TOURISM

INSIGHT: 56 DEGREE INSIGHT SCOTTISH TOURISM INDEX

STAYCATION BOOST ON HORIZON FOR SCOTTISH RETAILERS?

WITH THE TOURISM INDUSTRY RE-OPENING IN SCOTLAND TODAY, THE LATEST RESEARCH FROM THE 56DEGREE INSIGHT SCOTTISH TOURISM INDEX SUGGESTS A STAYCATION BOOST MAY BE ON ITS WAY FORRETAILERS.

Scottish tourism officially re-opens today, which will be a blessing for many and curse for some – but the latest research from Edinburgh-based 56 Degree Insight suggests many Scots will choose to holiday in Scotland this year with significant potential benefits for local retailers across the country.

The research for wave three of the monthly Scottish Tourism Index was carried out just last week, so the data is as fresh as it gets, and much of it will make for positive reading for the nation’s retailers.

In essence, the Index attempts to understand how the Scottish adult population feels about tourism and leisure during the Covid-19 pandemic.

HOW SCOTS FEEL ABOUT TRAVEL

In May, the Index saw a broad spectrum of opinion across the population – from those feeling extremely nervy about the prospect of travel (around 11%) to those who couldn’t wait to travel again (around 17%) – and everything in between.

In June, safety and hygiene concerns became uppermost in minds with the majority (90%) not prepared to consider travelling outside of the UK.

Last week’s survey has seen these same concerns still very prevalent:

The removal of self-quarantine requirements for certain destinations appears to be having very minimal impact. Some 89% of Scots would still be unlikely to travel overseas.

Almost four in every five Scots would be very unlikely to travel by air for a holiday or break in 2020 (78%).

Some 9 in 10 Scots are put off even taking a holiday south of the border this summer (87%).

STAYCATION APPEAL

With growing concerns about travelling, for most Scots a staycation is much more appealing than travelling elsewhere in the UK or going overseas this year.

The Index found that trips to rural parts of Scotland are marginally more appealing to most than trips to the coast or seaside and much more appealing than Scottish city breaks. Day trips from home remain of greatest appeal in the short term for most, and though there is still reticence to visit cities, day trips to the likes of Glasgow and Edinburgh are likely to be where the visitor economies in these locations have the greatest initial benefits.

SAFETY PARAMOUNT

In all three waves of the survey, it became clear that a new world of attitudes and choices is emerging when it comes to holidays in Scotland, with a particular focus on physical distancing:

For a Scottish holiday, feeling safe was a key driver of choice (17%) – hence the appeal of visiting places easy to reach from home (16%) and where there is a low incidence of the virus (specifically mentioned by 15%).

Similar proportions would seek somewhere quiet, away from the crowds, emphasising the appeal of rural areas.

Over four in five (83%) stated that they would only visit tourism facilities which had been checked and endorsed as safe and following best practice Covid-19 hygiene.

With much of the population suffering financially, we should also not overlook the importance of affordability – 14% mentioned the importance of price and value.

With 1m distancing now permissible in certain situations so long as a number of other mitigations are in place, a key question is whether the old 2m rule should be retained, as the Index suggests it’s important to a lot of tourists:

For most tourists, the greatest comfort remains with 2m distancing – 90% of those planning a holiday in Scotland this year are comfortable with that.

Reducing the distance to 1m (but with additional mitigations such as face coverings, Perspex glass, etc) does have an impact for some – though the majority (77%) are reasonably comfortable with this.

If however, the distance was reduced to 1m but without the need for other mitigations, levels of comfort drop considerably – only 40% of those planning a Scottish holiday would remain OK with this.

Duncan Stewart, Managing Partner at 56 Degree Insight, comments: “There is broad support for the reduction to 1m in certain situations, but only if the additional mitigations are in place and there is clear signage forewarning visitors. It needs to be recognised that between 10 and 20% of tourists (especially older visitors) may decide not to visit tourism facilities where physical distancing is decreased.”

STAYCATION STATUS

Over half of Scots surveyed are considering a staycation this year (53%), equating to around 2.4 million Scots holidays in 2020. Over half of these holidays are planned by Scots who would not have taken a Scottish holiday were it not for the restrictions imposed by coronavirus (52%).

By 8 July, the survey suggests that 16% of Scots had already planned or booked a Scottish holiday post-15 July, and a further 37% were thinking about a Scottish holiday this year. Some 38% had no intention to take a Scottish holiday, but a further 9% were unsure about their plans.

And amongst the 2.4 million Scots who are planning to take a holiday, families in particular were keen to take such a holiday before the planned re-opening of schools on 11 August – 44% of families planning a holiday wanted it to take place before the schools went back or during the October break (28%), whereas for those older Scots with no dependent children, late August and September are popular with 44% planning holidays in Scotland then.

Good news for the industry is that many Scots are willing to take a break outside the peak season – over one in five trips are planned for September (21%), and almost a quarter will be later in October, November and December (23%).

Particularly popular locations are rural areas – especially the Highlands, with 44% planning to visit.