Donald Trump's surprising impact on Edinburgh tourism
Plus: Soaring violence in city classrooms; and retailers get new police crackdown on shoplifting
Could Canadians abandoning the Big Apple be fruitful for Edinburgh?
Edinburgh’s already strong appeal to international visitors may be about to receive a significant boost from an unlikely source – US President Donald Trump’s efforts to subsume long-time ally and closest neighbour Canada as the 51st State.
The announcement in recent days of Air Canada’s opening of a new direct route linking Edinburgh and Montreal will bring to four the number of Canadian cities which will have direct links to the Capital’s airport over the summer.
The US administration’s heavy-handed “diplomatic” tactics to seek Canada’s integration, allied with a tariff fuelled trade war, has led to furious Canadians abandoning traditional travel plans to the USA and looking further afield for holiday destinations, with Europe high on their agendas.
One travel data firm has suggested that already airlines have slashed capacity between the disgruntled neighbours by 320,000 seats over the next 6-7 months. Travel Economics, part of the Oxford Economics group, is forecasting a 15% fall in travel between Canada and the US, potentially costing the economy of the United States $22 billion.
Will Edinburgh benefit?
Edinburgh has already seen a growth in the number of Canadians coming to the Capital over the past few years – perhaps unsurprising given that 15% of the population of more than 40 million claim Scottish ancestry. Edinburgh’s gain could be New York’s loss – more than a million Canadians visit the Big Apple each year, boosting that city’s economy by more than $600 million.
Canadian airlines WestJet and Air Canada are reporting increased interest in travel to Europe and the UK, with Scotland and Edinburgh one of the destinations set to benefit. Margaret Skinner, Air Canada’s Senior Director Sales EMEAI, said: “With just days to go until the start of the summer season, we are extremely excited to be announcing another new transatlantic route from the UK to our home hub, Montréal.
“Edinburgh has always been an important market for Air Canada, thanks to strong business, tourism, and cultural ties between Scotland and Canada, so we are proud to be expanding our presence in the market by adding a second route for 2025.”
Have we been attracting Canadians before?
The most recent Edinburgh by Numbers publication, created for City of Edinburgh Council, showed that while the USA is still by far the biggest individual driver of the city’s international tourism, Canada is already one of the top five sources of international visitors, accounting for 750,000 overnight stays.
Neil Ellis, Chair of Edinburgh Hotels Association, said he was delighted at any increase in visitors from Canada, pointing out that the city’s extensive cultural and historic links allied with strong hospitality offering made it an attract destination, and added: “New direct flights from Montreal coupled with Toronto, Halifax and Calgary show Edinburgh's popularity with Canadians and a warm Auld Reekie welcome awaits them.”
Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “This is a fantastic addition to our North America connectivity, and we are delighted that Air Canada is adding more options from Scotland’s busiest airport.
“We see continued demand for direct links between Canada and Scotland, and that demand is both inbound and outbound, demonstrating the attractiveness of Edinburgh and Scotland to an international audience as well as the excitement people here have for a country we have strong bonds with.”
How will this work for us?
Figures from VisitScotland show that in 2023, Canada was Scotland’s eighth largest international source market measured by number of visits. It was fifth by expenditure and fifth by number of nights. This means Canadians are right up there with our main visitors from Europe in terms of the amount of time and money they spend in our city.
The number of Canadian visits “continued to grow” last year with a 23% increase since 2022 and a 39% increase from pre-pandemic levels.
Around 2.5 international visits in total to the city in 2023 (the most recent figures) generated more than £1.5 billion for the city and its environs, supporting tens of thousands of local jobs.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
CLASSROOM VIOLENCE RISES: Violence in Edinburgh classrooms has soared in the past five years – more than trebling from 964 in 2018/19 to 2908 in the most recent 2023/24 school year. Freedom of Information requests submitted by Liberal Democrats to all of Scotland’s 32 councils received 30 responses on the subject, and in total more than 40,000 violent incidents took place in primary and secondary schools last year.
In the Capital, more than 1800 violent incidents have been reported so far during the current year, which could see the annual total exceed 3000, reports the Edinburgh News. Edinburgh Wester MSP and Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the figures were shocking, and called for higher levels of support staff and increased investment in youth work.
ON COURSE: A new, six-hole pitch and putt course is expected to open in North Berwick’s East Links in mid-April. The new facility aims to emulate a similar and popular course in Musselburgh. It is being delivered by Enjoy Leisure, East Lothian’s charitable trust for sport and leisure, and will be close to an 18-hole putting green.
TESLA PROTEST: Edinburgh protestors joined others from around the world at the weekend as part of a concerted day of action by the “Tesla Takedown” movement against Elon Musk and his involvement in the US Government administration of President Donald Trump. A group gathered at the Newbridge Tesla Centre calling for consumers to boycott the company, as did others in London, Glasgow, Bristol, Berlin and across the US.
EUROPEAN FIRST: The Palestine Museum US will open a satellite venue in Edinburgh on 17 May. The museum’s director Faisal Saleh says it will be “the first museum in Europe wholly dedicated to contemporary Palestinian art” and will be run by volunteers, and will aim to provide a “vital platform for Palestinian voices.”
SYSTEMS DOWN: Students at the University of Edinburgh were unable to access some essential online resources for several hours over the weekend due to a technical outage. The disruption affected key university systems, including the Library Café, the book return system, and various learning platforms. The Inquirer understands that students were unable to access MyEd, UniDesk, the VPN, and Learn—the primary platform for assignment details, reading lists, and university-provided learning materials. The exact cause is not yet known.
FRINGE PLEA: Edinburgh Fringe is encouraging city residents to host performers in their homes this summer to help tackle the lack of affordable accommodation in Edinburgh during the peak summer months. Locals can apply for a Short Term Lets exemption for up to six weeks to let out a spare room.
HOME HELP: Edinburgh headquartered housebuilder, Cruden, has made a £2,000 donation to the Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust (MAEDT) in support of community projects under its Newbyres site, in partnership with Midlothian Council, with £1000 supporting the Trust’s gardening project and the other £1000 aiding the School Uniform Recycling Project
ART MAKES A SPLASH: Art fans enjoying the new Gasholder 1 public park at Granton will have a whale of a time from this Saturday, when a new piece of public art will go on show. The artwork by Svetlana Kondakova Muir portrays one of most special visitors to the nearby Firth of Forth, the humpback whale.
LET’S DANCE: How’s your stamina? Those with energy to burn can book to take part in a Danceathon at Meadowbank Sports Centre on Saturday, 19 April, from 9am till 3pm, which aims to introduce as many people as possible to the joy of dance. Free for Edinburgh Leisure members and otherwise £12.50, the Danceathon builds on the momentum of the national “Let’s Dance” initiative, championed by Angela Rippon CBE, which launched last month.
AND FINALLY: An untouched WW2 air raid shelter was discovered by city homeowner Mia Gray in her tenement home in the Inverleith area of the capital. A basement cupboard that had been full of junk since she moved in was only discovered years later, after an inquiry from a new neighbour, Edinburgh Live reports.
THE BUSINESS
Retailers get police taskforce to help tackle rising crime
Edinburgh is to be one of the key areas of operation for a new dedicated unit which has been launched in the Capital to tackle retail crime across Scotland.
Police Scotland has set up the Retail Crime Taskforce to address a rise in offences such as shoplifting, which has hit the sector. Recent reports in Edinburgh have highlighted shop staff in the southside of the Capital facing gangs of violent shoplifters.
The Scottish Government has provided £3m funding for the Taskforce, which will work alongside a range of key stakeholders to deliver a four-strand approach to tackling retail crime – prevent, pursue, protect and prepare.
The team is made up of 14 uniformed officers and detectives, as well as four civilian staff, including specialist analysts and an Architectural Liaison Officer. The uniformed officers will operate within Edinburgh, Glasgow and Lanarkshire, as crime figures show these areas experience the highest levels of retail crime.
ON NEW TRACK: An iconic Edinburgh retailer has changed hands. Harburn Hobbies, the model railway shop in Leith Walk, has been bought by PECO Model Railways. The much loved store’s owners, Bob and Gillian Baird, are working through a transition period with the new owners as they approach retirement. The two businesses have worked together since the 1960s.
SCOTSMAN FUTURE: The owners of English Premier League football club Chelsea are considering a move to buy The Scotsman owners, newspaper group National World. US billionaire Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Media Holdings is considering making a proposal, reports The Daily Business. National World shareholders have already approved a £65 million offer from existing major shareholder Media Concierge, although National World has stressed there is no certainty that an offer will be made
AIRPORT INVESTOR: A Qatari investment bank has acquired a minority stake in Edinburgh Airport through an infrastructure focused investment fund. Lesha Bank has said the investment aligns with its strategic focus on “resilient asset classes” and marks its entry into the global infrastructure investment market.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
WORLD FIRST: A world premiere takes place this coming Saturday at the Scottish Storytelling Centre at 43-45 High Street, next to John Knox’s House, A new work, “Balancing in Freedom,” written and performed by Iddo Oberski, will run from 2pm, when he takes us on “a deeply personal exploration of his family’s Holocaust history, his own disability and Rudolf Steiner’s Philosophy of Freedom.” More information and tickets are available at the venue website.
SPRING STRINGS: The first of the Spring Series of Scottish Arts Trust Concerts is taking place on Friday, featuring guitarists Don Paterson & Graeme Stephen. The concert, at 24 Rutland Square, starts at 7pm, with tickets at £15 or £5 for students.
MONSTER MJSICAL: The Studio at 22 Potterrow is the venue for the captivating and uplifting Scottish Musical “Nessie” which runs all week until Saturday. A tale of bravery, and the strength of friendship will uplift and delight.
QUICK BITES
TASTE OF INDIA: Celestia is a new Bangladeshi and Indian restaurant which is due to open on April 15 in its Eyre Place home in the capital’s New Town. The restaurant will look at offer a tasting menu, as well as a la carte and lunch offerings,
FEATURED PUB: The Caley Picture House in Lothian Road has been named as the third best Wetherspoons pub in the UK. The former cinema made the top 10 list of the chain’s best pubs, researched via google reviews. Good going from a total of almost 900 pubs.