity that works with local authorities, business and Whitehall to develop and implement policy that supports the performance of urban economies.

The Centre for Cities' findings are based on analysis of over 30 million geolocated card transactions by UK card holders in UK cities and towns in 2023, provided by Fable Data. This is limited to in-person, walk-up spending and does not include online or pre-booked services and experiences.

'Local' spend was determined with reference to each card user's home location, travel-to-work area and any other regular clusters of spending in their transaction history (eg associated with places of work or study), with the remainder classed as 'visitor' spend.

This visitor spend in UK cities was further apportioned between overnight versus day trips, the former identified by consecutive transactions over multiple days or spend on accommodation.