5th February 2025
We are delighted to be presenting our latest research findings at the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG) Annual Conference in the John McIntyre Conference Centre in Edinburgh on Wednesday 5th February 2025.
We will be releasing the latest findings from the first Scottish Tourism Index of 2025 where we take a look forward at what the year may bring Scottish tourism. Having teamed up with Tom Buncle from Yellow Railroad, we also take a look at the global trends in travel an d tourism and consider where the main opportunities may lie for tourism businesses in Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland.
Both reports can be downloaded from the links below.
5th February 2025
The latest Scottish Tourism Index suggests some small signs of recovery for domestic tourism in 2025
The January 2025 Scottish Tourism Index provides an overview of how the Scottish home holiday market might look for the year ahead. Some 1,010 Scots were interviewed in late January with the primary purpose of establishing the characteristics of Scots’ holiday-taking attitudes and behaviours. As surveys are undertaken at identical times each year, it provides a directly comparable set of measures year-on-year, ensuring predictions for the year ahead can be fine tuned by comparing against previous surveys results. In the report from the survey (downloadable by clicking on the image below) we provide some contextual analysis of the extent to which the economic situation might continue to dampen and shape holiday demand. We then look back at Scots’ holiday behaviours in 2024 and then forward to 2025 to establish where we may see potential growth as well as continued challenges.
When the Scottish Tourism Index was launched in 2020, the main driver of consumer behaviours was Covid-19. As we emerged from the Pandemic, the economic impacts it left behind along with the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine and Government fiscal policies have meant that the cost of living crisis has replaced Covid as the main determinant of consumer holiday behaviours. Last year, whilst more Scots continued to redicscover foreign holiday destinations (and remember approaching 200,000 of us visited Germany for the Euros!), this was often at the expense of home holidays as smaller family budgets constrained domestic spending on hospitality. At the start of 2025 we are tentatively optimistic that the year ahead looks slightly more buoyant for home holidays with more of us claiming they are back ‘on the agenda’.
Read more by downloading the detailed infographic, available by clicking the image below
5th February 2025
The Future of Tourism - a joint paper from Yellow Railroad and 56 Degree Insight
New trends and innovations continually disrupt industries, and the tourism industry is no exception. Keeping pace with these emerging tourism trends can help businesses stay competitive and cater to customers’ needs. Of course most innovations and resulting changes in consumer behaviour don’t tend to be immediate - they are often gradual in their introduction, and as consumers, our behaviours change at a similar pace. However there is always a great eagerness and appetite to unearth and take advantage of any ‘big trends’ in travel and tourism and to stay ahead of the game.
To examine global trends in travel and tourism in more detail, 56 Degree Insight teamed up with Tom Buncle, Managing Director of Yellow Railroad Ltd, a consultancy which helps destinations improve their competitiveness through branding, marketing, destination management and crisis recovery. Prior to establishing his own consultancy, Tom was Chief Executive of Visit Scotland. He is an Honorary Professor at Edinburgh’s Heriot Watt University and lectures at conferences worldwide on destination branding, crisis recovery, and global travel trends.
Our joint paper summarises the key trends which Tom has identified and which we have subsequently looked at through the lens of the Scottish population by quantifying key measures in Scotland’s Viewpoint, our quarterly representative survey of the Scottish adult population. Some 1,010 Scots were interviewed in late January 2025. We tested reactions to these potential travel and tourism trends - and in particular, aimed to identify which ones resonated most?
Read more by downloading the detailed infographic, available by clicking the image below
18th December 2024
With just a week to go until Christmas, we were keen to understand the plans of Scots consumers for Christmas and New Year. How many of us will be staying at home as opposed to taking overnight tourism trips for either Christmas or Hogmanay and providing our beleaguered domestic tourism industry with a festive boost?
We ran a special edition of the Scottish Tourism Index last weekend to try to put some numbers to our potential behaviours. A representative sample of 1,003 Scots adults were interviewed over 14th-15th December and you can view the results by clicking on the image below.
And for a bit of light relief, you can also discover what we'll be eating and drinking - and watching on television - over Christmas.....
19th November 2024
Although 2024 has clearly been a tough year for domestic tourism, the Autumn edition of the Scottish Tourism Index forecasts better things for 2025 and focuses on the potential of the Winter Breaks market
The October 2024 Scottish Tourism Index provides an overview of how the Scottish home holiday market has performed this year, a look ahead to the Winter season and further, to 2025. In late October, we interviewed 1,001 Scots to determine their holiday-taking attitudes and behaviours. As surveys are undertaken at identical times each year, it provides a directly comparable set of measures year-on-year, ensuring we can look back at the same time in previous years as well as forward on the same basis. By now, we have a clear picture of 2024 and their plans for holidays in the coming winter months and beyond in 2025.
Despite the fact that 2024 has seen the highest proportion of Scots taking holidays since the pandemic (76%), breaks in Scotland continue to have declined - likely to be around one percentage point fewer of us taking a home holiday than in 2023 (43%). Meanwhile trips to Europe and further afield are at their highest levels compared with recent years (up by +3% and +2% respectively).
Signs are slightly more encouraging however for 2025 with increases forecast in main holidays and short breaks in Scotland amongst the local audience. We also take a deep dive into the winter breaks market and discover the relative appeal of domestic trips vis-a-vis going abroad, and investigate what are the key levers for the Scottish tourism industry to pull if they are to be attractive winter holiday options.
The report contains many other trends and nuances in our findings and you can download the full analysis on the link below.
23rd August 2024
The Summer edition of the Scottish Tourism Index continues to show that 2024 is another challenging year for domestic tourism in Scotland
The August 2024 Scottish Tourism Index provides an overview of how the Scottish home holiday market is looking so far this year - and the prospects for the season ahead. Some 1,003 Scots were interviewed on the 1st and 2nd of August with the primary purpose of establishing the characteristics of Scots’ holiday-taking attitudes and behaviours. As surveys are undertaken at identical times each year, it provides a directly comparable set of measures year-on-year, ensuring we can look back at the same time in previous years as well as forward on the same basis. Behaviours and opinions change throughout the year, but by the end of July, we have a clear picture of how the season is looking.
Overall holiday taking by Scots is almost identical to what we observed this time last year - 62% have already taken holidays and 75% of the population expect to do so at some point this year. Whilst this suggests a continued buoyancy in the holiday markets, more concerning is that these increases appear to be boosting overseas destinations rather than the domestic markets: whilst a third of Scots have already taken a holiday or break in Scotland (33%), this is 3 percentage points lower than in 2023 (36%) suggesting a decline in home holidays in 2024 over 2023. And this trend is likely to continue - whilst 48% anticipate a Scottish holiday at some point this year, this is 7 percentage points lower than was claimed at this time last year. Overseas holidays continue to show growth on the other hand : +1 percentage point to Europe and +5 percentage points further afield.
The challenging economic situation continues to provide a barrier to domestic holiday taking in particular with value for money on Scots holidays being described as poorer than a decade ago by almost half of Scots. Of course there are many other trends and nuances to these findings which we will continue to track throughout 2024. You can download the full analysis on the link below.
12th June 2024
A Scotland-wide survey of the population suggests that when it comes to the Euros and Scotland’s chances, there’s a lot of optimism out there ..... but laced with a healthy dose of pessimism!
As an independent consumer research agency, the team at 56 Degree Insight regularly undertake major surveys to understand the views and attitudes of the Scottish population. On the eve of the Euro 2024 Finals Tournament in Germany, it feels as if Scotland is gripped by football fever. We wanted to understand a bit more about how we felt about the tournament - and in particular, Scotland’s chances. Who do we think will win the tournament, and what do we think about the participation of our nearest neighbours from south of the Border? And given its timing, so close to a General Election, how does interest and support vary across the three major parties in Scotland?
Between June 8-10, we surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Scottish adults aged 16+ using our regular Scotland’s Viewpoint survey. You can download and read the results from the survey by clicking on the link below
28th May 2024
The Spring Scottish Tourism Index suggests that 2024 will be another challenging year for domestic tourism in Scotland
The Spring 2024 Scottish Tourism Index provides an overview of how the Scottish home holiday market is looking so far this year - and the prospects for the season ahead. Some 1,004 Scots were interviewed in late April with the primary purpose of establishing the characteristics of Scots’ holiday-taking attitudes and behaviours. As surveys are undertaken at identical times each year, it provides a directly comparable set of measures year-on-year, ensuring we can look back at the same time in previous years as well as forward on the same basis. Behaviours and opinions change throughout the year, but on previous experience, by late April, we are beginning to get a clear picture of how Scots holiday behaviours are likely to pan out.
Overall, the holiday taking picture is very similar to this time last year - as then, 40% of us have either taken or booked holidays somewhere for 2024, and 75% of us expect to take holidays in 2024. However more concerning is that the proportions who have taken home holidays so far is lower than last year at this time (18%) and 40% expect to take a Scottish holiday or break during the year: this Tim e last year, 44% expected to do so. Outbound foreign holidays continue to increase however with 41% of us expecting to visit Europe this year and 12% going further afield.
The challenging economic situation continues to provide a barrier to holiday taking - though domestic breaks seem to be suffering most in this regard with larger numbers complaining about more expensive domestic holiday prices than we have seen in any of the recent previous years at this time. Of course there are many other trends and nuances to these findings which we will continue to track throughout 2024. You can download the full analysis on the link below.
21st May 2024
Project 18-40: Understanding the Younger Traveller
Over the past few months we’ve been busy working with our tourism consultancy partner Blue Sail on ‘Project 18-40: Understanding the Younger Traveller’, to get to grips with the characteristics, motivations and behaviours of UK-based Generation Z and Millennial travellers – an area of the population that is often overlooked in more established visitor segmentation models.
On the back of that research, today we’re launching a new visitor segmentation solution with seven discrete segments which profiles and sizes the younger traveller and which aims to help all of us in the tourism industry identify growth opportunities for the domestic overnight market among younger adults.
You can find details of the seven segments and findings from the research by clicking on the image below:
12th March 2024
Making tourism more accessible - survey suggests a real opportunity for Scottish tourism
Last week, VisitScotland reminded us that one in five people across the UK live with a disability or impairment and contribute to a collective spending power of £249 billion per year. The purpose was to remind Scottish tourism businesses of the importance of finding ways to make their businesses as accessible as possible.
But what do we know about this large segment of the population in Scotland - what are the barriers they face when it comes to taking holidays, what are their concerns, and how can Scotland’s tourism industry better address these concerns?
In late January, 56 Degree Insight worked with Dr Carol Sargent from Sargent Group Consulting to design some key questions and incorporated them in our quarterly representative survey of 1,000+ Scots - Scotland’s Viewpoint.
Key findings to emerge show that there are opportunities to not just make accommodation more accessible, but to improve planning, getting around a destination, information on activities and food and drink and show this community they are being listened to, encouraging these households with people living with health conditions and impairments to book holidays in Scotland.
Read more by downloading the detailed infographic, available by clicking the image below
15th February 2024
The latest Scottish Tourism Index suggests some small signs of recovery for domestic tourism in 2024
The January 2024 Scottish Tourism Index provides an overview of how the Scottish home holiday market might look for the year ahead. Some 1,006 Scots were interviewed in late January with the primary purpose of establishing the characteristics of Scots’ holiday-taking attitudes and behaviours. As surveys are undertaken at identical times each year, it provides a directly comparable set of measures year-on-year, ensuring predictions for the year ahead can be fine tuned by comparing against previous surveys results. In the report from the survey (downloadable by clicking on the image below) we provide some contextual analysis of the extent to which the economic situation might continue to dampen and shape holiday demand. We then look back at Scots’ holiday behaviours in 2023 and then forward to 2024 to establish where we may see potential growth as well as continued challenges.
When the Scottish Tourism Index was launched in 2020, the main driver of consumer behaviours was Covid-19. As we emerged from the Pandemic, the economic impacts it left behind along with the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine and Government fiscal policies have meant that the cost of living crisis has replaced Covid as the main determinant of consumer holiday behaviours. Last year, whilst more Scots rediscovered foreign holiday destinations, this was often at the expense of home holidays as smaller family budgets constrained domestic spending on hospitality. At the start of 2024 there is some initial evidence that this spending squeeze may have ‘bottomed out’ and although still likely to constrain what we do in the immediate term, our disposable incomes are beginning to show some signs of recovery - and the home holiday market may start a journey back to recovery..
Read more by downloading the detailed infographic, available by clicking the image below
19th December 2023
What is Scotland’s favourite Christmas TV advertisement of 2023?
Earlier in December, 56 Degree Insight undertook an online survey of 1,002 Scottish residents to uncover their views on the Christmas TV advertisements from the 8 main supermarket chains this year - which one was their favourite?
But we went beyond general preference to see how each performed on a series of typical key campaign evaluation metrics:
VISIBILITY (spontaneous and prompted awareness and recognition),
ENGAGEMENT (likeability, salience, trust, tone, interest, relevance and warmth)
ACTIONS taken - how many were more persuaded to shop at each supermarket,
and how did the ads impact the BRAND APPEAL?
There are winners in each category - however we do have an OVERALL WINNER - the most popular advertisement amongst the largest proportion of Scots this year.....
14th November 2023
The latest Scottish Tourism Index suggests a downturn in home holidays in 2023
The October 2023 Scottish Tourism Index provides an overview of the holiday behaviours of Scots this year, focusing on domestic and international travel patterns. Over 1,000 Scots were interviewed in late October and 65% of them had taken a holiday so far - likely to rise to 72% by year-end. However, there's a slight decline in holidays taken within Scotland compared with 2022, On the other hand, the survey suggests that European destinations are witnessing a resurgence among Scots - especially Spain and, to a lesser extent, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Greece.
The survey backs up the findings from the recent survey of tourism businesses undertaken by 56 Degree Insight for the Scottish Tourism Alliance - economic factors continue to significantly influence holiday decisions, with large proportions of Scots affected by the continued high costs of living. The survey saw these impacts peak in April and there are encouraging signs in this survey that these negative impacts are slowly decreasing. Indeed, three in ten Scots were able to take more holidays than they initially feared at the start of the year.
In terms of domestic holiday trends, there's a notable decrease in the number of breaks taken in Scotland, with 52% taking fewer breaks than in 2022 and 45% opting for shorter durations. Economic constraints have led to a shift away from serviced accommodation towards self-catering and reduced spending on many activities, especially eating out. The findings suggest that the trend of reduced domestic holidays and increased interest in European destinations is likely to continue into 2024 - with long haul destinations also seeing recovery for the first time since the pandemic.
Read more by downloading the detailed infographic, available by clicking the image below
1st November 2023
How’s Business - Autumn survey illustrates the difficulties faced by many Scottish tourism businesses this year
During October, 56 Degree Insight conducted the Scottish Tourism Alliance’s key Autumn survey of tourism businesses. This survey looks back at the tourist season over the past year - but also looks forward at prospects for the remainder of the year and into 2024.
Whilst there has been some optimism driven by the return of overseas traffic - especially from the USA and some key European markets, this has been offset by declines in domestic tourism. And there is a large amount of pessimism about what the short term future has in store.
Jim presented the results at the STA’s Annual Conference in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on the 31st October - the presentation and the full report produced, can both be downloaded from the STA’s website here
20th September 2023
Remote working, Workcations, Digital Nomads - what does the blurring of the lines between business and leisure travel mean for Scottish tourism?
Workcations are a work and travel trend that combine working and taking a vacation. They're on the rise, thanks in a large part to the increased location flexibility and rising worker burnout. For many, it has reshaped the way people think about work and leisure, allowing them to explore new places while staying productive in their careers.
It's a relatively new trend in the UK and consequently, we don’t know a lot about it – what is the potential scale and how can the tourism industry benefit? Working in partnership with Jemma Reid from JR Events, Sales & Consultancy and Yvonne Wagoun from White Stag Tourism, the 56 Degree Insight team incorporated a range of questions in the Summer 2023 wave of the Scottish Tourism Index to better understand the workcations trend as it applies to the Scottish adult population.
You can read more by clicking on the link below:
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