Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Visitor Attractions Report Wave 5 – Mid-September until the end of October
Tourism Business Monitor 2014
Background, objectives and research method
Tourism Business Monitor designed to measure, monitor and understand tourism business performance and confidence and the factors which influence them.
Amalgamation of two previous surveys discontinued at end of 2011:
• England Attractions Monitor
• Accommodation Business Confidence Monitor
Telephone survey conducted five times per year immediately following key tourism periods among:
• c. 500 accommodation establishments (c. 250 serviced / c. 250 non-serviced), including mix by region, establishment size and hotels / guest houses / B&B / self-catering / caravan and campsites.
• c. 300 visitor attractions including mix by region, attraction type, size (measured by annual visitor admissions) and free / paid admission.
Questions on ‘hot topics’ included on a periodic basis.
Fieldwork dates:
Nov 2014: 3-9 Nov 2014, reviewing mid-September until the end of the October
Sept 2014: 8-14 Sept 2014, reviewing the period from mid-July up until the end of the summer holidays
Jul 2014: 14-20 July 2014, reviewing the period after the Easter holidays up until mid-July
Apr 2014: 24 May - 1 Apr 2014, reviewing the Easter period 2014
Jan 2014: 6-12 January 2014, reviewing the Christmas and New Year period 2013
Nov 2013: 4-10 Nov 2013, reviewing mid-September until the end of October
Sept 2013: 9-14 Sept 2013, reviewing the period from mid-July up until the end of the summer holidays
Jul 2013: 11-19 July 2013, reviewing the period after the Easter holidays up until mid-July
Apr 2013: 15-21 April 2013, reviewing the period from January until the end of the Easter holidays
Jan 2013: 7-13 Jan 2013, reviewing Christmas and New Year period 2012 2
Attractions sample targets (total 300)
Region
North (North East, North West, Yorkshire)
84
Midlands (East Midlands, East, Heart of England)
95
South (South East, South West)
105
London 16
Size (visitors p.a)
Over 100k 57
50-100k 35
20-50k 57
Under 20k 151
Type
Historic 54
Museum/gallery 78
Other indoor 57
Other outdoor 111
Admission charge
Free 129
Paid 171
3
This is the target sample for each wave, reflecting the profile of attractions in England. There are minor
variations wave on wave, which are corrected by weighting the profile if needed.
Key Findings
4
Attractions have continued the strong performance seen over Summer, resulting in an overall increase in
visitors of 5% compared with the same time last year. Consequently, the year-to-date figures are also positive,
with attractions reporting a 4% increase in visitors for the year so far compared with last.
Attractions have seen increases in visitors across the board, regardless of size or whether the attraction was outdoor or
indoor. Approaching the off-peak season, the strongest growth in visitors is amongst domestic visitors and those from
within the immediate locality. Paid attractions have fared better than free ones in terms of seeing increases in domestic
and overseas visitors for the year-to-date.
Attractions have fared better during this latest period than at this same time last year. The success of the year so far is
reflected in the year-to-date figures, for which 62% of attractions say visitors are up compared with the same time last
year. The success of the latest period has been felt most strongly amongst larger attractions but outdoor attractions
have actually fared the best for the year so far, with 68% saying visitors are up on last year.
Although increases in visitors and satisfaction levels have dipped since Sept ‘14, most are higher than at this time last
year. The exception is seaside based attractions, who are less satisfied with their performance than they were in Nov
‘13
A strong performance over this latest period has meant that business optimism for the year as a whole has remained
relatively unchanged from the peak in Sept ‘14, with 65% thinking this year will be better than last.
In terms of confidence for the forthcoming period up until the end of the year there is some trepidation amongst more
weather-dependent attractions (seaside and outdoor) but aside from these, most attractions are feeling as confident, if
not more, than they were at this time last year.
Business Dashboards
5
Business Performance Dashboard: Attractions
51
71
58
64
63
30
13
27
23
11
19
17
15
13
27
Under 20k
Over 20k
Indoors
Outdoors
Mixed
Up Same Down
6 Q3/4 & Q6, Q7/8, Q10
VISITOR NUMBERS
Down
Same
Up
Versus same period
previous year…
Satisfied with business
performance…
40
49
45
42
47
50
48
47
50
49
90
97
92
92
96
Under 20k
Over 20k
Indoors
Outdoors
Mixed
Not at all
Not very
Quite
Very
SATISFACTION
PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Nov 2014: Mid-September until the end of October
Visitor numbers for period from mid-Sept until the end of Oct 2014 compared with same period 2013 (%)
Satisfaction with Performance from mid-Sept until the end of Oct 2014 (%)
61 62
21 17
18 20
Nov 2014 YTD 2014
Visitor numbers (%)
45 40
49 50
6 7 1 1
Nov 2014 YTD 2014
Satisfaction (%)
25 32 30 36 26 34 35 42 37
64 62 62 56
63 64 58
54 55
89 94 92 91 89 98 93 97 92
Apr 2013 July 2013 Sept 2013 Nov 2013 Jan 2014 Apr 2014 Jul 2014 Sept 2014 Nov 2014
% fairly
confident
% very
confident
Business Confidence Dashboard: Attractions
7 Q14
Period asked
about:
Until late
Spring/ early
Summer
Until end of school
summer holidays
Until end of
October
Until end of
the year
Until the end of Easter
Until late
Spring/ early
Summer
Until end of school
summer holidays
Until end of
October
Until end of
the year
Indoor Outdoor Mixed Less
than 20k Over 20k
37 38 44 26
41
52 58 46 68
53
89 96
90 94 94
% fairly
confident
% very
confident
Nov 2014
PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR FUTURE BUSINESS CONFIDENCE
Nov 2014: Up until end of the year
Visitor Profile
8
Changing Visitor Profile (year-to-date vs. previous year): Attractions
37 55 8 Nov 14
28
17
32 38 43
30 29 35 36 35
21
35
13 10 9
14 20
9 15 10
Jan
13
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
Up Down
39
23 26
45
43
44
36 37 43 43
22
35
14
12
11
12 11
10 11 10
Jan
13
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
Up Down
26
15
28
37 39
27 32
27 34 37
12
26
11
8
5
5
7 5 8 8
Jan
13
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
Up Down
9
43 47 10 Nov 14
35 55 10 Nov 14
%
+29
+33
+25
Q13
Overseas
visitors
Visitors from
immediate
locality
Other
domestic
visitors
NET: Up - Down
Up Same Down
Changing Visitor Profile (year-to-date vs. previous year): Attraction type
Attractions have seen increases in visitors across the board, regardless of size or whether the attraction was outdoor or
indoor
32
43
42
36
31
59
51
48
53
68
9
6
9
11
2
Under 20k
Over 20k
Indoors
Outdoors
Mixed
Up Same Down
36
49
44
47
37
53
41
45
48
48
11
10
11
6
15
Under 20k
Over 20k
Indoors
Outdoors
Mixed
10
NET: Up - Down
23
37
33
25
29
25
39
33
41
22
24
25
19
28
29
Overseas
visitors
Visitors from
immediate
locality
Other
domestic
visitors
Q13
32
37
28
37
41
60
50
62
54
46
8
12
9
9
12
Under 20k
Over 20k
Indoors
Outdoors
Mixed
Overseas
visitors
Visitors from
immediate
locality
Other
domestic
visitors
Changing Visitor Profile (year-to-date vs. previous year): Charging
Paid attractions have fared better than free ones in terms of seeing increases in domestic and overseas visitors for the
year-to-date
38
37
54
57
9
6
Paid
Free
Up Same Down
46
38
47
47
7
14
Paid
Free
40
28
49
63
10
10
Paid
Free
11 Q13
NET: Up - Down
29
31
39
24
30
18
Past Performance
12
Visitor numbers: Year-on-year changes
36 40 43 35
49 66
55 41
59 52
64 61
-51 -38 -34
-47
-29 -23 -26 -31
-18 -21 -22 -18
Up
Down
55
58
7
4
21
17
4
2
13
19
Nov 2014
YTD 2014
Up
Slightly up
Exactly same
Slightly down
Down
%
Attractions have fared better during this latest period than at this same time last year. The success of the year so far is
reflected in the year-to-date figures, for which 62% of attractions say visitors are up compared with the same time last
year
13 Q3/4, Q7/8
PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Nov 2014: Mid-September until the end of October / Sept 2014: Mid-July until end of Summer holidays/ Jul 2014: After Easter holidays until mid-
July/ Apr 2014: the Easter period 2014 / Jan 2014: Christmas and New Year period 2013
Sept 2012
Nov 2012
Jan 2013
Apr 2013
July 2013
Sept 2013
Nov 2013
Jan 2014
Jul 2014
Apr 2014
Sept 2014
Nov 2014
Visitor numbers: Year-on-year changes by attraction type
45 52
6 5
30 25
2 1 16 17
Nov 2014 YTD 2014
Larger attractions are most likely to report visitor increases for the latest period, but outdoor attractions have actually fared
the best for the year so far, reflective of the better weather for most of 2014
14
Less
than 20k
Indoor Outdoor Mixed
63 63
8 4
13 10
6 2
10 20
Nov 2014 YTD 2014
53 54
5 8
27 18
4 1
11 19
Nov 2014 YTD 2014
57 64
7 4
23 14
1 1
11 16
Nov 2014 YTD 2014
54 57
9 11 19
8 3
19 22
Nov 2014 YTD 2014
Q3/4, Q7/8
Over 20k
Down
Slightly down
Same
Slightly up
Up
PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Nov 2014: Mid-September until the end of October
Changing business performance: By attraction type & location
15
TYPE
LOCATION
17
46 54
41
27
62
47
63 68
71 67
32
53
70
49
37
64 57
64
56
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
% Visitors up on last year Seaside
Large town or
city
Small town
Countryside/
village 15
36 36
40
48
15
26 24
36
26 32
50
34 28
48
32
52
44
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
% Very satisfied
Q3/4, Q6
41
51
32
60 68 58
41
67 61
68 71
44 55
20
84
53
35
63 56
64 64
Apr13
July13
Sept13
Nov13
Jan14
Apr14
Jul14
Sept14
Nov14
% Visitors up on last year Less than
20k
Over 20k
Indoor
Outdoor
Mixed
Although increases in visitors and satisfaction levels have understandably dipped since Sept ‘14, most are higher than at
this time last year. The exception is seaside based attractions, who are less satisfied with their performance than they were
in Nov ‘13
CAUTION: SMALL
BASE SIZES
32 32
39
49
36
38
22
36
51
32 33
40
53
42 25 34
39
47 47
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
% Very satisfied
18
35
47
37 36
38 33
55 50
26
30
38 33
21
45
37 44
40
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
% Very satisfied
Changing business performance: By admission charge and VAQAS
Performance for the latest period remains strong, regardless of admission type or VAQAS membership. Consequently,
satisfaction levels are higher across the board than they were at this time last year.
24 29
47 35 36
45
36
41
48
22
33
40
35
27
41 35
51
43
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
% Very satisfied
16 Q3/4, Q6
46 53
63
61 46
62 66 71
64
30
48
67
54
39
58 47
62 61
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
% Visitors up on last year
Members
Non-
members
34 54
66
53
39
53 47
65 60
35
47 66 57
43
63
55
64 63
Apr
13
July
13
Sept
13
Nov
13
Jan
14
Apr
14
Jul
14
Sept
14
Nov
14
% Visitors up on last year
Free
Paid
ADMISSION
VAQAS
17 19
22
28
7
6 3
1 2
1
-6 -8 -5
-6 -2
-3 -1 -1
-1 -0.5
Nov
2014
Visitor Numbers: Year-on-year changes (%)
%
Increase …
Over 50%
31-50%
21-30%
11-20%
5-10%
Less than 5%
Decrease …
Less than 5%
5-10%
11-20%
21-30%
31-50%
Over 50%
Attractions have fared well over this most recent period, resulting in a 5% increase in visitors overall. This in turn has
buoyed year-to-date figures, resulting in an overall increase in visitors of 4%
5% Average % change in
visitor numbers
17 Q5, Q9
PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Nov 2014: Mid-September until the end of October
4%
YTD
2014
Visitor numbers: Degree of year-on-year changes by attraction type
Indoor Outdoor Mixed
Nov 2014
Q5, Q9
Less
than 20k Over 20k
Larger and outdoor attractions have seen the biggest increase in visitor numbers for the latest period at 7%
PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Nov 2014: Mid-September until the end of October
14 18
19 23
7 5 1 1 2 1
-5 -6 -6 -5 -2 -3 -2 -1
19 20
24 32
8 6 5
3 2
-6 -10 -4 -7 -3 -2 -1 -1 -1
19 23
24 30
7 1 2
2 1
-6 -8 -5 -8 -1
-2 -1
12 20
20
26 11
10 4 4 3
1
-1 -5 -5 -5 -4 -4 -1 -1
19 12
21 26
3 7 5 2 2
-10 -11 -6 -5 -3 -2 -2 -2 -1
YTD 2014
Nov 2014
YTD 2014
Nov 2014
YTD 2014
Nov 2014
YTD 2014
Nov 2014
YTD 2014
Average % change
4% 4% 7% 3% 4% 3%
3% 7% 3% 4%
It is because we have had special events. It has made more people aware of the
museum.
A new team has been brought in, and new exhibitions are up
Increased awareness of the facility. A bit of advertising we've placed in local
press and in the village. Also features in the local press
I think to be honest people are feeling better about the recession and so are
coming out a bit more
A new location and used to be shut October to July. Now open all year and lots
of marketing and publicity is driving up visitors
Positive verbatim comments on business performance
“ “
19
People cannot afford to go out, people are spending more money on family
trips. Our attraction is not aimed at families.
The weather - had to cancel 2 events due to flooding and the road running up
to it is not well maintained
Mainly because we had to close the cafe. The timbers are 6 metres long and
had to be stored in the café so we couldn't serve customers.
Figures for this year are not as good as 2013. Also roads to us were shut for 4
weeks in August and we weren't best pleased because they just told us. They
put people on detour away from us.
Negative verbatim comments on business performance
“ “
20
Case Studies
21
Outdoor, paid-entry, attraction situated in
Cornwall Increase in visitors for the recent period of
31-50%
“After a hard start to the year because of the
weather, we’ve really made up for lost ground. We
did a big event in August so we had a massive
amount of publicity. We were on Country file, and
have been on regional news. It’s been quite a
poignant year for us”
Lost Gardens of Heligan
Arley Hall and Gardens
Increase in visitors for the year-to-date of 21-30%
“The good weather has helped but we also made
some fundamental changes to marketing; more social
media - Facebook and Twitter. We also added value
with a sculpture trail in the gardens and children's
play area to attract people that wouldn't normally
visit.”
Paid-entry historic house situated in
Cheshire
Future Performance
22
14 12
23 23 14 17 15
19 20
43 45
40 41
48 46 46
48 45
34 33 28 27 33 32
30 24
24
8 10 7 7 4 5
7 6 8
1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2
Apr2013
Jul2013
Sept2013
Nov2013
Jan2014
Apr2014
Jul2014
Sept2014
Nov2014
Much worse than
2013
Slightly worse
than 2013
The same as
2013
Slightly better
than 2013
Much better than
2013
Business optimism for 2014
23
Q15
A strong performance over this latest period has meant that business optimism for the year as a whole has remained
relatively unchanged from Sept ‘14, with 65% thinking this year will be better than last
Confidence for forthcoming period: Attractions
Understandably there is some trepidation amongst more weather-dependent attractions (seaside and outdoor) for the
forthcoming period, but aside from these, attractions are feeling as confident, if not more, than they were at this time last
year
24
TYPE
LOCATION
17
24
27 17
24
28 27
36
28
38
29
36 41
47
38
20
33
23
23
37
30
35
25 31 26
39 37
Jan 13 Apr 13 July 13 Sept 13 Nov 13 Jan 14 Apr 14 Jul 14 Sept 14 Nov 14
% Very confident Seaside
Large town or city
Small town
Countryside/
village
Q13
CAUTION: SMALL
BASE SIZES
PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR FUTURE BUSINESS CONFIDENCE
Nov 2014: Up until end of the year
28 35 30
33
24
35
38 42
38 31
44
27 22
36 35 36
26
34
36
38
26 29
19
28
22 26
17
34 33
44 41
Jan 13 Apr 13 July 13 Sept 13 Nov 13 Jan 14 Apr 14 Jul 14 Sept 14 Nov 14
% Very confident
Less than 20k
Over 20k
Indoor
Outdoor
Mixed
Positive verbatim comments on business confidence
“ “
We are sprucing the place up, due a refurbishment. The new refurbishment should
attract more visitors.
We have a good marketing campaign and Santa already booked up and the
Christmas Market. Advanced bookings are good
Feeling that month by month we've been better so should continue to end of
financial year. Visitor numbers are up so spend per head goes up in the cafe and
gift shop.
We are fairly confident because we don't do a lot of business at the end of the
year but we put on special events and advanced ticket sales are well up on last
year already
We have a new show coming on which is an open art competition and we have
had more submissions than ever before
25
Negative verbatim comments on business confidence
“ “
26
It will probably be slow because we don't have the weather and there is not so
many visitors around
We've had the best weather for about 15 years but just no business. The money
isn't there. We're discounting but still not working
Now coming into the winter season and numbers drop off. It happens every year
and picks up around Easter time
Performance and confidence snapshot: November 2014
Visitor Numbers
(November) Confidence
(End of the year)
Up Same Down Very
Very /
fairly
TOTAL (%) 61 21 18 37 92
Visitor numbers per
annum (%)
Less than 20k 51 30 19 37 89
20k or over 71 13 17 38 96
20k-50k 71 16 13 29 98
50k-100k 66 14 20 46 93
Over 100k 76 9 18 41 94
Type (%)
Indoor 58 27 15 44 90
Outdoor 64 23 13 26 94
Mixed 63 11 27 41 94
Charge (%) Paid 63 19 18 35 95
Free 60 23 17 40 89
VAQAS (%) Yes 64 12 24 39 96
No 61 24 15 36 91
Location (%)
Seaside 68 6 26 24 90
Large town / city 65 20 15 38 92
Small town 67 13 21 42 95
Rural 56 27 17 37 92
28
