Edinburgh

Edinburgh, United Kingdom, scores 82 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #4 of 309 destinations. 28 of 29 measures come from public sources, with 84% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: 82
• OECD: 81
• UN Tourism: 86
• UNDRR: 69

Strongest

• Average length of stay: 3.5 nights per visitor (VisitScotland, Edinburgh and the Lothians Research (citing IPS and GBTS 2024), 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 84.2 % average annual occupancy (CoStar / VisitScotland, 2024). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
• Unemployment rate: 3.3 % of the labour force (Office for National Statistics via Nomis, Labour Market Profile - City of Edinburgh, Apr 2023–Mar 2024). At or below 5: grade 4/4.

Weakest

• Flood hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4.
• Tourism intensity: 33.5 visitor nights per resident per year (VisitScotland (Tourism Research) & National Records of Scotland / City of Edinburgh Council, 2024). Between 20 and 40: grade 1/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.

United Kingdom in the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index

United Kingdom is #7 of 110 countries (5.08 of 7) in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, which scores countries, not cities. Cities in countries with that WEF score average 68 on the CIRA Index; Edinburgh is 14 above that.

Every measure, by theme

Demand and seasonality: 85

• Nights in the three busiest months: 28.3 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2023, 2024 moving average). At or below 30: grade 4/4. Source
• Domestic share of nights: 35.1 % of nights by residents of the same country (VisitScotland / ONS (Great Britain Tourism Survey and International Passenger Survey), 2024). Between 35 and 45: grade 3/4. Source
• Largest foreign market: 23.5 % of international arrivals or nights (City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh by Numbers 2025 (via The Herald / VisitScotland IPS), 2024). Between 20 and 30: grade 2/4. Source
• Recovery against 2019: not measured yet
• Average length of stay: 3.5 nights per visitor (VisitScotland, Edinburgh and the Lothians Research (citing IPS and GBTS 2024), 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 84.2 % average annual occupancy (CoStar / VisitScotland, 2024). At or above 75: grade 4/4. Source

Economy and jobs: 88

• Jobs in tourism industries: 9.8 % of employment in accommodation and food services (Office for National Statistics via Nomis, Labour Market Profile - City of Edinburgh, 2023). Between 8 and 12: grade 3/4. Source
• Unemployment rate: 3.3 % of the labour force (Office for National Statistics via Nomis, Labour Market Profile - City of Edinburgh, Apr 2023–Mar 2024). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Income per head: 64,606 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). At or above 60,000: grade 4/4. Source
• Economic diversity: 77.9 % of employment outside accommodation, food, retail and transport (Office for National Statistics via Nomis, Labour Market Profile - City of Edinburgh, 2023). Between 72 and 80: grade 3/4. Source

Climate and hazards: 70

• Extreme heat days: 0 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Tropical nights: 0 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 10: grade 4/4. Source
• Flood hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
• Wildfire and storm hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4. Source
• Country disaster risk: 2.2 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). Between 2 and 3.5: grade 3/4. Source

Water and environment: 88

• Water scarcity: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4. Source
• Wastewater safely treated: 97.2 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (United Nations Global SDG Database / WHO / UN-Water, Indicator 6.3.1 Proportion of safely treated domestic wastewater flows, 2022). At or above 95: grade 4/4. Source
• Municipal waste per resident: 420 kg per resident per year (region figure) (Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Official Statistics Publication for Scotland - Scottish household waste statistics 2023, 2023). Between 350 and 450: grade 3/4. Source
• Green space: 48 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (City of Edinburgh Council, Thriving Greenspaces 2050 Vision and Strategy, 2023). At or above 40: grade 4/4. Source

Community and housing: 75

• Tourism intensity: 33.5 visitor nights per resident per year (VisitScotland (Tourism Research) & National Records of Scotland / City of Edinburgh Council, 2024). Between 20 and 40: grade 1/4. Source
• Cruise pressure: not measured yet
• Rent growth: 1.6 % change in rents over the last 12 months (region figure) (Office for National Statistics, Housing prices in Edinburgh / Price Index of Private Rents, 12 months to August 2026). At or below 3: grade 4/4. Source
• Short-let density: 0.8 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (BiGGAR Economics / Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers, Economic Impacts of Short-term Lets in Edinburgh, 2024). Between 0.5 and 1: grade 3/4. Source
• Resident support for tourism: 80 % of residents who say tourism benefits them or the city (VisitScotland / Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG), Scottish Resident's views on the role of tourism, January 2025). At or above 70: grade 4/4. Source

Access and continuity: 79

• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Transport Scotland & VisitScotland, 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4. Source
• Air traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Rail share of intercity access: not measured yet
• Rail traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Largest airline group share: not measured yet
• Air route concentration: not measured yet
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (City of Edinburgh Council, Emergency flood response & Keeping cool in hot weather, 2026). Grade 3/4. Source
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (City of Edinburgh Council, Coalition Commitments Progress Update, 2022–2026). Grade 2/4. Source
• Government effectiveness: 85.8 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4. Source
• Travel advisory: 2 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). Between 1 and 2: grade 3/4. Source
• Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source partly ring-fenced for residents, infrastructure or sustainability (City of Edinburgh Council, How we're investing the Edinburgh Visitor Levy, 2025–2026). Grade 3/4. Source

Compare Edinburgh

• Edinburgh vs London
• Edinburgh vs Stockholm
• Edinburgh vs Oslo
• Edinburgh vs Hamburg

The CIRA Index ranking · City vs city · How the index works · CIRA Studio · Put your city in the pilot