Julian, I assume you are speaking of the funding the Scottish government puts into these events to try and promote Scotland as a tourist destination and business option.

I can't speak for the US, and not to take away anything form their tartan day celebrations, but in Canada (which has been doing tartan day longer than the US) I find that it is not as well known. Of course it could be that all the really high profile Tartan day events (fashion shows, parades, etc) have mostly all gone to New York or LA as they are the bigger markets the Scottish government is trying to reach. Given that Canada has a bigger history with Scotland (heck, they basically influenced most of our country. Read Great Scots! by Matthew Shaw), it would be nice to see some of that focus go to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, and even Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver. The markets may not be as big as New York, but when you have a population where 30 something % (I can't be bother to look up the actual number right now ) claim Scottish Heritage, you have an existing market that only needs the spark lit to get them over to Scotland as a tourist. Every person of Scottish heritage I have ever met (and there has been quite a bit) has expressed a desire to visit Scotland.