Brexit, the “Outlander effect” and the popularity of the NC500 road trip route have helped boost room rates at Inverness hotels by 8%, according to a new report.
The rise took the average price of a night’s accommodation in the Highland capital to £81.77 last year.
It came against a backdrop of “significant growth” in Scotland’s tourism and hotel sector, detailed in the inaugural Hotels Economic and Property Market Review carried out by commercial property agents GVA.
The report highlights the increase in overseas visitors to Scotland following the devaluation of sterling after the Brexit vote, which offset a 5.5% drop in domestic overnight “staycations.”
According to GVA, Edinburgh led the way in rising average daily room rates (ADR) with an increase of 12.4% to more than £100, compared with the previous year.
Occupancy rates in Inverness showed a slight increase from their 83% level in 2016.
Andrew Renouf, director of retail, hotels and leisure for GVA in Scotland, said: “The hotel sector across Scotland has benefited in 2017 from the continued weakness of Sterling in currency markets, coupled with the very high profile of destination Scotland around the world.
Further expansion of Glasgow and Edinburgh airports will continue to open up new markets, with a direct route to China high on the agenda. We have seen high levels of investment and development appetite in key locations… and hope market strengths outweigh any impacts of a slowing of the economy highlighted in the latest Scottish Government State of the Economy report.”