Tartan Army's charm offensive of USA sets up lucrative tourism boom back home
Tartan Army “essentially showcasing the personality of Scotland” to USA and the world
The Tartan Army’s invasion of Boston has thrown Scotland onto the international stage as the heart and soul of the world’s biggest party. But the thousands of kilt-wearing Scots are also poised to play unofficial roles as brand ambassadors and hand the country a huge economic boost.
The affection shown by Boston locals to the Tartan Army must be genuine, given some natives have been woken up at 6.30am to the sound of bagpipes. But the charm offensive by thousands of Scottish fans has left a lasting impression that tourism bosses anticipate will see Americans flooding Scotland to see what all the fuss is about.
The scenes of the Tartan Army bringing the fun have almost overshadowed the football in Boston. From drinking a city with deep connections to the Irish out of beer, and a flurry of social media videos showing Scots getting everyone in Boston involved, the Tartan Army have made quite the impression.
Boston has now been twinned with Glasgow, given the immediate connection with the Tartan Army.
For Scotland’s tourism bosses, though, there is a strategy to piggyback on the incredibly warm connections being built and boost the nations as an already-thriving destination for American vacations. Already, the United States makes up around 22 per cent of all overseas trips to Scotland and 36 per cent of all overseas spending.
This is a well-trodden path for giving Scotland’s tourism sector a shot in the arm.
Figures show that in 2024, the year the Tartan Army was voted the best fans at the Euros in Germany, there were 508,000 visits from Germany to Scotland, with £360m spent on Scottish shores.
Following the Euros, in the period from July to September 2024, there was a soar in visits from 133,000 in 2023 to 209,000 while the final quarter saw the biggest jump in the number of visits when compared with 2023, from 50,000 to 131,000.
The Anholt Nation Brands Index (or NBI) report for Scotland in the wake of the Euros showed indications of some influence of the Tartan Army’s performance on German views.
Out of 50 nations, German respondents ranked Scotland second for ‘I would like to have a person from this country as a close friend’ and fifth place for having ‘welcoming people’. Scotland was also the number one ranked country Germans would visit if money was no object.
Online search interest in Scotland also spiked during the tournament. Web traffic from Germany to visitscotland.com almost doubled during Scotland’s tournament dates.
Pages on food and drink, Outlander, the Highland Games and Ben Nevis were among the most visited by German traffic over the course of the Euros.
With the United States already being the biggest market, by far, for international tourism to Scotland, tourism bosses see riding on the coattails of the Tartan Army’s Boston adventure as a no-brainer.
Speaking to Scotland on Sunday, Jill Walker, director of marketing at VisitScotland, said: “North America is Scotland’s biggest international tourism inbound market. So when something is happening out there, it’s kind of a no-brainer to make sure we’re maximising the impact around it.
“It’s all about if you’re enjoying this now, why don’t you come and experience the real thing in Scotland and very much drive that tourism demand.”
Ms Walker, who has been out in Boston with the Tartan Army, said “the welcome has been exceptional” in the city.
“The Tartan Army, in particular, have done such a fantastic job at behaving the way they do - having fun and a real celebration”, she added.
“A bit wild, but full of personality. They are bringing the party and the feelgood factor and we’ll, off the back of that, amplify that now is a good time to think about a trip to Scotland.
“We’ve got business in Scotland lined up hopefully for a bit of a swell of demand coming in. That’s certainly what happened when we did something similar in the Euros in Germany. There was a notable increase in the number of visitors coming to Scotland.
“What we’re hoping is that this is replicated again and I think it will. That’s a sustained impact, even now. That was 2024 and we’re still seeing a massive increase in visitors from Germany wanting to come to Scotland.”
Ms Walker said that the Tartan Army as brand ambassadors for the nation is “essentially showcasing the personality of Scotland”.
“Yes, we do have an amazing country and destination and great experiences, but our people make it really quite distinctive”, she added.
“It is unusual because these are football fans that potentially at home might have too much to drink and we do see there are fights, but they are rallied behind Scotland as a whole. “There’s almost a Tartan Army ethos of we’re known for being friendly and they want to protect that reputation. From having been there, you can almost see that it’s kind of self-policing.
“If there’s any sort of nonsense of people getting out of hand, maybe some of the older ones will say that’s not how we behave. It’s a huge asset for Scotland. At their core, they just are really, really proud to be Scottish.”
Visit Scotland has been active in Boston, with subway and busses donning tartan - alongside 11 tartan-clad taxis, one representing each of the Scotland starting eleven.
Visit Scotland has also been working in connection with US travel agents, AAA North East, with special offers running to encourage Americans to book a vacation to Scotland.
Boston itself has direct airlinks to Scotland, with seasonal services by Delta Air Lines and Jet Blue flying into Edinburgh Airport.
Will Tregaskis, operations director for Rhode Island Pride who has been involved with putting on events for the Tartan Army in Providence, said: "We helped set up the infrastructure here in Providence for the Scottish takeover.
"Super excited having the Scots in town, they've been super gracious and super nice.
"There's a tonne of them and it's been a super fun time."
He said apart from queues being long at the Tartan Army's very own TA in the Park this week, which saw at least 4,000 Scots gather together with locals, event staff have reported no issues with the crowds. The city is home to about 180,000 people, but Mr Tragaskis said this last week has seen total Scotland takeover.
"All the way through the neighbourhoods to the hotels, it's been beautiful," he said.
"I would like for them to come back to stay. There's a lot of joy here and that's been amazing."
Providence firefighters Neil Chionchio and Liam Gifford celebrated the Tartan Army's presence in their home city.
"They've been absolutely fantastic," Mr Chionchio said. "One of the greatest fans we've had come to an event in a long time.
"They are very friendly, easy to hang out with and a lot of fun."
Mr Gifford added: "They are well behaved as well. And they raised a bunch of money for charity out of nowhere for the hospital which is awesome. It's been a great group to have here. They are definitely ambassadors and should come back here."
Chris Greenwood, of the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University, believes the positive vibes created by the Tartan Army in Boston will boost the economy back home.
Mr Greenwood said that “all signs suggest that the Tartan Army’s Boston stopover will translate into lasting tourism and cultural benefits for Scotland”.
He added: “The positive image and personal connections being forged over there are marketing Scotland as a fun, lively and welcoming place to visit.”
Pointing to the boost from the German market after the Euros two years ago, Mr Greenwood said: ““I expect the Tartan Army’s impact this time around will far outstrip that.”
He added: “The US is already Scotland’s largest source of tourism spend, measured by number of visits, nights, and spend.
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“Many Americans who encounter the Tartan Army, whether at the fan fest, on the train or even at a Red Sox game, will be inspired to visit here for the first time.
“The World Cup visibility helps position Scotland as a lively destination worth visiting during a trip to Europe.
“This 'Tartan buzz' also raises Scotland’s profile as a friendly nation and opens opportunities for educational and cultural exchanges with the east coast of America.”
First Minister John Swinney has also been out in the United States to soak up the atmosphere with the Tartan Army - and has used his visit to try and boost diplomacy across the Atlantic.
Mr Swinney’s first duty was meetings with a series of business leaders and investors in Boston, before a tour of Harvard University in a bid to strengthen existing relationships between Harvard and Scottish institutions.
The First Minister also carried out a bilateral meeting with the Mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu - with a focus on strengthening cultural and economic ties between Boston and Scotland, specifically around finance, education, healthcare and biotechnology.
Mr Swinney also held a bilateral meeting with the Governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey ahead of an event to celebrate Scottish culture, tourism, innovation and food and drink.
The First Minister joined celebrities at a Scottish night in Boston dinner and gala event, hosted by David Yarrow Foundation in aid of Street Soccer Scotland before more breakfast meetings with business leaders and investors.
Before heading back to Scotland, Mr Swinney stopped off in Kentucky, to show he was hoping to strengthen ties with the bourbon industry after playing a role in Donald Trump agreeing to remove damaging tariffs of whisky.
“The removal of tariffs on Scotch whisky is an essential opportunity for the Scotch whisky industry, the Kentucky bourbon industry, and the cask industry to prosper and to expand,” Mr Swinney said.
“It was important that we got the tariffs lifted with the agreement of President Trump to make sure that trade could flow effectively.”
He said: “It’s a win-win on both sides of the Atlantic, but fundamentally, it creates a great opportunity for the Scotch whisky industry to thrive.”
Scotland’s trip to the World Cup is proving to generate not only some poweful PR- but also a serious bang for the country’s buck.
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