Tartan Army’s Euros showing set to spark huge rise in German tourists

THE Tartan Army’s Euro antics has attracted Scotland a new fan base – from German holidaymakers.

Web traffic from locals in Germany to VisitScotland.com almost doubled during Scotland’s tournament dates, an increase of 83 per cent compared to the same period last year.

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And Steve Clarke’s tournament curtain-raiser against the hosts – which saw 200,000 foot soldiers descend on Munich – witnessed the highest number of German users to the tourist site this year so far.

This increase in interest will be seen as an encouraging sign by Scotland’s tourism industry with German visitors making 343,000 visits and spending £247 million last year.

It comes as images of the Tartan Army enjoying their first away tournament since 1998 have attracted global media coverage and, just this weekend, Scotland fans were voted best supporters by German news channel RTL.

Malcolm Roughead, VisitScotland Chief Executive, said: “We couldn’t agree more that the Tartan Army have not just been a great support to our national team but also fantastic ambassadors for Scotland.

“It’s been incredible to see the scenes of Scotland fans displaying that famous Scottish welcome and earning such praise from the German supporters.

“Since the start of EURO 24, we’ve noticed an increase in traffic to our website from Germany, with visits almost doubling compared to this time last year.

“Our research shows that German visitors choose Scotland for its scenery and landscapes, history and culture and our people, with the Scotland fans a leading example of this.

“We’ll continue to build on this interest through our marketing activity which includes our most recent campaign targeting key cities in the west of Germany which have strong visitor demand and connectivity to Scotland.”