THE Scottish Government spent close to £100,000 sending officials to the US in June.
The expenditure was spent on 16 individuals – including the First Minister and two senior aides, and Sports Minister Maree Todd – travelling during the World Cup.
John Swinney visited Boston on June 11-14, where the Tartan Army had set up camp ahead of Scotland's opening World Cup match, and Kentucky on June 14-15, where some key partners for the Scotch industry are located.
Todd visited Miami from June 22-25 to attend Scotland's final World Cup tie against Brazil.
More than £45,000 was spent on business-class flights for John Swinney and two senior aides in his team.
Todd and other officials were, however, able to secure less expensive economy-class flights, causing a row with the Scottish Conservatives over the use of public funds for Swinney's tickets.
Swinney insisted the government had sought to "minimise" costs, while Justice Secretary Neil Gray defended the business class flights as a means of ensuring ministers "arrive fresh" when they travel overseas.
In total, £11,800 was spent on economy-class flights for officials visiting alongside the First Minister, and a further £5485 for those visiting with Todd.
The three business-class tickets used for Swinney, his private secretary John Webster, and special advisor Colin McAllister, costed a total of £45,650.
Swinney and Webster's tickets costed £17,893 each, while McAllister's were £9864.
In total, between the two trips £16,892 was spent on hotels, £15,553 for car hire, and £3071 was returned as staff expenses.
The Scottish Government's travel rules state that business-class flights should only be used on flights of more than 10 hours "unless otherwise agreed".
Direct flights from Edinburgh to Boston typically last about seven hours.
Swinney told BBC Scotland News: "Obviously, when flights have got to be booked, when there's intense pressure on the time involved, then the costs are likely to be higher."
He added: "We tried to minimise those costs."
Justice Secretary Neil Gray defended the use of business-class flights for the First Minister while speaking on BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast.
He explained that Swinney and his team were not just there to cheer on the men's national team, but to meet with US representatives to discuss matters like trade and tourism.
Swinney's negotiations with the US over Scotch whisky tariffs have been praised by president Donald Trump as part of the reason why the sector was given some reprieve from his wide-ranging tolls.
He told the BBC: "These are busy trips for ministers and it is right that they are able to arrive fresh, they're able to arrive in a way that means that they're able to participate and do their work immediately, so I think that's a proportionate use."
Gray pointed to benefits of the trip, such as increasing Scotland's "soft-power reach and the ability to make significant international connections".
He added: "It was right that the first minister and his team were there to participate and to be part of that."
Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn also defended the choice, telling BBC Scotcast "If we want our politicians to go and sit in row 46 beside the toilets and then land in Boston and then go and engage with US government officials having done so we'll get exactly what we deserve as politicians."
However, the costs have been criticised by the Scottish Conservatives, with MSP Stephen Kerr saying: "Nobody begrudged SNP ministers joining the Tartan Army to cheer on Scotland men's team at their first World Cup appearance in nearly three decades, but in typical SNP fashion costs were never kept under control.
"Swinney and his ministerial colleague were clearly happy to escape all the challenges facing them back home, but they should have met these significant costs out of their own pocket."
