Current Economic Situation
Key Messages
VisitScotland Response Support to Businesses VisitScotland has agreed to freeze prices on the core products / marketing opportunities that businesses buy. Specifically, we are freezing prices on the following:
Quality assurance products and marketing opportunity packages (our core products) represent 70% and 86% of our business customers respectively, meaning that the vast majority of our business customers will benefit from these changes. Price increases for additional products will be kept to a minimum. VisitScotland is making changes to the Growth Fund to help more businesses to secure additional marketing funding. Changes we’re looking at include the following:
Finally, in recognition of the financial pressures on businesses, VisitScotland has committed to adhering to the Scottish Government’s 10 day target of paying bills to all its suppliers. Public Agency Joint Response VisitScotland, enterprise agencies and the Scottish Government have established an action group to co-ordinate and deliver an economic recovery programme focused on: Marketing: VisitScotland has already made significant adjustments to its tactical marketing, concentrating on opportunities in the UK by directing campaigns at consumers we believe will be less likely to be affected by the current economic situation. Internationally, activity has been prioritised on Western Europe by focusing on destinations with direct access, growth markets like Spain and Canada and those with the greatest propensity to respond to Homecoming. The messaging focus throughout has been on quality, value, deals and constant communication. Advice & training: SE and HIE are rolling out an advice programme. Highlands and Islands Enterprise announced last week it is to support businesses through one to one advice sessions, web based information on www.hiebusiness.co.uk, an interest relief grant and an acceleration of capital spend. It is also launching a series of business clinics and is planning to set up an advice and information helpline. Scottish Enterprise is rolling out a programme of advice through their account managers and on the Business Gateway website with a series of hints and tips aimed at helping businesses through the credit crunch. Their programme of Tourism Workshops for 2009 will be specifically tailored with messages, advice and support. National Investment Plan Discussions to shape a national investment plan are well underway involving the three agencies and Scottish Development International. The intention is to continue with these and to engage with key industry players and the investment community. This has always been viewed as a longer term project focused on a time after the current challenging environment has become more favourable for investment. The main focus will be on new investment capable of transforming an area but will highlight the need for businesses to continually invest in the quality of their existing facilities. Drawing on international best practice, the plan will also investigate the need for specific tourism investment funding in the shape of a tourism development bank based on the model which currently operates in Austria. VisitScotland’s Marketing Activity HOMECOMING SCOTLAND 2009 – Key Points:
Specific campaigns: I Am A Scot – will reach around 95 million people across the world. The biggest ever international golf promotion “Drive It Home” will target 70,000 consumers in US, Canada and Sweden. Developed with the Scottish Golf Union, the promotion will see more than 85 Scottish golf courses offering thousands of free golf times. Homecoming website – an American consumer is signing up every 42 seconds to say they are interested in the programme. The Caledonia TV Advert – launched on Friday 28 November, it has already been seen by 60% of the Scottish population and 40,000 have viewed on You Tube and the Homecoming website. It will be screened in the US and Ulster in January.
Homecoming Scotland 2009 remains an unrivalled opportunity for tourism businesses to get involved and target consumers. Homecoming activities are widely promoted via Business Relationship Managers, via VisitScotland’s website and the dedicated Homecoming website. Regular communication includes ideas and leads in the monthly e-Update (issued to 9,000 businesses). PR has been building in 2008 and a major PR plan commences at the official launch around Burns Weekend. Major partnerships are in place for 2009 with diverse organisations including National Geographic and the Forestry Commission. Marketing UK and Ireland
Europe
North America USA
Canada
Australia/New Zealand
China
Japan
India
Business Tourism Activity
Current Statistics International Passenger Numbers: The most recent results from the IPS (International Passenger Survey) show a decline in visitors from overseas. Compared to the first two quarters of 2007, these provisional results show that: - The number of visits to Scotland from Europe decreased by 5%; - The number of visits to Scotland from North America decreased by 6%; - The number of visits to Scotland from other overseas countries increased by 7%. - Overall visitor numbers from overseas have declined by 4%. UK Passenger Numbers: The provisional results from the UKTS survey for the year up to August shows a decline in visitors from the domestic market, with a -3.5% reduction in trips and expenditure remaining consistent at 0.0% compared with the same period in 2007. Average length of stay is up by 2.89% compared to 2007, with spend per night and trip both up by around +0.75% and +3.66% respectively. Visitor Attractions: The final provisional results from the Visitor Attraction Barometer for season (January to October 2008) show a decline in the number of visitors, with a decrease of -4%. Excluding visitors to Kelvingrove, season to date’ visitor figures are down only -1.8% on 2007. Three of the fourteen regions performed better in 2008 compared to 2007, these were Orkney, Shetland and Edinburgh & Lothian. Churches, Abbeys and Cathedrals were the most popular attraction in 2008 with Museums & Art Galleries and Castles and Forts performing poorly compared to 2007. Rural locations performed better than seaside and urban based attractions although rural locations still witnessed a -1.6% drop in visitors compared to -4%/-5% in other areas. Occupancy: Although a seasonal variation occurred through 2008, with occupancy in the first quarter outperforming that of 2007, occupancy levels dropped over the summer of 2008 compared to 2007. For the year up to October compared to the same period in 2007, serviced accommodation occupancy has fallen 2% with non-serviced accommodation the same as 2007. Investment: The economic conditions have shaped most of the recent activity both at home and abroad. Some investment plans continue to be implemented (such as the Ury Estate and Rutherford Castle golf developments), while some have been shelved (the redevelopment of Dumfries town centre was halted in March after developers blamed the credit crisis). Business tourism has seen shifts as companies downscale, with the Whitbread Premier Inn loyalty programme seeing a 40 per cent increase up to May. Office for National Statistics figures show Britons’ trips to the Eurozone were flat over the three months to June, as demand for domestic breaks and holidays to non-euro destinations rose. Scottish Travel Demand: Compared to 2007, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports witnessed month-on-month decline in passenger numbers, with Edinburgh and Prestwick experiencing overall increasing volumes. Analysis of airline routes this winter suggest that due to unfavourable conditions (fuel price, operating costs) budget airlines are shelving almost 60 routes this winter, with up to 3,000 fewer flights than last year. On the positive side, rail travel is seeing a growth in passenger numbers with long distance rail journeys in Britain in the first quarter of 2008 increasing 5.6% on 2007. Tourism Barometer: The VisitScotland tourism barometer for term 2 covering the summer period shows that overall optimism within the Scottish tourism industry appears to be low compared to last year; however this is to be expected under the current corporate climate. By sector, tour operators seem to be the most optimistic with accommodation and retail remaining the less optimistic. Advice for Scottish tourism businesses
December 2008 |