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independently of each other, and I am always at pains to point this out when someone books me for Danish or Swedish visitors.
‘The pattern of business here in Aberdeen and the north east is, I believe, very different from the Central Belt and Northern Isles, where other Scandinavian language-speaking guides are based. I have rarely guided people from Scandinavia who are on holiday tours and only twice have guided Swedish passengers from cruise ships. The Scandinavian tours which I guide most often are almost exclusively from Norway and are mostly corporate groups visiting Aberdeen for a long weekend, with the peak in autumn and early winter - the lead-up to Christmas, when Norwegian companies traditionally have their ‘Julebord’ or Christmas meal visits. Other groups are on ‘study tours’ which usually have an element of a professional programme included and often require my services. Aberdeen’s main attractions for these groups are shopping and relatively cheap alcohol, so the volume of groups varies greatly year on year and is at least partly dependent on the exchange rate. However, even with the favourable NOK to GBP exchange in late 2019, Aberdeen appears to be suffering from the uncertainly surrounding Brexit. As a driver guide, I have also had several direct bookings from Norway, mostly from families or a few friends travelling together and wanting a memorable experience without having to drive themselves.’
As tourism has grown in Scotland so have the number of visitors from very distant countries such as Japan. Akiko Elliot is a Japanese guide who qualified in 1990.
‘During the late 80s to mid-90s, the Japanese market in Scotland was growing rapidly,’ she said. ‘This was mainly due to a strong boost from the Japanese economy which at the time, known as the “Bubble Boom”. Though relatively short lived, the Bubble Boom gave the Japanese disposable income and many people chose to go abroad for their holidays. Foreign travels were no longer reserved for the privileged few or for the adventurous backpackers, it had become accessible to everybody. In 1986, the overall number of Japanese oversea travellers was about five million, but in the next four years the number of travellers doubled to 10 million.
Everywhere you went there were swarms of Japanese tourists queuing, taking pictures, and buying lots of tartan and cashmere jumpers. We Japanese Guides would tread the cobblestone paths to the castle many times during those summers. We would go north for the monster, south for the poet, east for the castles, and west for the whisky.’
But was Scotland always so popular with Japanese tourists? The short answer is no.
Atsuko Clement, who arrived in Scotland in 1981, recalled the time that she could not find any information about how to get to St Andrews from
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