Diaspora Tourists and the Scottish Homecoming

Since devolution and the establishment of the Scottish Government, the country has increasingly sought to engage with its diaspora, as part of its tourism strategy. In recent years, many countries have welcomed home their diasporas through organised events and in 2009, the Scottish Government organised a Year of Homecoming. This paper describes the experiences of some of the diaspora Scots who returned ‘home’ that year, and explores how returning ‘home’ had an impact on their knowledge of contemporary Scotland and their continuing sense of a Scottish identity.