Campaign to attract fee-paying overseas students to Scotland sees interest rise nine-fold

The initiative, known as Destination Scotland, was launched in December and will run until the end of next month.

It comes as a significant drop in students from overseas, particularly on taught postgraduate courses, is considered a key cause of the financial crisis currently engulfing higher education institutions across the UK, including the likes of Dundee and Edinburgh universities.

The downturn has been blamed in part on visa changes and the anti-immigration rhetoric of the previous Conservative government at Westminster.

Universities in Scotland are particularly reliant on fees from international students to subsidise real-terms cuts to funding from the SNP Government to cover the “free tuition” of Scottish undergraduates.

In 2018, the Scottish Government and its partners launched Brand Scotland to promote the nation, and last year an international education strategy was published by ministers.

At a recent meeting of the international education strategy governance group, members discussed the positive impact of the Destination Scotland campaign.

A minute said: “Brand Scotland reported that initial results for (the) Destination marketing campaign (January 2025 to date) indicate a 900 per cent increase of traffic to the Study in Scotland pages versus January 2024.

“There were 12.5k people coming to the site in the first 20 days of January 2025 (noting there was no paid activity this time last year). Early indications showing that campaign activity is having an effect.”

Higher and further education minister Graeme Dey confirmed the initial findings.

He said: “International students play an incredibly positive economic, social and cultural role in Scotland – they add to the diversity of our communities, enrich the learning experience and support local businesses and jobs.

“Last year we published Scotland’s first international education strategy which sets out how we will work with the sector to continue to attract international students to study here.

“The Destination Scotland marketing campaign was created in close partnership with Scotland’s 19 universities to encourage prospective postgraduate and undergraduate students, researchers and staff in North America, India, Pakistan, South-East Asia, Nigeria and UAE to choose Scotland.

“Early indicators show a large increase in traffic to Scotland.org/study, with a full evaluation due to take place once the campaign concludes at the end of March 2025.”

Scottish universities have been adopting the campaign on their own websites and within their own marketing activity.

Despite the interest, the sector’s umbrella body, Universities Scotland (US), continues to highlight the need for a more sustainable funding model for the nation’s higher education institutions.

A US spokesperson said: “Scotland’s universities offer a warm and inclusive welcome to international students.

“However, the sector has faced several external pressures on recruitment over the last 18 months which has seen our ability to attract students restricted.

“Given the vital role international student income plays in the Scottish Government’s funding model, this fall in international students was a significant challenge to the financial stability of our institutions.

“Following constructive discussion with the Scottish Government we welcomed their commitment to invest in a targeted marketing campaign to attract international students to Scotland in line with the International Education Strategy.

“While all efforts to support international student numbers are welcome, we require a consistent and long-term investment from the Scottish Government to allow the higher education sector to flourish at home and globally.”