Agatha Christie Festival Evaluation 2011 Final Report Produced for and on behalf of the English Riviera Tourism Company by The South West Research Company

Agatha Christie Festival Evaluation 2011

Final Report

Produced for and on behalf of the English Riviera Tourism Company byThe South West Research Company Ltd

January 2012TheTheSouth West ResearchSouth West ResearchCompanyCompany

Page

Executive Summary 3

Conclusions and Recommendations 15

Introduction 19

Attendance Estimates 24

Economic Evaluation 30

Appendix 1 – Attendee Surveys Results 54

Appendix 2 – Business Survey Results 86

Appendix 3 – Stakeholders Survey Results 97

Appendix 4 – Cambridge Model 110

Appendix 5 – Open ended responses (separate documents)

Contents

2


Executive Summary

TheTheSouth West ResearchSouth West ResearchCompanyCompany

The South West Research Company were commissioned by the English Riviera Tourism Company to conduct an economic evaluation of the Agatha Christie Festival 2011. The basis for this study and the outputs provided are shown below;

Attendee Surveys – 276 on site face-to-face interviews and 60 post event online survey responses received.

Business Survey – 55 responses were received from English Riviera businesses.

Stakeholders Survey – 13 responses received from key stakeholders involved with the festival.

Attendee estimates – Achieved through ticket sales figures and estimates of attendees at non-ticketed events.

Economic Modelling – Applying survey data to attendee numbers to estimate economic outputs.

Executive Summary - Methodology

4

Executive Summary – Key Points

5

• The 2011 Agatha Christie Festival was held on the English Riviera in South Devon between the 11 th and 18th September.

• The festival attracted approximately 7,725 unique day visitors, 4,270 of whom were directly influenced to visit the English Riviera as a result of the festival taking place.

• An estimated £430,972 expenditure was generated on the English Riviera by those attending the festival.

• A further £194,560 was spend on accommodation during the festival week by those attendees staying overnight on either the English Riviera or elsewhere in Devon.

• £99,163 additional expenditure was generated by visitors to the festival staying elsewhere in Devon.

• Total all festival related spend was therefore estimated at £724,695.

• An estimated £238,239 of the total festival expenditure above was influenced by the presence of the festival, as well as a further £70,403 of the total spend on accommodation and £32,880 of the additional expenditure elsewhere in Devon.

• The total influenced festival related spend is therefore estimated at £341,523.

This summary provides an overview of the economic impact of the Agatha Christie Festival on the English Riviera and elsewhere in Devon in two stages;

•Firstly, the economic value of the event and associated spending for all attendees during their visit to the English Riviera. This is referred to as all festival spend.

•Secondly, the economic value of the festival and associated spending for all attendees whose visit to the English Riviera or Devon was influenced by the festival and who would not have visited somewhere else had the festival not taken place. This is referred to as influenced festival spend.

Other terms referred to include;

Executive Summary – Economic Impact

6

Total business turnover - Business turnover arises as a result of tourist spending, from the purchase of supplies and services locally by businesses in receipt of visitor spending and as a result of the spending of wages in businesses by employees whose jobs are directly or indirectly supported by tourism spending.

Direct employment - Employment arising as a direct result of visitor expenditure

Indirect employment - Employment arising from the purchase of supplies and services by those in receipt of direct visitor expenditure

Induced Employment - Income induced employment arises from expenditure by employees whose jobs are supported by tourism spend

FTE's - Full time equivalent jobs


7

SUMMARY OF INFLUENCED FESTIVAL SPEND

AccommodationFood & Drink

Shopping EntertainmentTravel &

TransportTOTAL

ALL FESTIVAL SPEND

£194,560 £146,018 £149,749 £166,463 £67,906 £724,695

ALL INFLUENCED FESTIVAL SPEND

- £61,236 £71,778 £82,630 £22,594 £238,239

ALL INFLUENCED STAYING VISITOR NON-EVENT SPEND

£70,403 £11,681 £6,605 £5,640 £8,954 £103,283

ALL INFLUENCED FESTIVAL ASSOCIATED SPEND

£70,403 £72,917 £78,383 £88,271 £31,548 £341,523


8

LOCAL BUSINESS TURNOVER SUPPORTED BY INFLUENCED FESTIVAL ACTIVITY

Staying tourists Day visitors TOTAL

£161,000 £292,000 £453,000

TOTAL EMPLOYMENT RELATED TO INFLUENCED FESTIVAL ASSOCIATED SPENDING BY ATTENDEE TYPE

Full time equivalent Staying tourists Day visitors TOTAL

Total 3 5 8

Estimated actual Staying tourists Day visitors TOTAL

Total 4 7 10

Return on investmentReturn per pound

invested

All expenditure at festival £48.31

Influenced visitor expenditure £22.77

9

• 53% of all attendees to the festival were Devon residents.

• Almost all festival attendees (98%) were visiting the festival in adult only groups. Average total group

size was 2.10 people.

• Festival attendees were most likely to be female (64%) and fall into the older (55+) age groups (62%).

• Two thirds of attendees fell into socio economic group ABC1 based on the occupation of the highest

earner in their household.

• 14% of festival attendees had some form of disability.

• Two fifths of attendees were on holiday staying overnight on the English Riviera.

• Over three quarters of attendees staying overnight on the English Riviera at the time of their interview

were staying in serviced accommodation on the resort (76%).

• Average duration of stay for those attendees staying overnight on the English Rivera during the festival

was 6.1 nights. Average spend per person per night on all types of accommodation was £29.48 and

£43.23 for those attendees staying in serviced accommodation only.

Executive Summary – Attendee Surveys

10

• Two fifths of all those attendees on holiday staying overnight on the English Riviera/elsewhere in Devon

indicated that the Agatha Christie Festival was the main reason for them choosing to visit the English

Riviera/Devon on this particular occasion.

• Around three fifths (61%) of respondents indicated that 2011 was the first year they had attended the

festival. The average number previous visits to the festival was 2.61.

• 74% of all respondents indicated that the Agatha Christie Festival was the main reason for them choosing

to visit the English Riviera on the day they were interviewed/attended an event.

• Overall, 59% of attendees indicated that they would not have gone out on the English Riviera anyway had

the festival not been taking place.

• The largest proportion of respondents (53%) had found out about the festival via the internet/a website

including the Agatha Christie and English Riviera websites.

• Approximately two thirds of all attendees (64%) had travelled to the festival by car, van, motorcycle etc.

• 26% of respondents who travelled to the festival by car, van, motorcycle etc. used a town centre car park

whilst around a third (32%) had parked on the street.


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• The most popular day for attending the festival was Thursday 15 th September when 55% of all

attendees had visited a festival event.

• The largest proportion of respondents (64%) considered the festival to be of great importance to the

local communities of the English Riviera whilst the same proportion also considered it to be of great

importance to the image of the resort.

• Levels of agreement were highest with the statements “The Agatha Christie Festival should have a

place in the English Riviera events calendar for years to come” and “I look forward to attending the

Agatha Christie Festival in the English Riviera” (95% agreement level for each) and lowest with the

statement “Children/young people benefit from involvement with the Agatha Christie Festival” (58%

agreement level).

• On the whole, attendee satisfaction levels were high with the majority of the indicators explored about

the festival. The highest ranked indicator in terms of satisfaction was overall enjoyment of visit (4.68)

and the lowest was for the cost of car parking (3.22) during the festival.

• Overall the festival gained an average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +52%, indicating that good

proportions of attendees are likely to recommend the festival to others.

• The largest proportion of attendees (47%) indicated that they would still visit the festival regardless of

the time of year when it takes place.


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• Around three fifths (61%) of attendees (who indicated that they would visit regardless of the time of year

when the festival takes place) indicated that they visit both the main festival event in May and the

birthday celebration in September.

• Around two fifths (42%) of festival attendees who indicated that they would not visit the festival if the

date changes to May indicated that they would visit the birthday celebration in September.

• Around two fifths (41%) of respondents indicated that they had attended other events/festivals over the

last 12 months.


13

• 72% of the businesses responding to the survey were accommodation providers.

• Only 4% of businesses had extended their opening hours as a result of the festival taking place.

• 25% of businesses indicated that the event had impacted on their business turnover.

• One fifth of businesses indicated that they had increased their levels of staff during the festival.

• Two fifths of businesses felt that the festival was of great importance was to the general economy of the English Riviera.

• 98% of businesses felt that the festival was of great importance (51%) or of some importance (47%) to the overall image of the English Riviera.

• 22% of businesses felt that the festival was of great importance to the local communities of the English Riviera and a further 55% of some importance.

• Around a third of businesses (36%) indicated that the festival would have no impact on their business regardless of the time of year when it takes place.

• 22% indicated that moving the main festival to the month of May would have a greater impact on their business levels and a further 9% a lesser impact by doing so.

• Around a third of businesses (36%) indicated that they would be likely to get involved in the festival regardless of the time of year when it takes place.

Executive Summary – Business Survey

14

• 38% of the stakeholders responding to the survey were businesses.

• More than three quarters of stakeholders (77%) felt that the festival was of great importance to the general economy of the English Riviera and a further 85% that it was of great importance to the overall image of the English Riviera.

• 46% of stakeholders felt that the festival was of great importance to the local communities of the English Riviera and 54% of some importance.

• Levels of agreement were highest with the statements “The Agatha Christie Festival should have a place in the English Riviera events calendar for years to come” and “I look forward to attending the Agatha Christie Festival on the English Riviera”. Levels of agreement were lowest with the statements “Children/young people benefit from involvement with the Agatha Christie Festival” and “The Agatha Christie Festival engages the local communities”.

• On the whole, stakeholder satisfaction levels were good for twelve out of the twenty indicators explored about the festival.

• Around three fifths of stakeholders (62%) indicated that they would be likely to get involved in both the main festival in May and the birthday celebration in September.

• The majority of stakeholders (54%) thought the introduction of a central booking point would be a good idea for future festivals.

Executive Summary – Stakeholders Survey


Conclusions & Recommendations


ConclusionsThe results of this survey clearly highlight the importance of the Agatha Christie Festival in the annual English Riviera events calendar. A highly regarded and well supported festival enjoyed by both local residents and visitors from outside the area, it is clear from the findings of this evaluation that the festival attendees, local businesses and festival stakeholders consider it to be of great importance to the general economy and overall image of the resort.

Whilst there is always potential to grow events and attract larger numbers of visitors the current format of the Agatha Christie Festival would appear to have a positive economic impact on the English Riviera, enhancing the tourism offering during September without negatively impacting upon tourism businesses not actively engaged with the event.

The Agatha Christie Festival;

•Is predominantly an event for English Riviera/Devon communities, but also attracts a good proportion of visitors to the county including those from overseas.

•Attracted approximately 4,200 actual attendees during the festival week.

•Influenced in excess of £340,000 expenditure to the local and wider economy, the majority of which is assumed to be additional expenditure largely falling within the English Riviera, above and beyond what would normally occur.

•Is a well supported event with high levels of satisfaction amongst attendees and stakeholders alike.

•The influenced visitor expenditure provided a return of £22.77 for every pound invested to hold the festival.

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RecommendationsWhilst the results of this evaluation are, on the whole, very positive, there is always room for improvement in the delivery of such festivals and the scope to appeal and attract more people to attend.

To ensure the Agatha Christie Festival retains it’s level of popularity and appeal to as wide a range of people as possible, it is essential that the event organisers strive for continuous, year on year improvements to the festival programme to ensure the high level of satisfaction and support for the festival remains amongst attendees and stakeholders alike.

The festival appears to currently attract quite a select, ageing audience but for the long term future of the festival it will also need to evolve and find ways of attracting a new, younger audience. Introducing a wider, more varied range of events and improving publicity and promotion of the festival both locally and nationally may allow the scope to do this.

Likewise, local business and community engagement and involvement in the festival should remain a focussed objective for the future. In particular, ensuring early input into the festival at the planning stage and well in advance of the actual event taking place will ensure everyone has plenty of time to prepare and get involved.

The results from the survey show that opinions are mixed over the possible change in the time of year when the festival is held in the future with many respondents unsure at this stage of the impact that changing the main festival to the month of May from 2013 would have on either their decision to visit or their business levels. The festival organisers therefore, may need to consider undertaking further focussed research amongst attendees, local businesses and key stakeholders to explore the possible options for the delivery of the festival in the future and the time of year when it takes place.

The festival organisers may also wish to further explore the possibility of introducing a central booking point for the festival events in the future which the majority of festival stakeholders considered would be a good idea (albeit a relatively small sample size of respondents). 17

RecommendationsThe Agatha Christie Festival should in future consider;

•Continued monitoring and evaluation of future festivals to build upon the baseline data gathered through this project.

•Using the REAP Model (which is freely available) to identify the environmental impact of the festival and provide an environmental baseline to help inform future festival planning. This would help to reduce the carbon footprint and impact of the festival on the local environment.

•Using the data gathered through this evaluation to help focus efforts on those areas which are in need of improvement and to help inform the development of future festivals. Particular areas for improvement highlighted by the survey findings include; the availability and cost of car parking during the festival, the cost of public transport, the availability of tickets for the paid festival events, the availability of festival information and the range and type of events held during the festival week.

•Improving future promotion and communication of the festival and the various events taking place during the course of the week to attract higher numbers of attendees in the future. The profile of attendee origins suggests that there is scope to do this.

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Introduction


The world-famous annual Agatha Christie Festival once again took place on the stunning English Riviera,

South Devon, from 11th-18th September 2011. The festival is growing year by year and had a spectacular

programme of events such as trips on an original 1940's bus or a river voyage to Greenway House where

you could take a tour of Christie's holiday home. Other events included the Murder Mystery Dining Train, a

Tea Dance at Oldway Mansion, Agatha Christie Mystery Shopping and a production of Agatha Christie's

Verdict? The festival had something for everyone.

The English Riviera Tourism Company were keen to explore the economic and social impact that the

Agatha Christie Festival has on the English Riviera, in terms of the volume and value of the visits it

generates and the effects on local businesses, as well as the socio-cultural impacts generated by the event.

The English Riviera Tourism Company therefore appointed The South West Research Company Ltd. to

undertake an economic and social impact evaluation of the event including an on-site face to face survey

with attendees to Agatha Christie’s Verdict at the Princess Theatre in Torquay, a post event on line survey

amongst festival attendees, a survey amongst local businesses based on the English Riviera and all key

stakeholders in the festival.

The overall objective of the study was to provide detailed and statistically robust evidence for the economic

impact that the Agatha Christie Festival has on the English Riviera and other parts of the county, in terms of

the volume and value of visits generated and effects on local businesses and; to provide evidence of the

socio-cultural impacts generated by the event. The specific objectives of the research are detailed overleaf.

Introduction

20

The specific aims and objectives of the evaluation were as follows:

To estimate, through event ticket sales and estimates, the number of attendees to the festival.

To calculate, through a programme of attendee interviews, the expenditure per attendee and the additionality effect (i.e. the proportion of trips to the English Riviera and its surrounding area generated specifically by the festival which otherwise would not have taken place).

To produce, through simple modelling, the overall volume and value generated, plus the cost per trip induced and value produced per £1 spent.

To ascertain, through a questionnaire programme of businesses on the English Riviera, the impact that the festival has on the turnover and operation of food & drink, retail, tourism and other commercial businesses in the resort.

To provide, through attendee interviews, demographic profiles of both the type of attendee and the nature of the trip.

To confirm, through a programme of interviews with all stakeholders, the level of satisfaction, community pride and local valuation of the festival.

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Research Aims & Objectives

The methodology for the study comprised of the following key components:

1. Attendee Surveys

A face to face survey amongst a sample of 276 attendees to The Princess Theatre to watch Agatha Christies Verdict was undertaken during the festival period.

In addition to the face to face interviews, a total of 5,000 flyers directing attendees to an online questionnaire were also included in the programmes for Agatha Christies Verdict and at the various events taking place during the festival week. A total of 60 questionnaires were completed online in the month following the festival.

Both the face to face and online Attendee Surveys explored visitors’ demographic profiles, whether the festival was the main reason for their visit to the town and, in particular, attendee’s spending patterns. The post-festival online survey also explored attendees’ views and opinions of the festival. Full details of the results of the Attendee Surveys can be found in Appendix 1 of this report.

2. Business Survey

In addition to the face to face and on line Attendee Surveys, an online business survey amongst local businesses on the English Riviera was also conducted. The questionnaire focused on their trading patterns and the impact of the festival upon their staffing and turnover. A total of 55 responses were submitted. Full details of the results of the Business Survey can be found in Appendix 2 of this report.

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Methodology

3. Stakeholders Survey

An online survey amongst key stakeholders involved with the Agatha Christie Festival was also undertaken. The English Riviera Tourism Company contacted all the event organises involved with the festival by email asking them to complete an online post event questionnaire which explored, amongst other things, it’s impact on the local economy and importance to the resort and the social and cultural impacts the festival has on local communities. A total of 13 stakeholder questionnaires were completed online. Full details of the results of the Key Stakeholders Survey can be found in Appendix 3 of this report.

4. Attendee Estimates

Using ticket sales for the various events taking place as part of the festival and estimates for non-ticketed events, a total estimate of attendees to the festival was calculated.

5. Economic Modelling

Using the data derived from each of the above components, estimates of the overall economic impact of the Agatha Christie Festival 2011 on the local and wider economy have been calculated and this data forms the main content of the report to follow.

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Methodology


Attendee Estimates


25

Attendee Estimates

Agatha Christie Festival 2011 – ticket sales/estimatesTotal estimated

attendanceGenerated by unique

day visitors

Sunday 11th Sept 1,906 1875

Monday 12th Sept 617 415

Tuesday 13th Sept 1,287 846

Wednesday 14th Sept 1,721 1125

Thursday 15th Sept 1,268 826

Friday 16th Sept 1,190 775

Saturday 17th Sept 1,540 1001

Sunday 18th Sept 1,043 862

TOTAL ATTENDEE ESTIMATE 10,572 7,725

Based on ticketed and non-ticketed event estimates, a total of 10,572 visitors were in attendance during the festival week. This equates to a total of 7,725 unique day visitors i.e. some of the 10,572 visitors would have attended more than one festival event.

A number of ticketed and non-ticketed events took place as part of the Agatha Christie Festival week on the English Riviera.

For the ticketed events, ticket sales/attendance figures have been obtained from the individual event organisers but where events were non-ticketed, such as the opening fete on Sunday 11 th September, an informed an estimate as possible for attendee numbers has been made based on anecdotal evidence by the festival organisers for the event in question.

26

Attendee Type Estimates

Agatha Christie Festival 2011 – attendee counts by typeUnique day

visitors

A local resident of the English Riviera 1,831

A resident of Devon living elsewhere outside of the English Riviera 2,231

On holiday staying on the English Riviera 3,099

On holiday staying elsewhere in Devon 376

Visiting the English Riviera for the day 188

ALL ATTENDEE TOTAL 7,725

The total of 7,725 unique day visitors to the festival referred to in the previous slide has been used for all the economic calculations to follow in this report.

The unique day visitors count below shows the total number of individuals attending over the festival period by visitor type. Total attendance for the festival is actually higher than this (10,572 – see previous slide) but some individuals attended more than one event in a day, hence why the unique day visitors figure is smaller.

To establish the influence of the festival, the Attendee Surveys first asked staying visitors if the Agatha Christie Festival was the main reason for their entire visit to the English Riviera. Secondly, all visitors were asked if the Agatha Christie Festival was the main reason for their visit to the English Riviera on that day. Lastly, respondents were asked if they would have been visiting somewhere else on the English Riviera if the festival were not taking place (including English Riviera residents gong out in their place of residence). From these three questions the overall influence of the festival can be calculated.

Whilst the survey data collected has been used to segregate people into different visitor types the analysis for influenced staying visitors works on two levels:

Firstly, all staying visitors that were either influenced to visit the festival on the day or whose whole trip was influenced by the festival have their festival spend included in the influenced festival spend figures.

Secondly, all staying visitors whose whole trip was influenced by the festival have their accommodation spend for the duration of their trip and spend for the days when they weren’t attending the festival included as influenced.

Establishing Influence

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For example;

•A staying visitor on the English Riviera whose main reason for holidaying in the resort was the

Agatha Christie Festival has had their spending included for the length of their visit.

•A staying visitor on the English Riviera whose main reason for holidaying in the resort was not the

Agatha Christie Festival, but who had visited for the day as a result of the event has been treated as a

day visitor for evaluation purposes.

•Attendees that were not influenced to visit the English Riviera for a holiday and were also not

influenced to visit as a result of the Agatha Christie Festival have not been included in the final spend

figures for this evaluation. This spend would have occurred anyway (deadweight).

•Attendees who were influenced to visit the English Riviera for the day as a result of the Agatha

Christie Festival, but who would have visited somewhere else had the festival not taken place have not

been included in the final spend figures for this evaluation. Their spend on the English Riviera is likely

to mean that another town/resort in Devon has seen reduced spend (displacement).

Using this calculation results in a total of 4,270 influenced attendees as a result of

the festival.


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The numbers of influence attendee types to the festival are shown in the table below:

In addition to this 390 staying visitors whole trip to the English Riviera/Devon was influenced so

accommodation spend for the duration of their trip and spend for days when they weren’t visiting the

festival are also included in the influenced spend figures to follow.

Using these figures we can then start to estimate the economic impact of the festival in the chapter to

follow.


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Agatha Christie Festival 2011 – influenced attendee counts by typeUnique day

visits to festival

A) A local resident of the English Riviera 830

B) A resident of Devon living elsewhere outside of the English Riviera 1,518

C) On holiday staying on the English Riviera 1,567

D) On holiday staying elsewhere in Devon 168

E) Visiting the English Riviera for the day 188

TOTAL INFLUENCED DAY VISITORS 4,270


Economic Evaluation


Economic Impact Estimates

31

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the economic impact of the Agatha Christie Festival on the

English Riviera and elsewhere in Devon in two stages;

•Firstly, the full economic value of the festival and associated spending for all attendees during

their visit to the English Riviera/Devon. This is referred to as all festival spend.

•Secondly, the full influenced economic value of the festival and associated spending for all

attendees whose visit to the English Riviera or Devon was influenced by the festival and who would

not have visited somewhere else had the festival not taken place. This is referred to as influenced

festival spend.

Economic estimates for those events for which attendee numbers and additional survey data was

gathered are shown in the slides to follow.

Further economic outputs contained within this chapter for business turnover and employment

supported by visitor spend have been calculated using multipliers from the Cambridge Model.

The Cambridge Model is a computer-based model developed to calculate estimates of the volume,

value and economic impact of tourism on a County or District basis. It draws on the combined

experience of PA Cambridge Economic Consultants Ltd, Geoff Broom Associates and the Regional

Tourist Boards and utilises a standard methodology capable of application throughout the UK. It

therefore offers the potential for direct comparisons with similar destinations throughout the country.

The approach was the subject of independent validation (R.Vaughan, Bournemouth University) in

December 1994. The Model was judged robust and the margins of error acceptable and in line with

other modelling techniques.

The multipliers used for this economic evaluation are the same as those used to calculate Torbay

Unitary Authority data in the Value of Tourism report.

For further details of the Cambridge Model see Appendix 4.


32

Further economic outputs contained within this chapter for business turnover and employment

supported by visitor spend refer to the following terms which are explained below;


33

Total business turnover - Business turnover arises as a result of tourist spending, from the purchase of supplies and services locally by businesses in receipt of visitor spending and as a result of the spending of wages in businesses by employees whose jobs are directly or indirectly supported by tourism spending.

Direct employment - Employment arising as a direct result of visitor expenditure

Indirect employment - Employment arising from the purchase of supplies and services by those in receipt of direct visitor expenditure

Induced Employment - Income induced employment arises from expenditure by employees whose jobs are supported by tourism spend.

FTE's - Full time equivalent jobs


34

All festival spend

The spend figures contained within this section relate to the total number of attendees at the Agatha

Christie Festival during their visit to the English Riviera/Devon, whether influenced to visit by the

festival or not.

The average spend per person calculations by visitor type, as well as the attendee counts by visitor

category are shown in the table overleaf.

ALL FESTIVAL SPEND WAS ESTIMATED AT £724,695


35

All festival spend

Attendee numbers and staying visitor nights used in the calculations are as shown in the table below

and overleaf.

Unique day visitors to the festival by type Totals

A local resident of the English Riviera 1,831





TOTAL UNIQUE DAY VISITORS TO THE FESTIVAL 7,725


36

All festival spend

Of the total number of staying visitors at the festival staying overnight on the English Riviera or

elsewhere in Devon (see previous slide) further analysis was necessary to ensure only ‘unique’ day

visitors to the festival were included in the analysis i.e. some of these visitors attended several festival

days. Therefore the total number of staying visitors to the festival was recalculated based on the

average number of festival days they had attended. Average length of stay data was then applied to

these revised visitor figures to calculate the total visitor days.

Unique day visitorsTrip influenced

unique day visitors

Ave. no of festival days

attended

Actual staying visitors

SpendAverage length of stay

Total visitor days

On holiday staying on the English Riviera

3,099 4.4 704 £29.48 6.1 4,304

On holiday staying elsewhere in Devon

376 1.0 376 £29.48 6.1 2,295

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SUMMARY OF UNIQUE DAY VISITORS AVERAGE SPEND PER PERSON BY TYPE – ALL FESTIVAL SPEND

Attendee typeAttendee

countFood & Drink


TransportTOTAL

A local resident of the English Riviera 1,831 £7.99 £11.38 £16.79 £3.37 £39.52

A resident of Devon living elsewhere outside of the English Riviera

2,231 £10.82 £11.73 £17.92 £6.04 £46.52


3,099 £20.43 £23.96 £22.72 £6.03 £73.13


376 £14.37 £18.63 £18.05 £5.83 £56.88

Visiting the English Riviera for the day 188 £17.51 £8.38 £8.32 £1.93 £36.14

TOTAL 7,725 £14.34 £16.81 £19.35 £5.29 £55.79



38

SUMMARY OF UNIQUE DAY VISITORS SPEND BY TYPE – ALL FESTIVAL SPEND

Attendee typeFood & Drink


TransportTOTAL

A local resident of the English Riviera £14,636 £20,838 £30,742 £6,170 £72,385


£24,142 £26,174 £39,977 £13,467 £103,760

On holiday staying on the English Riviera £63,310 £74,262 £70,415 £18,681 £226,668

On holiday staying elsewhere in Devon £5,399 £6,998 £6,782 £2,192 £21,371

Visiting the English Riviera for the day £3,290 £1,574 £1,562 £362 £6,789

TOTAL £110,776 £129,846 £149,477 £40,872 £430,972

Above expenditure by category calculated through multiplying expenditure per person per category by the number of attendees in each attendee type


39

Staying visitor spend elsewhere in Devon

Average spend data for staying visitor spend away from the main festival days has been calculated

using the Torbay Unitary Authority section of The Value of Tourism report 2010 (Source; South West

Tourism Alliance) as follows:

SUMMARY OF AVERAGE SPEND PER PERSON - Staying visitor spend away from festival elsewhere in Devon

Food & drink

Shopping EntertainmentTravel & transport

TOTAL

On holiday staying on the English Riviera £12.76 £7.26 £6.21 £9.76 £35.99

On holiday staying elsewhere in Devon £10.35 £5.81 £4.95 £7.96 £29.07


40

SUMMARY OF SPEND BY STAYING VISITOR TYPE – ALL FESTVAL NON-EVENT SPEND

Attendee type Accommodation Food & Drink Shopping EntertainmentTravel &

TransportTOTAL


£126,887 £15,372 £8,742 £7,486 £11,750 £170,237


£67,673 £19,870 £11,160 £9,500 £15,283 £123,486

TOTAL £194,560 £35,242 £19,902 £16,986 £27,033 £293,723

Above expenditure by category calculated through multiplying expenditure per person per category by the number of visitor nights. Expenditure at Agatha Christie Festival has been deducted from the above totals.


41

SUMMARY OF ALL FESTIVAL ASSOCIATED SPEND BY CATEGORY

Accommodation £194,560

Food and drink £146,018

Shopping £149,749

Entertainment £166,463

Travel & transport £67,906

TOTAL FESTIVAL ASSOCIATED SPEND £724,695


42

LOCAL BUSINESS TURNOVER SUPPORTED BY ALL FESTIVAL SPENDING

Direct £725,000

Supplier & income induced £257,000

Total £982,000

TOTAL EMPLOYMENT RELATED TO ALL FESTIVAL SPENDING

Full time equivalent TOTAL %

Direct 12 75%

Indirect 3 19%

Induced 1 5%

Total 17

Estimated actual TOTAL %

Direct 18 80%

Indirect 4 16%

Induced 1 5%

Total 23


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Influenced festival spend

The spend figures contained within this section relate to the total number of attendees that were

influenced to visit both the English Riviera and Devon by the presence of the Agatha Christie

Festival.

Influence has been calculated using data gathered from the Attendee Surveys as explained

previously in this report.

The average spend per person calculations by attendee type, as well as the INFLUENCED attendee

counts by attendee category are shown in the table overleaf.

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THE FESTIVAL INFLUENCED £341,523

ASSOCIATED SPEND.


44


Attendee numbers and staying visitor nights used in the calculations are as shown in the table below

and overleaf.

All influenced unique day visitors by type Totals

A local resident of the English Riviera 830





ALL INFLUENCED UNIQUE DAY VISITORS 4,270


45


Of the total number of visitors at the festival who were staying overnight on the English Riviera or

elsewhere in Devon (see previous slide) some were only influenced to visit the English Riviera for the

day. The figures below show the numbers for whom their whole visit to the English Rivera was

influenced

All influenced unique day visitors

Trip influenced unique day

visitors

Ave. no of festival days

attended

Actual staying visitors

SpendAverage length of stay

Total visitor days


1,273 4.4 289 £29.48 6.1 1,768


101 1.0 101 £29.48 6.1 620

46

SUMMARY OF UNIQUE DAY VISITORS AVERAGE SPEND PER PERSON BY TYPE – ALL INFLUENCED FESTIVAL SPEND

Attendee typeInfluenced attendee

count

Food & Drink


TransportTOTAL

A local resident of the English Riviera

830 £7.99 £11.38 £16.79 £3.37 £39.52


1,518 £10.82 £11.73 £17.92 £6.04 £46.52


1,567 £20.43 £23.96 £22.72 £6.03 £73.13


168 £14.37 £18.63 £18.05 £5.83 £56.88

Visiting the English Riviera for the day

188 £17.51 £8.38 £8.32 £1.93 £36.14

TOTAL 4,270 £14.34 £16.81 £19.35 £5.29 £55.79

Economic Impact Estimates Influenced festival spend


47

Above expenditure by category calculated through multiplying expenditure per person per category by the number of visitors in each visitor type

SUMMARY OF UNIQUE DAY VISITORS SPEND BY TYPE – ALL INFLUENCED FESTIVAL SPEND

Attendee typeFood & Drink


TransportTOTAL

A local resident of the English Riviera

£6,681 £9,749 £14,149 £2,776 £33,355


£16,556 £18,397 £27,643 £9,104 £71,700


£32,258 £38,783 £36,177 £9,383 £116,601


£2,427 £3,224 £3,074 £971 £9,695

Visiting the English Riviera for the day

£3,315 £1,626 £1,587 £360 £6,888

TOTAL £61,236 £71,778 £82,630 £22,594 £238,239


48

Influenced staying visitor spend elsewhere in Devon

Average spend data for staying visitor spend away from the main festival days has been calculated

using the Torbay Unitary Authority section of The Value of Tourism report 2010 (Source; South West

Tourism Alliance) as follows:

SUMMARY OF AVERAGE SPEND PER PERSON - INFLUENCED Staying visitor spend away from festival elsewhere in Devon

Food & drink

Shopping EntertainmentTravel & transport

TOTAL

On holiday staying on the English Riviera £12.76 £7.26 £6.21 £9.76 £35.99

On holiday staying elsewhere in Devon £10.35 £5.81 £4.95 £7.96 £29.07


49

SUMMARY OF SPEND BY STAYING VISITOR TYPE – ALL INFLUENCED NON-EVENT SPEND

Attendee type Accommodation Food & Drink Shopping EntertainmentTravel &

TransportTOTAL


£52,132 £6,316 £3,592 £3,076 £4,828 £69,942


£18,272 £5,365 £3,013 £2,565 £4,126 £33,341

TOTAL £70,403 £11,681 £6,605 £5,640 £8,954 £103,283

Above expenditure by category calculated through multiplying expenditure per person per category by the number of visitor nights. Expenditure at Agatha Christie Festival has been deducted from the above totals.


50

SUMMARY OF ALL INFLUENCED FESTIVAL ASSOCIATED SPEND BY CATEGORY

Accommodation £70,403

Food and drink £72,917

Shopping £78,383

Entertainment £88,271

Travel & transport £31,548

TOTAL INFLUENCED FESTIVAL ASSOCIATED SPEND £341,523


51

LOCAL BUSINESS TURNOVER SUPPORTED BY INFLUENCED FESTIVAL ACTIVITY

Staying tourists Day visitors TOTAL

Direct £104,000 £239,000 £343,000

Supplier & income induced £57,000 £53,000 £110,000

Total £161,000 £292,000 £453,000

TOTAL EMPLOYMENT RELATED TO INFLUENCED FESTIVAL ASSOCIATED SPENDING

Full time equivalent Staying tourists %Day

visitors% TOTAL %

Direct 2 68% 4 82% 6 77%

Indirect 1 23% 1 16% 1 18%

Induced 0 9% 0 2% 0 5%

Total 3 5 8

Estimated actual Staying tourists %Day

visitors% TOTAL %

Direct 3 73% 6 86% 8 81%

Indirect 1 19% 1 13% 2 15%

Induced 0 8% 0 2% 0 4%

Total 4 7 10


52

‘Truly additional’ festival spend

All events should also consider any negative impacts during the evaluation process which are usually caused by the location, size, scale and offering of an event leading to business being displaced from other areas or people prevented or discouraged from taking part in their preferred leisure activities. After careful consideration it is our opinion that the Agatha Christie Festival is unlikely to cause any significant displacement of expenditure for the reasons given below so the ‘Influenced spend’ figure previously given should be considered as additional income generated as a result of the festival: •English Riviera room occupancy figures for September suggest that there was sufficient accommodation capacity for any potential non-festival visitors.

•No businesses interviewed as part of the Business Survey undertaken for this evaluation indicated a negative impact during the festival period.

•Events were spread throughout the English Riviera and were of a suitable duration and size so as not to draw vast numbers from other areas or discourage other visitors from visiting the resort. Whilst there is always potential to grow events and attract larger numbers of visitors the current format of the Agatha Christie Festival would appear to have a positive economic impact on the English Riviera and enhance the tourism offering during September without negatively impacting upon tourism businesses not actively engaged with the event.


53

Return on investment

Using the economic impact estimates calculated and details of the costs associated with holding The

Agatha Christie Festival it is possible to calculate the return on investment for the festival.

The amount invested in the festival was approximately £15,000.

Using previously calculated economic estimates, the return on investment figures are shown in the

table below.

Return on investmentReturn per

pound invested

All expenditure at festival = £724,695 £48.31

Influenced visitor expenditure = £341,523 £22.77


Appendix 1 – Attendee Surveys Results


http://www.englishriviera.co.uk/things-to-do/local-guides-p1298843

55

Attendee data was captured using two methods;

Face to Face survey

276 on site interviews captured at The Princess Theatre, Torquay amongst attendees to Agatha

Christies Verdict?

Online survey

60 responses were received post-festival from those who were handed a flyer during the festival week.

The surveys covered a range of issues including their area of origin, age profile, trip details, satisfaction

levels (online survey only) and also profiled their expenditure patterns. In addition, questions were

included around attendees views and opinions of the main festival date moving to May (rather than

September) from 2013 .

However, not all questions were suitable for all survey methods so the bases may differ in some

instances. That said, the sample captured provides a robust evidence base to help guide the future of

the festival.

The highlights of the combined surveys results are detailed on the slides to follow.

Attendee Surveys

56

County of origin

Devon 53%

Other SW counties 6%

Wales 4%

West Midlands 3%

Yorkshire 3%

Buckinghamshire 2%

Hampshire 2%

Lancashire 2%

Somerset 2%

Surrey 2%

Other UK counties (1% each) 16%

Overseas 5%

All respondents 100%

Origin of respondents (all attendee survey respondents)

53% of all attendees were Devon residents and a further 6% lived in other counties within the South West

region. 36% of attendees lived in other counties across the UK including 4% from Wales and 3% in each

case from the West Midlands and Yorkshire. 5% of all attendees to the festival were from overseas

including the USA, Germany, Australia and Austria,

Attendee Surveys

57

Group composition

Adults only 98%

Adults with children 2%

Ave. children 0.03

Ave. adults 2.08

Ave. total group size 2.10

Group composition & average group size (all attendee survey respondents)

Almost all festival attendees (98%) were visiting the festival in adult only groups with just 2% attending

the festival with children (aged 15 or under).

Average total group size was 2.10 people.

Attendee Surveys

58

Age group

0-15 yrs 1%

16-24 yrs 2%

25-34 yrs 5%

34-44 yrs 7%

45-54 yrs 21%

55-64 yrs 35%

65+ yrs 27%

Age profile and gender of respondents and their party (all attendee survey respondents)

Festival attendees were most likely to be female and fall into the older (55+) age groups.

Just over three fifths (62%) of respondents were aged 55 years or older, including 27% aged 65+. A

further 21% were aged 45-54 years old. 14% of respondents were aged 16-44 years old and children

(aged 15 years and under) accounted for only 1% all those attending the festival

64% of all respondents were female and 36% were male.

Attendee Surveys

59

Socio economic profile of respondents

(all attendee survey respondents)

Two thirds of attendees to the Agatha Christie Festival

fell into socio economic group ABC1 based on the

occupation of the highest earner in their household

including 40% who were categorised as AB’s and 26%

as C1’s. A further 23% were categorised as C2’s and

11% as DE’s

Socio economic classifications

A - Approximately 3% of the total population.These are professional people, very senior managers

B - Approximately 20% of the total populationMiddle management executives in large organisations, principal officers in local government, top management or owners of small business concerns.

C1 - Approximately 28% of the total population.Junior management, owners of small establishments, and all others in non-manual positions.

C2 - Approximately 21% of the total population.All skilled manual workers, and those manual workers with responsibility for other people.

D - Approximately 18% of the total population.All semi-skilled and un-skilled manual workers, apprentices and trainees to skilled workers.

E - Approximately 10% of the total population.All those entirely dependent on the state long-term, through sickness, unemployment, old age or other reasons. Those unemployed for a period exceeding six months

Attendee Surveys

60

Whether anyone had a disability

Yes – me 2%

Yes 12%

No 83%

Don’t know/unsure 3%

Whether anyone in their party had a disability (all attendee survey respondents)

14% of festival attendees had some form of disability.

Attendee Surveys

61

Type of trip

A local resident of the English Riviera 24%

A resident of Devon living elsewhere outside of the English Riviera 29%

On holiday staying overnight in the English Riviera 40%

On holiday staying overnight elsewhere in Devon 5%

On holiday staying overnight outside of Devon -

Visiting Devon for the day 2%

Type of trip (all attendee survey respondents)

Over half (53%) of attendees to the festival were residents of Devon including 24% who lived on the

English Riviera and 29% who lived elsewhere in the county.

Two fifths of attendees were on holiday staying overnight on the English Riviera, whilst a further 5%

were staying overnight elsewhere in Devon. Just 2% of attendees were visiting the county for the day.

Attendee Surveys

62

Attendee Surveys

Accommodation used – visitors on holiday staying overnight on the English Riviera only (On line

respondents only)

Over three quarters of attendees staying overnight on the English Riviera at the time of their interview

were staying in serviced accommodation on the resort (76%).

Accommodation used

Hotel 48%

B&B/Guest house 28%

Rented self catering accommodation 24%

TOTAL 100%

48% of these respondents were staying in a

hotel and a further 28% in a B&B/Guest house.

24% were staying in rented self catering

accommodation.

Average duration of stay for those attendees staying overnight on the English Rivera/elsewhere in

Devon during the festival was 6.42 nights. Average spend per person per night on accommodation was

£29.48.

The full list of specific names of accommodation establishments where respondents were staying on the

English Riviera can be found in the accompanying appendix.

63

Attendee SurveysNearest town where staying – attendees staying overnight elsewhere in Devon (All attendee survey respondents)

16 attendees were on holiday staying elsewhere in Devon (outside of the English Riviera) at the time of

the Agatha Christie Festival.

5 of these attendees were staying in Dartmouth and a further 2 respondents in Dawlish.

1 respondent in each case was staying in:

Broadclyst

Buckfastleigh

Exmouth

Kingsbridge

Newton Abbot

Plymouth

Salcombe

Stoke Gabriel

Totnes

64

Whether the Agatha Christie Festival 2011 was the MAIN reason for choosing to visit the English

Riviera/Devon (All attendee survey respondents)

Two fifths of all those attendees on holiday staying overnight on the English Riviera/elsewhere in Devon

indicated that the Agatha Christie Festival was the main reason for them choosing to visit the English

Riviera/Devon on this particular occasion.

A full explanation of how levels of influence were applied to establish influenced visitor totals is provided

in the Economic Evaluation section of this report.

Is/was the Agatha Christie Festival the MAIN reason for you choosing to visit the English Riviera/Devon on this occasion?

All attendees staying on the English

Riviera/elsewhere in Devon

Yes 40%

No 60%

Attendee Surveys

65

Whether first ever visit to the Agatha Christie Festival (On line respondents only)

Around three fifths (61%) of on line respondents indicated that 2011 was the first year they had attended

the festival.

39% of on line respondents had visited the festival on a previous occasion, including 79% of local

residents.

Attendee Surveys

Was 2011 the first year you have visited the Agatha Christie Festival?

Yes No

A local resident of the English Riviera 21% 79%

A resident of Devon living elsewhere outside of the English Riviera 78% 22%

On holiday staying overnight in the English Riviera 64% 36%

On holiday staying overnight elsewhere in Devon 100% -

Visiting Devon for the day 100% -

All respondents 61% 39%

Ave. number of previous visits to the Agatha Christie Festival (On line respondents only)

The average number of previous visits to the festival was 2.61.

66

Whether the Agatha Christie Festival was the MAIN reason for choosing to visit the English Riviera

on the day (all attendee survey respondents)

74% of all respondents indicated that the Agatha Christie Festival was the main reason for them choosing

to visit the English Riviera on the day they were interviewed/attended an event.

This proportion was highest amongst residents of Devon living outside of the English Riviera (78%) but

remained at a minimum of 67% of respondents for each trip type.

Attendee Surveys

Whether festival was main reason for choosing to visit the English Riviera today - by type of trip

Yes No

A local resident of the English Riviera 67% 33%

A resident of Devon living elsewhere outside of the English Riviera 78% 22%

On holiday staying overnight in the English Riviera 75% 25%

On holiday staying overnight elsewhere in Devon 71% 29%

Visiting Devon for the day 100% -

All respondents 74% 26%

Overall, 59% of attendees indicated that they would not have gone out on the English Riviera anyway had

the festival not been taking place. A full explanation of how levels of influence were applied to establish

influenced visitor totals is provided in the Economic Evaluation section of this report.

67

Attendee Surveys

How found out about the festival (On line respondents only)

How found out about the festival

Accommodation establishment 2%

BBC Radio Devon 2%

Leaflet/brochure/booklet/magazine 8%

DAAT 2%

Devon Air Ambulance 2%

ERTC newsletter 2%

Internet/website 53%

Local resident 2%

Newspaper/media/press 7%

Owners of Blue Water Lodge 2%

Previous visit 2%

Recommendation/word of mouth 13%

TIC 3%

Visit to Torquay 2%

The largest proportion of

respondents (53%) had found out

about the festival via the internet/a

website including the Agatha Christie

and English Riviera websites.

A further 13% had been

recommended to visit the festival by

their friends/family or found out about

it via word of mouth.

68

Attendee Surveys

Main form of transport used to get to the festival (On line respondents only)

Approximately two thirds of all respondents (64%) had travelled to the festival by car, van, motorcycle

etc., whilst a further 20% had walked from their homes/accommodation (including 14% of local

residents and 36% of those attendees staying overnight in the resort). 8% of all respondents arrived

by bus and a further 5% by train. 2% used an other form of transport to get to the festival.

Main form of transport used to get to festival

Walked 20%

Car/van/motorcycle etc. 64%

Train 2%

Bus 12%

Other 2%

Which of the following did you use?

Town centre car park 26%

On street parking 32%

Other 42%

26% of respondents who travelled

to the festival by car, van,

motorcycle had used a town centre

car park whilst around a third (32%)

had parked on the street .

A further 42% used ‘other’ parking

facilities during the festival.

69

Days attended as part of the festival (On line respondents only)

The most popular day for attending the festival was Thursday 15 th September when 55% of all attendees

had visited a festival event. This was closely followed by Wednesday 14 th September (50%). The least

popular day for attending the festival was Saturday 17 th September.

With the exception of the two Sundays at the start and end of the festival week, on each day of the

festival the largest proportions of respondents were attending paid events as opposed to free events or

a mixture of both. The average number of festival days attended in total by respondents was 3.59

days.

Attendee Surveys

Days attended as part of the Agatha Christie Festival

Mix of paid & free events

Paid events only

Free events only

Don’t know/unsure

Not attended on

this day

Sunday 11th September 5% 2% 34% 22% 37%

Monday 12th Sept 10% 22% 15% 29% 24%

Tuesday 13th Sept 8% 32% 5% 27% 27%

Wednesday 14th Sept 5% 37% 8% 24% 25%

Thursday 15th Sept 12% 29% 14% 22% 24%

Friday 16th Sept 2% 31% 10% 29% 29%

Saturday 17th Sept 3% 12% 12% 32% 41%

Sunday 18th Sept 7% 7% 27% 17% 42%

70

Attendee SurveysImportance of the Agatha Christie Festival to the local communities of the English Riviera (On line

respondents only)

Respondents were asked how important they felt the festival was to the local communities of the English

Riviera.

The largest proportion of respondents (64%) considered the festival to be of great importance to the local

communities of the English Riviera and a further 24% of some importance .

Importance of the festival to the local communities of the English Riviera

Of no importance -

Of some importance 24%

Of great importance 64%

Don’t know/ unsure 12%

71

Attendee SurveysImportance of the Agatha Christie Festival to the overall image of the English Riviera (On line

respondents only)

Respondents were also asked how important they felt the festival was to the overall image of the English

Riviera.

Again, as was the case with the festival’s importance to the local communities of the English Riviera,

64% of respondents also considered it to be of great importance to the image of the resort and a further

29% of some importance. Only 2% of respondents considered it to be of no importance to the image of

the English Riviera.

Importance of the festival to the overall image of the English Riviera

Of no importance 2%

Of some importance 29%

Of great importance 64%

Don’t know/ unsure 5%

72

Attendee SurveysLevel of agreement with statements about the Agatha Christie Festival (online responses only)

Attendees who attended the festival and went on to complete an online post-event questionnaire were asked to

what extent they agreed with a number of statements about the festival on a scale of ‘1’ to ‘5’ where ‘1’ was

‘disagree strongly’ and ‘5’ was ‘agree strongly’. The results are shown in the table below.

The majority of respondents (a minimum of 58% in each case) agreed/agreed strongly with each of the statements

about the festival. Levels of agreement were highest with the statements “The Agatha Christie Festival should

have a place in the English Riviera events calendar for years to come” and “I look forward to attending the Agatha

Christie Festival in the English Riviera” (95% agreement level for each) and lowest with the statement

“Children/young people benefit from involvement with the Agatha Christie Festival” (58% agreement level).

Level of agreement with a number of statements about the Agatha Christie Festival – online survey only

Disagree

strongly

Disagree

Neither disagree or agree

AgreeAgree

stronglyDon’t know

The Agatha Christie Festival should have a place in the English Riviera Events calendar for years to come

- - 3% 19% 76% 2%

The Agatha Christie Festival makes me feel proud of Devon - 2% 31% 31% 29% 8%

The Agatha Christie Festival engages the local communities - 3% 15% 42% 29% 10%

The Agatha Christie Festival makes me feel proud of the English Riviera

- 2% 22% 39% 29% 8%

Children/young people benefit from involvement with the Agatha Christie Festival

- 3% 24% 31% 27% 15%

The Agatha Christie Festival helps to give the English Riviera an identity

- 2% 8% 37% 51% 2%

I look forward to attending the Agatha Christie Festival on the English Riviera

- - 3% 27% 68% 2%

73

Satisfaction levels (On line respondents only)

Attendees were asked to rate their satisfaction with a number of event related factors on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being ‘Very Poor’ and 5 being ‘Very Good’. The results are displayed below and in the table opposite.

Satisfaction ratingsMean score

1 Availability of car parking 3.93

2 Cost of car parking 3.22

3 Availability of public transport 4.11

4 Cost of public transport 3.67

5 Range of paid events 3.96

6 Quality of paid events 4.52

7 Customer service at paid events 4.51

8 Value for money of paid events 4.32

9 Availability of tickets for paid events 3.82

10 Ease of access at paid events 4.24

11 Ease of booking for paid events 4.00

12 Range of free events 3.79

13 Quality of the free events 4.10

14 Customer service at free events 4.24

15 Ease of access at free events 4.17

16 The availability of festival information 3.86

17 The festival programme 4.32

18 General atmosphere of the festival 4.32

19 Overall enjoyment of the festival 4.68

Attendee Surveys

3.93 3.22

4.11

3.67

3.96

4.52

4.51

4.32

3.82 4.24 4.00

3.79

4.10

4.24

4.17

3.86

4.32

4.32

4.68

0

1

2

3

4

51

23

4

5

6

7

8

91011

12

13

14

15

16

17

1819

74

Satisfaction levels (On line respondents only).On the whole, attendee satisfaction levels were high with the majority of the indicators explored about the

festival each receiving an average score of between ‘Good’ and ‘Very Good’ or a minimum of 4.00 out of a

maximum of 5.00.

The top six highest ranked indicators in terms of satisfaction were:

There were seven indicators where the average satisfaction score achieved was less than ‘good’ or less

than 4.00 out of the maximum of 5.00 and these indicators were:

Attendee Surveys

Range of paid events during the festival 3.96Availability of car parking during the festival 3.93The availability of festival information 3.86Availability of tickets for the paid events 3.82Range of free events during the festival 3.79Cost of public transport during the festival 3.67Cost of car parking during the festival 3.22

Overall enjoyment of the festival 4.68Quality of the paid events 4.52Customer service at the paid events 4.51Value for money of the paid events 4.32The festival programme 4.32General atmosphere of the festival 4.32

Net Promoter Scores – an alternative measure of satisfaction (On line respondents only)

Net Promoter Scores (NPS) are a simple but remarkably effective method for measuring customer loyalty they can be applied to anything for a specific brand or product to an event or destination. The approach was invented by Bain consultant Fred Reicheld who discovered that a single question provides the ultimate measure of just how loyal customers are and that this method could then be used to accurately predict future revenue growth.

Net Promoter Scores (NPS) are calculated by asking a sample of customers how likely they would be to recommend a brand/product/event/destination to others. The proportion of those who think it unlikely they would recommend it (Detractors) subtracted from the proportion that are likely to recommend it (Promoters) produces a single number know as a Net Promoter Score or NPS.

In the last three years, Net Promoter Scores have become an increasingly important metric for many international organisations. Not only is it a simple measure and allows companies to compare their performance against others, there is increasingly strong evidence to suggest that there is a direct correlation between a company’s or destination’s NPS score and it’s future business growth.

By asking a single question “How likely is it that you would recommend xyz to a friend or colleague” the respondent is asked to respond on an 11 point scale from ‘0’ (not at all likely) to ‘10’ (extremely likely) depending on how positive they feel about the product/event/location in question.

Based on their response to this question respondents are then divided into three distinct groups:

•Detractors

•Passives

•Promoters75

Attendee Surveys


0-6 are Detractors

These are customers that have generated sales but are actually bad for the company over the long haul. They are less likely to buy anything/visit the event/location again and more likely to spread bad word of mouth and more costly to serve because of their dissatisfaction.

7-8 are Passives

These customers are generally more positive about the product/event/location but are significantly less valuable than Promoters. Many companies over estimate their success by assuming relatively high customer satisfaction will lead to future growth. In reality Passives may be satisfied but that many not be enough in the longer term.

9-10 are Promoters

These customers drive business growth. The company/product/event/location has gone beyond satisfying their needs and truly delights them. As a result they will buy more from this company or visit an event or location again in the future, will recommend it to many others and will not need costly ad campaigns or sales promotions to retain their business.

The Net Promoter Score or NPS is created by calculating what percentage of the customer base are Promoters and then subtracting the percentage who are Detractors.

% Promoters - % Detractors = NPS

The resulting score captures the current status of a company’s/product’s/event’s/destination’s customer base and also predicts future growth. The higher or more positive the NPS score the more satisfied the customer base.

76

Attendee Surveys


On the 11 point scale of ‘0’ to ’10’, where ‘0’ was ‘Extremely unlikely’ and ’10’ was ‘Extremely likely’, attendees to the festival who completed an online post event questionnaire were asked to indicate how likely they would be to recommend a visit to the festival to a friend or relative. These attendees were then categorised as detailed on the previous page to calculate the NPS Score.

77

NPS Scores by visitor type

Detractors 7%

Passives 34%

Promoters 59%

NPS score +52%

Overall the festival gained an average NPS Score of +52%, indicating that good proportions of attendees are likely to recommend the festival to others. Whilst marketing is an essential component in the successful promotion of any event the free word of mouth advertising for the festival is a very strong tool that will be invaluable in attracting attendees for future years.

Attendee Surveys

78

Attendee Surveys

Changing the date of the festival (On line respondents only)

From 2013 onwards, the Agatha Christie festival organisers are considering changing the time of year

when they hold the main festival on the English Riviera to the month of May, as well as having a

smaller birthday celebration event in September.

The on line post event survey asked attendees which one statement (from a list of three) best described

the impact that any changes to the date of the festival will have on them.

Which ONE of the following statements best describes the impact that any changes to the date of the Agatha Christie Festival will have on you.

I will still visit the festival regardless of the time 47%

I will not visit if it takes place in May 20%


The largest proportion of attendees (47%) indicated that they would still visit the festival regardless of

the time of year when it takes place, whilst one fifth would not visit if the festival date changes to the

month of May.

Around a third of attendees (32%) were unsure how a change in the festival date to the month of May

would affect their likelihood to visit or not.

79

Attendee Surveys

Changing the festival date to May (On line respondents only)

Those festival attendees who indicated that they would still visit the festival regardless of the time of year

when it takes place (47% of on line attendees) were asked in a little more detail about their likely visit

patterns if the festival changes to May.

Which of the following statements best describes your visits to the Agatha Christie Festival if the date was changed to May.

I will visit both the main festival in May and the birthday celebration in September 61%

I will visit the main festival in May only 11%

I will visit the birthday celebration in September only 7%

Don’ t know/unsure 21%

Around three fifths (61%) of these attendees indicated that they would visit both the main festival event

in May and the birthday celebration in September. Around one in ten would only visit the main festival in

May and 7% only the birthday celebration in September.

Around one fifth of these attendees (21%) were unsure how their visit pattern might change if the festival

date changed.

80

Attendee Surveys

Changing the festival date to May (On line respondents only)

Those festival attendees who indicated that they would not visit the festival if the date changes to May

were asked whether they would visit the smaller birthday celebration in September.

If you will not visit the main festival if the data changes to May, will you visit the smaller birthday celebration in September?

Yes 42%

No 8%


Around two fifths (42%) of these attendees indicated that they would visit the birthday celebration in

September whilst a further 8% indicated that they would not.

Half of all these attendees were unsure whether they would visit the birthday celebration in September

or not.

81

Attendee Surveys

Other events/festivals attended in the last 12 months (On line respondents only)

Over the last 12 months, have you attended any other events/festivals?

Yes 41%

No 51%


Around two fifths (41%) of on line attendees indicated that they had attended other events/festivals over

the last 12 months.

A wide range of other events & festivals had been attended by these respondents including other literary

festivals (Du Maurier, Port Elliot etc.), arts and crafts events and food & drink festivals as well as

music/concert events and market events. For a full list of the other events/festivals attended see the

appendices which accompanies this report.

What attendees liked about the Agatha Christie Festival 2011 (Online respondents only)

Respondents were asked what they liked most about the Agatha Christie Festival. For reporting purposes, the responses have been coded into generic groups indicating the main theme connected to the responses as shown below. All themes mentioned by more than 2% of visitors are shown.

It is recommended that the full list of responses is studied to gain the maximum insight possible from this question.

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What do you most like about the Agatha Christie Festival? %

Mentioned a specific event/s 36%

Variety of events 18%

Opportunity to discover the whole area 7%

Meeting other Agatha Christie fans 7%

1920’s/1930’s period association 5%

Atmosphere 5%

Location 4%

Community feel/people 3%

Overall, a wide range of comments were received which will help inform the festival for the future.

Comments were very positive and the festival is well regarded by its’ attendees.

Attendee Surveys

What attendees thought was missing from the festival programme/range of events (On line respondents only)

Respondents were also asked what, if anything, they thought was missing from the festival programme/range of events. For reporting purposes, the responses have again been coded into generic groups indicating the main theme connected to the responses as shown below.

29 attendees who completed an on line post event survey suggested something which they thought was missing from the festival programme/range of events. It is recommended that the full list of responses is studied to gain the maximum insight possible from this question.

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What, if anything, did you think was missing from the festival programme/range of events?

%

Specific event 66%

Improved advertising/promotion of the event 10%

Central meeting place or festival café/pub with information 7%

Improve festival programme/accuracy 3%

Improve public transport information 3%

Cost of public transport to more remote events 3%

Less expensive meals 3%

Improve festival programme/accuracy 3%

Attendee Surveys

What could be improved (On line respondents only)

Respondents were finally asked what, if anything, they thought could be improved upon for the festival in the future. For reporting purposes, the responses have again been coded into generic groups indicating the main theme connected to the responses as shown below. All themes mentioned by more than 3% of attendees (1 respondent) are shown.

It is recommended that the full list of responses is studied to gain the maximum insight possible from this question.

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What one thing could we improve upon for the festival in the future? %

More advertising/promotion/publicity/wider afield than Torbay 21%

Specific event 15%

ABC murder trail - better access/citing of clues for all day access 8%

Programme/finalise as early as possible to aid travel arrangements/better accuracy as some events announced which not included in it

8%

More events so don't overlap 5%

Reduce the cost of car parking for festival attendees 5%

Shorter surveys/terrible questionnaire 5%

Attendee Surveys

Other comments

A full range of other comments were provided by attendees who completed the online survey and can be found in the accompanying appendix.

The majority of the comments were very positive about the festival, in particular, many attendees mentioned specific events which they had particularly enjoyed.

85

Attendee Surveys


Appendix 2 – Business Survey Results


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Local business data was captured using an online survey amongst businesses based on the English Riviera including accommodation establishments, local leisure/attraction operators, town centre retailers and public transport operators.

The business survey explored areas such as the impact of the Agatha Christie Festival 2011 on business turnover, the impact of the festival on staffing levels and any positive/negative impacts of the event.

The survey results for the 55 businesses who completed the questionnaire are detailed on the slides to follow but due to the relatively low sample size the results should be treated with caution when interpreting the findings.

53% of the businesses who completed a survey were based in Torquay (29 businesses), 27% in Paignton (15 businesses), 15% in Brixham (8 businesses) and 5% (3 businesses) in Babbacombe.

Business Survey

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Business type

Hotel 5%

B&B/guest house 56%

Self catering accommodation 11%

Visitor attraction 9%

Town centre retailer 5%

Public transport provider 2%

Cinema/theatre 2%

Other 9%

Type of business

72% of the businesses responding to the survey were accommodation providers including 56% who were B&B/guest house owners. 9% of businesses represented a local visitor attraction and a further 5% were town centre retailers. 2% of respondents in each case (1 respondent each) was either a public transport provider or a cinema/theatre. 9% of businesses categorised themselves as ‘other’ and these included a fringe retailer, conference & leisure centre and entertainers.

Business Survey

Whether extended opening hours as a result of the festival

Only two out of the fifty five businesses surveyed (4%) had extended their opening hours as a result of the Agatha Christie Festival taking place.

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Whether the festival had an impact on business turnover Yes No

Base: 55 25% 75%

Impact on business turnover

Overall, 25% of businesses participating in the survey indicated that the event had impacted on their business turnover.

43% of these businesses said that their business turnover had been higher than normal, whilst 57% indicated that their turnover had been normal during the festival. None of the businesses reported that their turnover had been lower than normal during the festival week.

Whether business turnover was…(business for whom the festival had impacted on their turnover only)

Higher than normal

Normal Lower than normal

Base: 14 43% 57% -

Business Survey

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Impact on business turnover

Those businesses who indicated that their turnover had increased as a result of the festival were then asked to estimate the level of this increase on their business turnover.

50% of the businesses indicated that their turnover had increased by more than 10% and the same proportion by 5-10%.

Five of the business were able to give an actual estimated value of the increase in their turnover as a result of the festival the average of which was £940.

Estimated impact of the festival on turnover

Increased by 1-5%

Increased by 5-10%

Increased by more than 10%

Base: 6 - 50% 50%

Business Survey

91

Whether increased staff levels during the Agatha Christie Festival 2011

Overall, one fifth of the businesses indicated that they had increased their levels of staff during the festival.

The average number of additional staff employed per business during the festival was 1.71 resulting in 1.29 additional staff days.

Business Survey

Whether increased staffing levels for the festival

Yes No

All businesses 20% 80%

Importance of the Agatha Christie Festival to the general economy of Penzance

Businesses were asked to indicate how important they felt the festival was to the general economy of the English Riviera. Two fifths of businesses felt that it was of great importance and a further 58% of some importance. 2% felt it was of no importance to the general economy of the resort.

Importance of festival to the general economy of the English Riviera

Of great importance

Of some importance

Of no importance

All businesses 40% 58% 2%

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Importance of the Agatha Christie Festival to the overall image of the English Riviera

Businesses were then asked to indicate how important they felt the festival was to the overall image of the English Riviera. Overall, 98% of businesses felt that it was of great importance (51%) or of some importance (47%). Just 2% of businesses felt the festival was of no importance to the overall image of the resort.

Business Survey

Importance of festival to the overall image of the English Riviera

Of great importance

Of some importance

Of no importance


Importance of the Agatha Christie Festival to the local communities of the English Riviera

Businesses were finally asked to indicate how important they felt the festival was to the local communities of the English Riviera. 22% of businesses felt that it was of great importance and a further 55% of some importance. Around a quarter (24%) of businesses felt the festival was of no importance to the local communities on the English Riviera.

Importance of festival to the local communities of the English Riviera

Of great importance

Of some importance

Of no importance


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Changing the time of year when the Agatha Christie Festival takes place

Businesses were asked which statement, from a list of four, best described the impact that any changes to the date of the festival would have on their business.

The largest proportion, around a third of businesses (36%),indicated that the festival would have no impact on their business regardless of the time of year when it takes place. 22% indicated that moving the main festival to the month of May would have a greater impact on their business levels and a further 9% a lesser impact by doing so. 3% were unsure/did not know the likely effect on their business of changing the festival date.

Business Survey

Which ONE of the following statements best describes the impact that any changes to the date of the Agatha Christie Festival will have on your business?

The festival is likely to have a greater impact on my business if it takes place in May 22%

The festival is likely to have a lesser impact on my business if it takes place in May 9%

The festival will have no impact on my business regardless of when it takes place 36%


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Likely level of involvement with the Agatha Christie Festival if changed to May from 2013

Businesses were then asked which statement, from a list of four, best described their likely level of involvement in the festival if the date changes to May from 2013.

Around a third of businesses (36%),indicated that they would be likely to get involved in the festival regardless of the time of year when it takes place. 13% indicated that they would be less likely to get involved if it moves to the month of May and 9% would be more likely to do so. The largest proportion of businesses (42%) did not know the likely impact on their level of involvement in the festival if it was moved to the month of May from 2013 onwards.

Business Survey

Which ONE of the following statements best describes your likely level of involvement in the Agatha Christie Festival if the date was changed to May?

I will be more likely to get involved in the festival if it takes place in May 13%

I will be less likely to get involved in the festival if it takes place in May 9%

I will be likely to get involved in the festival regardless of the time when it is held 36%

Don't know/unsure 42%

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Negative impacts of the Agatha Christie Festival

Business were asked to explain any ways in which they felt the Agatha Christie Festival had impacted negatively on their business. Only one business felt this to be the case indicating that they felt there were too many similar events taking place many of which clashed with each other.

Suggested improvements to the Agatha Christie Festival in the future

Business were also asked what could be done to improve the festival in the future. The majority of the responses centred around the need for better communication and advertising of the festival and the festival programme of events, as well as only allowing local traders of the town to have the temporary stalls.

For a full list of responses please see the accompanying appendix.

Business Survey

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Current involvement with the festival

One fifth of the businesses who completed an on line survey indicated that they were currently involved with the festival.

Of the 78% of businesses who were currently not involved with the festival, 23% said they would like to be involved in the future.

Other comments

Finally, businesses were asked for any other comments relating to the festival. Please see the accompanying appendix for the list of responses.

A wide range of comments were given, in particular, relating to better promotion and advertising of the festival and the need for a wider range of events during the festival week.

Business Survey


Appendix 3 – Stakeholders Survey Results


98

Key stakeholders who had organised and/or hosted events as part of the festival were also contacted via email after the event and asked to complete an online survey to look at any additional benefits brought to the local and wider communities as a result of the festival taking place.

Despite every effort being made to maximise response rates, only 13 stakeholders of the total number contacted completed an online survey, so as with the business survey results, the findings should again be treated as indicative rather than definitive.

Highlights of the survey results for the 13 stakeholders who completed the questionnaire are detailed on the pages to follow but due to the low overall sample size sub group analysis has not been provided.

Stakeholders Survey

99

Area of involvement

Business 38%

Public sector 23%

Artist 8%

Community group 8%

Church/religious group 8%

Other 15%

Main area of involvement with the festival

38% of the stakeholders responding to the survey were businesses, whilst a further 23% represented public sector organisations. 8% of stakeholders in each case represented artists, community groups and church/religious groups. 15% of stakeholders indicated that they represented an ‘other’ type of organisation.

Stakeholders Survey

Of the 38% of stakeholders who represented businesses, 40% were accommodation providers whilst 20% in each case represented tourist attractions, restaurants and cinemas.

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Importance of the Agatha Christie Festival to the general economy of the English Riviera

Stakeholders were asked to indicate how important they felt the festival was to the general economy of the English Riviera. Overall, more than three quarters of stakeholders (77%) felt that it was of great importance and the remaining 23% of some importance.

Importance of festival to the general economy of the English Riviera

Of great importance

Of some importance

Of no importance

All stakeholders 77% 23% -

Stakeholders Survey

Importance of the Agatha Christie Festival to the overall image of the English Riviera

Stakeholders were then asked to indicate how important they felt the festival was to the overall image of the English Riviera. Overall, 85% felt that it was of great importance and 15% of some importance.

Importance of festival to the overall image of the English Riviera

Of great importance

Of some importance

Of no importance


101

Importance of the Agatha Christie Festival to the local communities of the English Riviera

Stakeholders were finally asked to indicate how important they felt the festival was to the local communities of the English Riviera. Overall, 46% felt that it was of great importance and 54% of some importance.

Importance of festival to the local communities of the English Riviera

Of great importance

Of some importance

Of no importance


Stakeholders Survey

102

Level of agreement with a number of statements about the Agatha Christie Festival

Disagree

strongly

Disagree

Neither disagree or agree

AgreeAgree

stronglyDon’t know

The Agatha Christie Festival should have a place in the English Riviera Events calendar for years to come

- - - 15% 85% -

The Agatha Christie Festival makes me feel proud of Devon

- - 31% 31% 38% -

The Agatha Christie Festival engages the local communities

- 31% 8% 31% 31% -

The Agatha Christie Festival makes me feel proud of the English Riviera

- 8% 23% 23% 46% -

Children/young people benefit from involvement with the Agatha Christie Festival

- 15% 23% 54% 8% -

The Agatha Christie Festival helps to give the English Riviera an identity

8% - 8% 31% 54% -

I look forward to attending the Agatha Christie Festival on the English Riviera

- - - 23% 77% -

Stakeholders SurveyLevel of agreement with statements about the Agatha Christie Festival

Stakeholders completed and online post-event questionnaire were asked in that survey to what extent they agreed

with a number of statements about the festival on a scale of ‘1’ to ‘5’ where ‘1’ was ‘disagree strongly’ and ‘5’ was

‘agree strongly’. The results are shown in the table below.

Levels of agreement were highest with the statements “The Agatha Christie Festival should have a place in the

English Riviera events calendar for years to come” and “I look forward to attending the Agatha Christie Festival

on the English Riviera”. Levels of agreement were lowest with the statements “Children/young people benefit

from involvement with the Agatha Christie Festival” and “The Agatha Christie Festival engages the local

communities”.

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Stakeholder satisfaction

Stakeholders were also asked to rate their satisfaction with a number of event related factors on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being ‘Very Poor’ and 5 being ‘Very Good’. The results are displayed below.

Stakeholders SurveySatisfaction ratings

Mean score

1 Availability of car parking 3.202 Cost of car parking 3.113 Availability of public transport 4.004 Cost of public transport 3.735 Range of paid events 4.156 Quality of paid events 4.257 Customer service at paid events 4.408 Value for money of paid events 4.429 Availability of tickets for paid events 3.6710 Ease of access at paid events 4.0911 Ease of booking for paid events 3.8212 Range of free events 3.8313 Quality of the free events 4.1814 Customer service at free events 4.3015 Ease of access at free events 4.2016 The availability of festival information 3.7717 The festival programme 3.7718 Festival publicity 4.2319 General atmosphere of the festival 4.3320 Overall enjoyment of the festival 4.33

3.20

3.11

4.00

3.73

4.15

4.25

4.40

4.42

3.67

4.09 3.82

3.83

4.18

4.30

4.20

3.77

3.77

4.23

4.33 4.33

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.001

23

4

5

6

7

8

910

1112

13

14

15

16

17

18

1920

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Stakeholder satisfaction

On the whole, stakeholder satisfaction levels were good with twelve out of the twenty indicators explored

about the festival receiving an average score of between ‘Good’ and ‘Very Good’ or a minimum of 4.00

out of a maximum of 5.00.

The top six highest ranked indicators in terms of satisfaction were:

There were eight indicators where the average satisfaction score achieved was less than ‘good’ or less

than 4.00 out of the maximum of 5.00 and these indicators were:

Stakeholders Survey

Value for money of the paid events 4.42

Customer service at the paid events 4.40

General atmosphere of the festival 4.33

Overall enjoyment of the festival 4.33

Customer service at the free events 4.30

Quality of the paid events 4.25

Range of free events during the festival 3.83Ease of booking for the paid events 3.82The availability of festival information 3.77Festival publicity 3.77Cost of public transport during the festival 3.73Availability of tickets for the paid events 3.67Availability of car parking during the festival 3.20Cost of car parking during the festival 3.11

105

Likely level of involvement with the Agatha Christie Festival if changed to May from 2013

Stakeholders were asked which statement, from a list of four, best described their likely level of involvement in the festival if the date changes to May from 2013.

Around three fifths of stakeholders (62%),indicated that they would be likely to get involved in both the main festival in May and the birthday celebration in September, 15% would be likely to get involved in the main festival in May only and a further 8% in the birthday celebration in September only. 15% of stakeholders did not know the likely impact on their level of involvement in the festival if it was moved to the month of May from 2013 onwards.

Six stakeholders provided a comment about the possible change of date for the festival – three of these stakeholders felt it would cause confusion to have two festivals at different times of the year, two felt if was not necessary to change the date as everyone knows it is held in September and the atmosphere was better then and one stakeholder, who was an accommodation provider, felt a May event would be more beneficial for their business rather than September when they tend to be full anyway.

Stakeholders Survey

Which ONE of the following statements best describes your likely level of involvement in the Agatha Christie Festival if the date was changed to May?

I will be likely to get involved in both the main festival in May and the birthday celebration in September

62%

I will be likely to get involved in the main festival in May only 15%

I will be likely to get involved in the birthday celebration in September only 8%

Don't know/unsure 15%

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Introduction of a central booking point

Stakeholders were asked which statement, from a list of four, best described their opinion of the possible introduction of a central booking point for purchasing event tickets in the future.

The majority of stakeholders (54%) thought the introduction of a central booking point would be a good idea for future festivals, 3% thought attendees should continue to purchase their event tickets directly through the individual event organisers, whilst the remaining 15% had no preference for the introduction of a central booking point or not.

Five stakeholders provided a comment about the possible introduction of a central booking point for purchasing event tickets in the future. Three stakeholders felt it was a good idea/essential for the future success of the festival, one stakeholder felt it is much easier to keep a track of one’s own event and whilst one felt it would be a good idea they were concerned about the likely costs associated with it.

Stakeholders Survey

Which of the following statements best describes your opinion of the possible introduction of a central booking point for purchasing event tickets in the future?

I think the introduction of a central booking point would be a good idea for future Agatha Christie festivals

54%

I think festival attendees should continue to purchase event tickets directly through the individual event organisers

31%

I have no preference for the introduction of a central booking point or not 15%

Don't know/unsure -

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What could be done to improve the Agatha Christie festival in the future?

• Too many murder mystery dinners - every day seemed to have one and a little more variety could have counter balanced this when looking at the programme as a whole. More platform style events.

• I would only suggest there could be a few more free events and probably something for the younger audience.

• Total focus on Agatha Christie - rather than a generic 'crime' festival that celebrates the brilliance of Agatha Christie. Poor selection of events - the same old events, year after year.

• The Sunday fete is not a car boot sale.

• Last minute (and unexplained) cancellation of "Poirot" as a judge at our quilting exhibition - it had been booked months before and Martin's cancellation was only advised the day before the event.

• I think the festival is getting better each year and is a wonderful thing. The only negative thing i heard from a guest was that some of the events are becoming dominated by a small collection of very hard core fans who are a little too intense..... I also think distribution of information about the festival is weak; we had no festival programmes to give out and no literature came to us prior to the event. I also think there should be a briefing on the festival when the accommodation providers meet in the summer with the ERTC

Particular dislikes about the 2011 Agatha Christie Festival

Stakeholders were asked whether there was anything they particularly disliked about the 2011 festival the six comments provided are listed in full below.

Stakeholders Survey

108

Suggested improvements to the Agatha Christie Festival in the future

Stakeholders were asked whether they had any suggestions of ways in which they thought the festival could be improved in the future. The eight comments provided are listed in full below.

Stakeholders Survey

What could be done to improve the Agatha Christie festival in the future?

• Possibly look at media partners?

• I would like to see more events that actually look at Christie's work and her influence on the crime genre as a whole. Her involvement with The Detection Club perhaps? What about the Mary Westmacott novels? Laura Thompson has some interesting insights into those and another event looking at the adaptations or the stage plays.

• Expand your remit! Essential to get wider audience.

• More signage to places connected with the festival and Agatha Christie.

• The template is in place and everyone I approached was more than happy to display our posters. More publicity from the media.

• Publicity should be available earlier in the year

• More community work - somehow!!!! Easier said than done

• More street entertainment. Involve local schools in poster design competition etc. Better briefing of stakeholders in run up to event Son et lumiere at Torre Abbey??

109

Other comments

• It was excellent and continues to grow and improve. There is huge potential for it to continue to grow and the team is in place to allow this to happen.

• The Festival needs corporate sponsorship in order to grow.

• According to ERTC the festival was better attended than last year. Some events did very well - but many did not sell out or even do that well so I would dispute the accuracy of this in a wider non-local visitor/attendee context. The current format is simply not sustainable.

• I enjoyed all the events I attended.

• We thought that the launch 'Garden Party' Fete was not very good publicity. It seemed like a rather sad weekend market.

• Paul Trainer was great as a contact point for our group - always friendly, helpful and encouraging.

• Well done to Lydia and team for the great work they do

• The fete is a great way to start of the week and was popular despite the high winds. We need to ensure that each year the programme develops and does not just become a carbon copy each year. I would like Sleuths and AC festival to cross promote each other..

Other comments

Finally, stakeholders were asked for any other comments relating to the 2011 festival. The responses provided are detailed in the table below and overleaf.

Stakeholders Survey


Appendix 4 – Cambridge Model


http://www.englishriviera.co.uk/things-to-do/local-guides-p1298843

111

Overview of the model and multipliers

The Cambridge Model is a computer-based model developed to calculate estimates of the volume, value and economic impact of tourism on a County or District basis. It draws on the combined experience of PA Cambridge Economic Consultants Ltd, Geoff Broom Associates and the Regional Tourist Boards and utilises a standard methodology capable of application throughout the UK. It therefore offers the potential for direct comparisons with similar destinations throughout the country. The approach was the subject of independent validation (R.Vaughan, Bournemouth University) in December 1994. The Model was judged robust and the margins of error acceptable and in line with other modelling techniques.

The multipliers used for this economic evaluation are the same as those used to calculate Carrick district data in the Value of Tourism report produced annually by South West Tourism.

The economic impact is based on the estimates of spending by staying and day visitors. The second stage of the Model uses these estimates of expenditure by different visitor groups within the local area as the basis for estimating the level of employment supported by that spending. This includes an internal business database that uses data on the structure of business expenditure, local linkages and multiplier ratios drawn from a wide range of business and economic studies carried out by Geoff Broom Associates, PA Cambridge Economic Consultants and others.

Cambridge Model

112


The Model divides the expenditure between five sectors:

• Accommodation

• Shopping for gifts, clothes and other goods

• Eating and drinking in restaurants, cafes and inns

• Entry to attractions, entertainment and hire of goods and services

• Transport and travel costs including public transport, purchase of fuel and parking

Cambridge Model

113


By applying the expenditure breakdown to the estimates of visitor spending, the Model generates estimates of total spending by the five business sectors. Visitor expenditure in each sector represents additional turnover for businesses in those sectors. However, evidence from national studies suggests that some minor adjustments are required to match visitor spend to business turnover. In particular, some expenditure on food and drink actually takes place in inns and hotels that fall into the accommodation sector, and at attractions. The turnover for each business sector has therefore been adjusted to take account of these marginal changes. More significantly, expenditure on travel costs associated with individual trips is equally likely to take place in the origin of the trip as the destination. It is therefore assumed that only 60% of total travel expenditure accrues to the destination area.

Having identified the value of turnover generated by visitor spending in each business sector, it is possible to estimate the employment associated with that spending. A portion of that turnover will be absorbed by wages for staff and drawings for the proprietors. The proportion will vary by business sector, thus wages are likely to be a smaller proportion of costs in retailing compared to accommodation or catering. The Model uses data from the Business Information base to ascribe an average proportion of turnover taken by wage and drawing costs for each business sector. By applying these proportions to the overall additional turnover in each sector, the amount of money absorbed by employment costs can be calculated.

Cambridge Model

114


The ASHE survey provides data from which the average wage costs by business sector, adjusted to take account of regional differences, can be calculated. It also provides information on variations in earnings at District level, allowing the relative differences between District and Regional wage levels to be estimated. After allowing for additional costs such as National Insurance and pension costs, an average employment cost per full time equivalent job in each sector can be estimated. The number of such jobs in the local area can then be estimated by dividing the amount of business expenditure on wages and drawings by the average employment cost per job in each sector in the local area.

Additional indirect employment arises as a result of expenditure by businesses in direct receipt of visitor expenditure on the purchase of goods and services. However part of this expenditure will go to sources elsewhere in the region or even further afield. The level of local spending will vary by the degree of economic development in the local area. Thus cities and major urban areas are likely to have a much higher proportion of suppliers than rural areas, so that the leakage of supply spending out of the local area is higher in the latter. The pattern also varies by sector, with accommodation and catering businesses often purchasing fresh food supplies locally, whereas many retail and transport businesses buy in the bulk of stock from major depots and suppliers elsewhere.

Cambridge Model

115


Using data from the Business Information base, the average proportion of business turnover spent on local purchases by sector by type of area has been estimated. By applying that proportion to the additional business turnover arising from visitor spending, an estimate of the local spending on goods and services can be made. Such linkage spending will benefit a wide range of sectors ranging from producers including farmers and manufacturers, distributors, and service providers such as lawyers, bankers and window cleaners. The average turnover required to support a full time job vary widely by sector. The Model therefore assumes a figure of £55,000 turnover to support an additional linkage job. By applying this figure to the turnover re-spent on local goods and services, an estimate of the number of indirect jobs arising in the local area can be estimated. Business purchases outside the local area will generate additional jobs elsewhere in the region and beyond, but these additional jobs are not captured in the model beyond the county level.

In addition to the direct jobs and indirect linkage jobs supported in the local area by visitor spending, additional employment will be generated by multiplier effects, i.e. additional employment supported by the expenditure of wages earned in the direct and linkage jobs in the local area. Such multiplier jobs will again be spread across a wide range of sectors including retailing, catering and transport as well as public service jobs such as education, health and local government. The degree of multiplier effect will depend on the nature of the local economy, since the number of higher-level services tends to be concentrated in larger urban centres. The Model therefore uses average local multiplier ratios based on national studies ranging from 1:1.05 in rural locations to 1:1.15 or more in city locations. The multiplier ratio is applied to the total of direct and linkage jobs estimated in the local area. It should be noted that additional multiplier effects would arise outside the local area in the wider region.

Cambridge Model

116


The Model generates estimates of full time equivalent jobs based on visitor spending. However the total

number of actual jobs will be higher when part time and seasonal working is taken into account. The full time equivalent jobs arising directly from visitor spending are converted into actual jobs using information from business surveys in the sectors receiving visitor spending. In general, the conversion factor varies around 1.5 in those sectors. The indirect and induced jobs arise across a much wider range of employment sectors. Therefore the average of 1.16 for all service sectors based on Census of Employment data has been used to convert full time equivalent jobs in this sector to actual jobs. The employment estimates generated by the Model include both self employed and employed people supported by visitor expenditure. However they do not include other tourism related employment such as jobs in local authorities arising from their tourism functions, e.g. tourist information staff, additional public health, parks and gardens, public conveniences and maintenance sections, and jobs arising from capital investment in tourism facilities.

Cambridge Model

Documents

Agatha Christie Festival Evaluation 2011 Final Report Produced for and on behalf of the English Riviera Tourism Company by The South West Research Company