A return to face to face surveying as we launch the 2022 Canal & River Trust Visitor Survey!

We were hoping for sunshine over the weekend as we began fieldwork for a major new visitor survey on behalf of the Canal & River Trust.  Working with our face to face fieldwork partners Walnut we’ll be undertaking over 100 days of face to face interviewing with visitors to a selection of the Trust’s visitor attractions across England and Wales during May and June. Eight of their main attractions will be included, including Anderton Boat Lift, the Tees Barrage, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct near Wrexham and their museums in Gloucester, Ellesmere Port and Stoke Bruerne.

After a long period of restrictions on face to face interviewing we’re delighted to be back in the field (or should I say on the towpath..). The survey will invite visitors to provide their feedback on their experience at the attraction, what they enjoyed most, what could be improved and their reactions to the possible options for enhancing the visitor experience. We will also capture valuable information the profile of who is visiting Canal & River Trust sites including demographics such as age and life stage and visit details such as transport modes used and whether visitors are on holiday or a day out.

With over 2,000 interviews due to be completed with visitors over the period, the survey will provide a wealth of new insights for each attraction and the ability to compare results by key visitor segments. These insights will be used by the Trust to increase the benefits gained by those who visit their sites (including learning, health, wellbeing and happiness), increase diversity of those visiting and ensure that the attractions are maximising the benefits to the communities they lie within.

If you’d like to find out more about the Canal & River Trust and their work click here - https://canalrivertrust.org.uk

To hear more about the survey get in touch with the team at 56 Degree Insight.

Tracking business performance and confidence in the Cairngorms and Moray & Speyside

Over the last year we’ve been working with Cairngorms Business Partnership to undertake their Cairngorms Business Barometer, a quarterly survey of businesses operating in the Cairngorms National Park tracking a range of areas including numbers of customers, levels of turnover and expectations for the future. In late 2021 we were delighted to be commissioned by Visit Moray Speyside to work with them to launch a similar survey - the Moray Speyside Business Barometer - in their area with the first wave of this new survey completed last month.

Both surveys involve the quarterly completion of a short online questionnaire amongst a sample of businesses, providing details on levels of business during the last 3 months, expectations for the future, general levels of business confidence and the impact of a range of ‘barriers’ on levels of business. The survey approach also allows for the inclusion of a set of ‘hot topic’ questions on a subject of particular interest at that point.

Reflecting the nature of the economy in both areas, while participating businesses are largely involved in the tourism industry, the types of businesses participating is wide ranging, including accommodation providers, retailers, hospitality businesses and food and drink manufacturers. In return for participating, businesses receive rapid access to the survey reports and a personalised summary of the results comparing their own performance and outlook with the averages for businesses across their area.

We published the 2022 Quarter 1 results from both of the Barometers this week, reporting on how businesses in each area had performed during the first three months of the year and their expectations for the rest of 2022 and beyond.

In both surveys the results provided a fairly mixed picture. With the relaxation of Covid restrictions and international tourism markets starting to return, business levels have certainly improved for most in comparison to the same time last year. And in both surveys most businesses indicated that they expect increased levels of business this year and levels of confidence for the short (3 months), medium (12 months) and longer term (24 months) are all slightly above the averages normally seen for this time of year, even pre-pandemic.

However this post pandemic optimism is tempered by growing operational concerns over rising supplier and energy costs, with many businesses already experiencing significantly increased costs and nearly all anticipating hikes during the next 12 months. Staffing concerns are also continuing to present a significant challenge for some businesses as a combination of factors mean that many struggle to fill vacant positions.

Click on the links below if you’d like to find out more about the Cairngorms Business Barometer or Moray Speyside Barometer (or to find out how to take part if you are a business based in either area!) or get in touch with us if you’d like to hear more about the surveys or opportunities to  establish up a Business Barometer in your region.

https://www.cairngormschamber.com

https://morayspeyside.com/barometer/

Identifying tourism growth opportunities in Aberdeenshire

In March we were delighted to be able to present the final results of a programme of qualitative research which we recently completed for VisitAberdeenshire. 

The research aimed to provide VisitAberdeenshire with a detailed understanding of the views and opinions of potential visitors to their area, exploring a number of key areas including how the pandemic has changed attitudes to domestic travel, perceptions of Scotland, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen as a destination and the actions that need to be taken to achieve ambitions to grow the value of the sector. 

To obtain the in-depth understanding of consumers views and attitudes needed a qualitative approach was used with a total of six online focus groups conducting using Zoom amongst residents of the North of England and Scotland. 

The focus groups recruitment ensured that as well as speaking to people in our selected locations, we recruited a mix of people in different lifestages (from young independents, to family and empty nesters) and people with different levels of previous experience of the region – from recent visitors to those with limited awareness of what the region offers.

The insights from this research will be used by VisitAberdeenshire and their partners to guide the actions taken as they work towards the ambitions for the region – first and foremost the planning of marketing activities which will stimulate recovery in the area’s tourism sector as we emerge from the pandemic.

If you would like to find out more about this study or other research we’ve undertaken in the tourism sector or a qualitative research offer please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Realising the potential of the outdoor tourism sector in Scotland

There is increasing recognition of the value of the outdoors to the Scottish tourism economy and the role it plays in supporting sustainable economic growth by creating employment, sustaining tourism spend and enhancing the profile of Scotland through the promotion of its natural landscape and scenery. The Outdoors Scotland Tourism Strategy is an initiative led by Wild Scotland and Sail Scotland to champion a collaborative approach for the sector to drive Scotland forward as a leading outdoors tourism destination for sustainable, and environmentally focussed marine, outdoor and wildlife activities. 

During August, 56 Degree Insight along with partner agencies BTS, White Stag Tourism and Lochaber Chamber of Commerce were excited to be commissioned by Wild Scotland and Sail Scotland to develop an Outdoors Tourism Strategy for Scotland. The Project aim is to set in motion the full realisation of the potential of the Scotland’s Outdoor Tourism sector and to identify the way forward and precise actions to support the sectors funding, marketing and development plans.

The 56 Degree Insight role is to explore the potential of Outdoors Tourism amongst potential visitors, and to that end, we have just completed a major survey of over 1,500 consumers across the UK where outdoor activities are the main motivation for a Scottish holiday. Not only will the results from this survey help to scale the size of the potential market for each of 25-30 specific activities, we will also develop profiles for each of these activities – specifically those people with a keen interest in visiting Scotland for that purpose – from their demographics to their interests, holiday attitudes and behaviours and specifically what they would be seeking from such a holiday in Scotland.  

The results will feed into industry consultations and workshops and into the development of a market-driven Outdoors Scotland Strategy and Action Plan to help realise the potential of this sector by identifying key actions for growth and sustainable development.

Further details of the project are available here

Cairngorms Business Barometer goes LIVE!

This week we were delighted to complete our first wave of the Cairngorms Business Barometer – a quarterly survey of businesses located in the Cairngorms National Park which we have been commissioned to undertaken by Cairngorms Business Partnership (CBP). The survey provides CBP, their partners and the businesses that take part with information on business performance, confidence and barriers to growth. Particularly vital insights at this critical time.

Just over 100 businesses took part and the key results from the Quarter 2 survey have received coverage in the local press. As described in the article, we found that business confidence for the summer months is now higher than at any stage since before the pandemic. However, businesses told us that a number of barriers continue to restrain growth – most notably the burdens of bureaucracy and rising administration costs. Also for some businesses a shortage of local, affordable housing is making it difficult for them to recruit and retain staff.

We look forward to continuing to work with CBP on future waves of the Barometer: get in touch if you’d like to find out more about the approach or if you are a business based in the Cairngorms and would like to take part in the next wave.

56 Degree Insight appointed to undertake a major study to guide the destination brand development of Bellunese in Northern Italy’s spectacular Dolomites

High above the Piave river on a narrow spit of land sits the old town of Belluno, capital of the province of the same name and the southern gateway to the popular area of the Dolomites. The small town itself offers its visitors a magnificent panorama and, above all, the unmistakable atmosphere of a mountain town in the Alps. The province of Belluno also has a lot to offer to its travellers, especially to sports fans: from skiing and hiking paradises to water sports on the lakes: just the right thing for all those who appreciate a relaxing holiday in the alpine world of Italy

— Italian travel website, www.zainoo.com

The Province of Belluno – Bellunese is in a spectacular setting in the Dolomites to the north of Venice.  As a destination, it has much to offer, however it is relatively unknown compared with competitor destinations in the Italian Alps, the Italian Lakes and the Tyrol.  In many ways, it is an area without a clear identity which is rarely highlighted in wider editorials about the Dolomites or indeed the Veneto region.  And yet, when you dig deeper, it is an area of immense natural beauty with historic and interesting towns and villages as well as a majestic capital in Belluno itself.

Bellunese needs clearer branding and an identity to help the area stand out against competitors in Northern Italy and further afield.  International destination branding expert, Tom Buncle, from Yellow Railroad has been appointed by the Province of Belluno to develop a distinctive and compelling brand for the region and the 56 Degree Insight team are excited to have been appointed to undertake research amongst past and potential visitors to identify the levers which could make Bellunese stand out from the crowd. We’ll be working closely with Tom to help guide the development of the new destination brand. 

The timing is crucial: the enforced break in tourism caused by Coronavirus has caused many people to re-evaluate what they are looking for from holidays and destinations – in particular, a willingness to try new destinations ‘off the beaten track’, away from the crowds and which offer a largely outdoor experience. These changing motivations may open up lots of possibility for the Province of Belluno given its tourism product and landscape. 

But to realise this potential, there is a real need to better understand how existing visitors to Bellunese feel as well as what might attract potential visitors to the area – what are their perceptions and awareness, and what would motivate them, especially post-COVID.  The 56 Degree Insight team are interviewing over 2,000 potential visitors to the region across Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom in parallel with qualitative research amongst visitors and the trade.  This will help to establish how Bellunese is viewed in its key markets so that a compelling brand strategy can be developed to guide Bellunese’s tourism marketing and to inform the future development of local tourism products and experiences.  

This is a hugely exciting piece of international tourism destination research for the 56 Degree Insight team – particularly challenging with all of the restrictions caused by the pandemic in Italy, Germany and the UK. But we are delighted to play our part in helping this stunning region of northern Italy in its development as a tourism destination. 

The latest Scottish Tourism Index shows the challenges ahead to ensure staycations can provide hope for Scottish tourism in 2021the Scottish tourism industry with the much needed boost it needs in 202

Just over a year since we first went into lockdown in Scotland, how is the Scottish population feeling about holidays and tourism in 2021? During 2020, we launched the Scottish Tourism Index and tracked the feelings of the Scottish population through the first lockdown and the initial easing of restrictions. How have things changed one year on?

When COVID-19 lockdown began on 23rd March 2020 in Scotland, little did any of us know how long we would be living under the restrictions of the pandemic. Back in that first lockdown period, we realised that there was a real need for information to help the Scottish tourism industry – how were Scots residents feeling about the prospect of holidays when lockdown restrictions eased, what were their concerns and would they overcome them to take a holiday? If so, where – and would the potential of a Scottish staycation appeal, especially among those more likely to take summer holidays abroad?

We launched the Scottish Tourism Index, and ran the survey across four months of 2020 – firstly in early May, when lockdown was at its toughest, to gauge opinion, then we repeated the survey a month later in early June when our pathway out had been mapped by the Scottish Government. We continued to track opinions and likely behaviours in early July, a week before the official re-opening of Scottish tourism, and then undertook a final wave for 2020 at the end of August. In this wave, we took more of a retrospective – looking back at the holidays that had been taken over the previous 6 weeks, their nature and characteristics, and the extent to which they lived up to expectations.

At that stage, we were hopeful that with possible vaccines on the horizon and case numbers relatively low, we hoped that we might not need to run the Scottish Tourism Index again. However, as we all now know, as we moved into winter, transmissions increased and the emergence of new variants have cause a second major ‘stay at home’ lockdown since the festive period. The vaccination programme does provide grounds for optimism however, and as the restrictions begin to be eased again, we felt it was important to run a fifth wave of the Scottish Tourism Index to see how Scots were feeling about holidays this year.

In this report we examine how Scots feel about travelling and holidays generally, and specifically their intentions for 2021, focusing on their likelihood to take a Scottish staycation. What might it look like, when and where are they considering and what is important to them? We also revisit the potential impacts of incoming tourism on local communities – again, comparing with last year.

The results are presented below from Wave 5, and he headline findings are summarised below:

Whilst there is room for some optimism, the latest Scottish Tourism Index demonstrates that there are a number of challenges ahead to ensure home-base holidays (staycations) can provide the tourism industry with the much needed boost it needs in 2021

• Over a fifth of Scots are simply not thinking about holidays yet (22%) and 27% feel that holidays are something they won’t be planning for some time. These groups remained concerned about risks of transmission and would like to wait until the vaccine rollout and declining cases reach a level where they feel completely safe.

• However, the remaining half of the population are more positive about taking a holiday this year – indeed 1 in 8 (12%) are desperate for a holiday and will take one as soon as they can. Members of this group feel they need to travel, to escape from the difficulties of the last 12 months.

• Almost half (46%) of Scots are very likely or definite about taking a home holiday this year – and a further 24% are fairly likely – 7 in 10 Scots overall. This compares with around two in five likely to go elsewhere in the UK (42%), three in ten into Europe (29%) and 11% further afield.

• However the uncertainty of what will be possible this year means that only a small proportion of Scots have already booked a 2021 staycation (5%) while a larger percentage (32%) are just at the planning or consideration stages.

• When asked to rate the importance of a different factors if they were to take a Scottish staycation high standards of hygiene and cleanliness were rated most highly. Mitigations to aid social distancing remain important but notably less so than in the summer of 2020. More important in 2021 were reassurances that there would be a range of places open to visit and where it would be possible to eat and drink.

• While 17% of Scottish staycations are expected to be taken before the end of June, a larger percentage (51%) are expected to take place between July and the end of September, and 14% in the last quarter. Reflecting the uncertainty amongst consumers, 18% of those planning a trip are unsure of when.

• As in 2020, rural locations continue to hold greatest appeal with the Highlands leading the way, followed by Argyll, Edinburgh & Lothians, Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire & Arran and Perthshire.

• Also reflecting demand in 2020, self-catering accommodation continues to be the most popular for holidays planned for 2021 with 47% intending to stay in this type of accommodation. Small hotels are likely to be used by 44%, guesthouses/B&Bs by 33% and large hotels by 30% - and all other types of accommodation by less than 15% in each case.

• Underlying these percentages there are shifts in accommodation preferences compared with pre-COVID. Self-catering in particular now has much greater appeal (+25% swing) as do campervans (+11%).

• In terms of activities undertaken on holidays, 33% of Scots are more likely to consider visiting the natural outdoors on a Scottish holiday post-COVID-19, and a similar percentage are more likely to seek rest and relaxation. More active pursuits such as walking and cycling are also more popular with +26% appeal. In contrast indoor activities such as visits to arts and cultural venues and shopping for gifts and souvenirs will still have reduced appeal.

• Considering Scottish community attitudes to the re-opening of tourism, although a degree of reticence remains (23% would at most only want small numbers of visitors), compared to 2020 there is a more relaxed attitude towards visitors generally with almost half (48%) pf the population feeling comfortable and ready to welcome visitors.

READ MORE HERE……

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