In 2005 the city of Glasgow attracted 2.8 million visitors who generated £700 million for the local economy.

• In 2005 the city of Glasgow attracted 2.8 million visitors who generated £700 million for the local economy. Some 29,640 people were employed in tourism related activities in Glasgow in 2005, representing 16.2% of the total tourism workforce in Scotland.

• The biggest growth area in recent years has been discretionary business tourism.  According to International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) statistics for 2005, Glasgow is now 33rd in the world for numbers of international association meetings held and 22nd for the number of international delegates hosted.  This remarkable achievement is further reinforced by news that convention sales made Glasgow City Marketing Bureau reached an impressive £148 million – more than double the value of the previous year. 

• The Glasgow Conference Ambassador Programme is supported by more than 2,000 members drawn from the local medical, scientific, academic and business communities.   In 2005/2006 local Conference Ambassadors helped to secure conference bookings worth £24 million, representing 38% of total convention sales for the year. 

• Thanks to a 40% increase in visitor beds in the last six years, there are currently 8,049 hotel bedrooms available within a 10-mile radius of Glasgow city centre.  The total bedroom stock for the Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley area including hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, self catering and university halls of residence is now approaching 19,000.

• Despite this, occupancy of Glasgow hotels rose to an average of 75.3% in the year ending March 2007, compared to 73% in 2005/06. 

• Since the March 04 launch of the city branding campaign Glasgow: Scotland with style, 360,000 additional tourists visited the city, equating to £41.7 million in local economic benefit.

• The area is served by two airports – Glasgow International Airport, which is around 7 miles west of the city, and Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which is 30 miles to the south.  Latest figures show that passenger traffic to Glasgow increased by 0.6% to 8.83 million passengers during the year to December 2006, while Prestwick passenger numbers remained static at 2.38 million in the year to December 2006.

• According to the 2003-2004 UK Shopping Index compiled by Management Horizons Europe (MHE), Glasgow remains the top retail centre in the UK, based on its range of shopping on offer.  In addition, research compiled by TNS Travel & Tourism revealed 58% of the city’s tourists cited shopping as their main activity during their visit to Glasgow, while 28% pronounced it their principal reason for returning.

• Glasgow’s main shopping thoroughfare, Buchanan Street, has been named as one of the world’s top retail destinations.  A recent study, Main Streets Across the World, by property consultants Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker, shows that shop spaces are so sought after that the rental fees put it seventh in the world behind the likes of Fifth Avenue in New York (1st), New Bond Street in London (4th) and the Champs Elysées in Paris (3rd).