Glasgow Commonwealth Games Brought £282m to Scottish Economy

The 2014 Commonwealth games, held in Glasgow, brought in an additional £282m to the Scottish economy, according to official data.

Almost 700,000 travelled to Scotland's largest city while the Commonwealth Games was hosted during July and August, which left Glasgow's hotels at 95% capacity – up 12% on the same period last year.

The Scottish government says that visitors from outside of the UK were staying for an average of 10 nights, while those travelling from other regions of the country were staying for an average of 5.5 nights.

The average spend from tourists was £57 per day for day visitors, rising to £127 for those staying overnight.

Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games Shona Robison said: "We were determined from the beginning that these games would leave a positive lasting impact across Scotland and to know that so many visitors have been to Scotland and left with good memories leaves us with much to be proud of.

"The games, plus the successful Ryder Cup and the many homecoming events of 2014, have helped create a very successful sustainable tourism legacy for years to come. It is this legacy combined with the boost received by businesses in Scotland from the games that gives us much to build on for the future."

Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, added: "The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games was of course the greatest ever, and one of the key legacies it leaves behind is an even higher profile for Glasgow internationally.

"In the city during August, the average hotel occupancy rate was over 95 per cent, with this exceeding 99 per cent on five nights that month. These fantastic figures reflect Glasgow's ever-growing reputation as a visitor destination and the pulling power of the city's events programme."