state of tourism south west - west of england€¦ · the south west covering domestic visitors by...

STATE OF TOURISM SOUTH WEST

The Tourism Company 11a High Street Ledbury Herefordshire HR8 1DS In association with: L & R Consulting Geoff Broom Associates TEAM

July 2003

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 1

Purpose of the Tourism Intelligence Study.......................................................... 1 Components of the Tourism Intelligence Data Resource .................................... 1 Methodology adopted .........................................................................................3 Existing tourism intelligence in the South West................................................... 5 How to use this Data Resource .......................................................................... 7

1 CURRENT VISITORS AND ECONOMIC IMPACT.......................................... 8

1.1 Regional overview....................................................................................8 1.2 Tourism trends....................................................................................... 10 1.3 Sub-regional differences ........................................................................ 11 1.4 Market sector profiles............................................................................. 20 1.5 Economic impact....................................................................................28

2 MARKET FORECASTS ................................................................................ 30

2.1 UK tourist activity ................................................................................... 30 2.2 Implications of national changes ............................................................ 37 2.3 Projections for the South West ............................................................... 37 2.4 Day trips.................................................................................................46

3 MARKET PROFILES AND OPPORTUNITIES .............................................. 49

3.1 Perceptions of the South West............................................................... 49 3.2 Segmenting the market .......................................................................... 53 3.3 A market overview ................................................................................. 56 3.4 Strategic priorities .................................................................................. 65

4 TOURISM INDUSTRY SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION .......................................68

4.1 Accommodation ..................................................................................... 68 4.2 Visitor attractions and activities .............................................................. 76 4.3 Retail and Food & Drink ......................................................................... 79 4.4 Standard Industrial Classifications .........................................................81

5 TOURISM INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE AND NEEDS ................................ 83

5.1 Business turnover and utilisation............................................................ 84 5.2 Market and business trends ...................................................................90 5.3 Business investment .............................................................................. 95 5.4 Employment and training .......................................................................98 5.5 Business support and marketing .......................................................... 102

6 REGIONAL TOURISM PRODUCT OVERVIEW.......................................... 107 6.1 Inland countryside................................................................................ 109 6.2 Protected rural areas............................................................................ 110 6.3 Seaside resorts .................................................................................... 112 6.4 Rural coast........................................................................................... 114 6.5 Large towns and cities ......................................................................... 115 6.6 Small towns and cities.......................................................................... 117

7 COMPETITIVE POSITION.......................................................................... 119

7.1 Comparison of market performance..................................................... 119 7.2 Comparison of tourism enterprises....................................................... 130 7.3 Comparison of market perceptions....................................................... 135 7.4 Comparison of promotional material..................................................... 138 7.5 Comparison of strategies ..................................................................... 142

8 KNOWLEDGE COORDINATION AND ACCESS ........................................ 144

8.1 The SW Tourism Knowledge Base....................................................... 144 8.2 A tourism industry intelligence system ................................................. 145

9 KEY IMPLICATIONS FOR THE 10 YEAR TOURISM PLAN ....................... 147

SEGMENT PROFILES ........................................................................................ i A1 GENERAL BUSINESS TOURISM (UK) ................................................... ii A2 DISCRETIONARY BUSINESS TOURISM (MICE) ................................... v B VISITING FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ..................................................viii C1 PRE-FAMILY HOLIDAYS AND BREAKS............................................... xi C2 FAMILY HOLIDAYS AND BREAKS .......................................................xiv C3 POST FAMILY HOLIDAYS ...................................................................xvii C4 BREAKS (1-6 nights) ............................................................................. xx C5 LONG HOLIDAYS (7+ nights) ............................................................... xxii C6 ACTIVITY AND SPECIAL INTEREST HOLIDAYS ............................... xxiv C7 DOMESTIC GROUP HOLIDAYS ........................................................ xxvii D1 OVERSEAS VISITORS - USA ..............................................................xxx D2 OVERSEAS VISITORS LONG HAUL – AUSTRALIA.......................... xxxii D3 OVERSEAS EUROPEAN VISITORS – GERMANY ........................... xxxiv D4 OVERSEAS EUROPEAN MARKETS - FRANCE............................... xxxvi D5 OVERSEAS EUROPEAN VISITORS – IRELAND.............................xxxviii E1 INDEPENDENT LEISURE DAY VISITS.................................................. xl E2 LEISURE DAY TRIPS – GROUP MARKET ...........................................xlii

South West Tourism Intelligence Project 1 The Tourism Company (with Geoff Broom Associates, L&R Consulting, TEAM)

INTRODUCTION

This report brings together the findings of the South West Tourism Intelligence Study, which was commissioned by South West Tourism and the South West Regional Development Agency (SWERDA) towards the end of 2002. The study was carried out by The Tourism Company, who were the lead consultants. Key inputs were also made by L&R Consulting (on product auditing and performance), Geoff Broom Associates (on forecasting) and TEAM (on data management).

Purpose of the Tourism Intelligence Study

South West Tourism and SWERDA are shortly to develop a Ten Year Plan for Tourism. The purpose of this study is to underpin this process through providing a comprehensive set of data on tourism supply and demand. Previous information has been deemed to be too partial in scope or limited in geographical coverage to inform the development of the strategy. The study seeks to provide a bible of intelligence that can be accessed by stakeholders and drive strategic thinking. The main focus of the study is on regional level information, to inform regional bodies and the regional strategy on product, value, performance, markets, forecasts, broad sub-regional differences and comparison with competitor regions. However, this assemblage of data at a regional level will also be of value to local destinations and enterprises in their work. Where information is presented at a sub-regional level, this is organised on what is essentially a county basis: Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and the combined unitary authorities which make up the former county of Avon. These are sometimes referred to in the report as sub-regions. On a few occasions, these sub-regions are grouped into three intermediate areas: Devon and Cornwall; Dorset and Somerset; and Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and former Avon.

Components of the Tourism Intelligence Data Resource

The study was divided into eight components, which together provide a data resource for tourism. These are as follows:

1 Current visitors and economic impact

The basic trips, nights and spending figures for the South West Region, broken down and discussed on the basis of visit type and sub-region (county), together with summary results from a separate study calculating tourism employment based on the Cambridge model.


2 Market forecasts

New quantified forecasts of trips, nights and spending at a national level (specially prepared for this study) subsequently translated into projections for the South West covering domestic visitors by type, overseas visitors by region of origin, and day visitors.

3 Market profiles and opportunities

A structured presentation of facts about current and potential future markets, including overall perceptions of the South West, summary tables and bullet points about the main market sectors, and identification of 17 practical market segments. Individual Fact Sheets are also provided on each market segment, highlighting their characteristics, needs and relevance to the South West.

4 Tourism industry size and distribution

An assessment of existing databases and other evidence providing an estimate of the number of tourism enterprises in the region and their distribution.

5 Tourism industry performance and needs

Evidence, broken down by tourism industry sector, on levels of business, trends, needs and outlook, together with information on investment, levels of employment, training and attitudes to business support and sustainability.

6 Regional tourism product overview

A broad yet systematic description of the region’s product based on six destination types, including consideration of enterprise make up, performance, characteristics, challenges and opportunities.

7 Competitive position

Analysis of the South West’s market share, and assessment of its position with respect to six competitive areas in terms of consumer perceptions, product, presentation and strategic priorities.

8 Knowledge coordination and access

Proposals for the creation of a better, accessible repository of tourism knowledge to be held and maintained by South West Tourism, together with a system for receiving up to date information on business performance.

This report contains each of these eight sections. In addition, a final section pulls out some of the main findings and identifies implications for the ten year plan for tourism.


Methodology adopted

Three main pieces of original research were undertaken for this study: • the creation and utilisation of a forecasting model; • qualitative market research based on consumer focus groups; and • a survey of tourism businesses across the region. In addition, a considerable amount of work was undertaken to extract from existing surveys and published information, including qualifying and updating this material where necessary.

The forecasting model

An econometric modelling approach was adopted to come up with quantitative forecasts for the volume and value of tourism in the region in 2006 and 2011. This involved: • Generating national forecasts by identifying the main factors affecting different

types of domestic and overseas trip taking, such as disposable income and exchange rates, and then considering likely changes in these factors such as the influence of demographic changes.

• Examining the relative share of the national market for different types of tourism

captured by the South West, looking at trends in this market share and factors that may influence it, and applying estimates of future market share to the national forecasts to derive estimates for the South West for different types of tourism.

Consumer focus groups

Nine focus groups were conducted during February and March 2003. The groups were recruited to enable distinctions to be drawn between: • Life-stage – pre-family, family and post-family • Level of affluence – household income under or over £30,000 • Experience of the South West – ‘visitors’ had been for a minimum of one 4+night

holiday or two short breaks in the last 3 years; ‘non-visitors’ had not visited in the last 3 years.

The groups were conducted in the West Midlands and South East (west of London), two important source locations for short breaks and holidays in the South West. Group make-up was as follows: • Pre-family, affluent, visitors – Sutton Coldfield • Pre-family, less affluent, visitors – Solihull • Pre-family, mixed affluence, non-visitors – Windsor • Family, affluent, visitors – Chorleywood • Family, less affluent, visitors – Windsor • Family, mixed affluence, non-visitors – Sutton Coldfield • Post-family, affluent, visitors – Chorleywood • Post-family, less affluent, visitors, Solihull • Post-family, mixed affluence, non-visitors – Chorleywood


The results of the focus groups have been used throughout this report, but principally in Chapters 3 and 7. A comprehensive report of the focus group findings by the market research agency employed, Cambridge Direction, has been supplied to South West Tourism.

The business survey

A postal survey of tourism businesses was undertaken in February – March 2003. Questionnaires were mailed to 3,175 businesses, using a stratified sample to be representative of the geographical and sectoral make up of the industry. The database used was the TRIPS database supplied by South West Tourism, supplemented by the database of establishments kept by Gloucestershire Tourism and the Dorset and New Forest Partnership. The questionnaire was quite comprehensive, with questions covering the profile of the enterprise, business performance and trends, investment, employment, training, business support and sustainability. A copy is placed in Appendix 1. A total of 1190 questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 37%. This is considered to be an excellent response for a postal survey of this kind. Particular efforts had been taken to achieve this result, including a prize draw, use of reminders and sticking postage stamps on return envelopes. The results were analysed in total and broken down by the five main tourism enterprise types (hotels, guest accommodation, self-catering, holiday parks and attractions) and by certain other variables. A full set of tables, prepared by the data analysis company employed, Interviewing Services Ltd., has been supplied to South West Tourism.

Interrogation of other data sources

Information on the volume, value and distribution of tourism across the region was obtained from The United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS), the International Passenger Survey (IPS) and the United Kingdom Day Visitor Survey (UKDVS). Information on the supply side was primarily based on the tourist boards’ TRIPS database. A measure of the partiality of this database was obtained and is discussed in Chapter 4. It was beyond the scope of this study to undertake a complete, new audit of all tourism enterprises in the region. Some manipulation of information from statistical sources was needed in order to provide figures for the whole South West Region rather than the former West Country Tourist Board Region (which had excluded Gloucestershire and Eastern Dorset). This was not possible in every case. It is extremely important that all future data is collected and disseminated using government region boundaries. Various other data sources were consulted in order to build up a picture of tourism markets, products and competitor performance. Examples include the ETC Insights series of market profiles; BTA profiles on overseas markets; and websites, main publications and tourist strategies from competitor destinations.


Existing tourism intelligence in the South West

This Tourism Intelligence Data Resource provides a comprehensive set of market and product information that seeks to be consistent across the South West region. It recognises and does not supplant other current sources of tourism intelligence at a regional and local level. At the outset of the study, a summary of this current intelligence was prepared. It includes regional, sub-regional and local research and data sources.

Existing regional research by SWT

Business Barometer A quarterly survey of a panel of 200 tourism accommodation and attraction businesses, covering performance and prospects. It is hoped to cover other sectors in due course and expand the panel to 500 by 2005. Accommodation Occupancy Survey Monthly survey of serviced accommodation occupancy in the region based on returns from over 400 establishments and weighted to reflect regional distribution. Goes back to 1999. Some authorities pay for a larger sample in their area. Benchmarking studies Destination benchmarking surveys, involving a combined visitor survey and benchmarking against other destinations, are carried out on request for various authorities in the region. Around three to four per year. SWT also engage visitor attractions across the region in a confidential benchmarking exercise. Market profiling A service is offered to individual enterprises and destinations, which provides a market profile of their visitors based on post-code analysis using a standardised methodology (Target) established by the regional tourist boards. In addition to these ongoing surveys, South West Tourism, in conjunction with other partners, has commissioned other studies into products and markets, although there appear to be relatively few at a regional level. Recent studies of particular relevance to this study include: • Economic Impact Study – the application of an updated Cambridge Model to

calculate income and employment attributable to tourism, enabling consistent comparisons across all districts and counties.

• Branding exercise – development of regional and sub-regional brands for the South West.

• EnglandNet DMO research – a survey of record keeping and information handling at a local level.

Sub-regional knowledge base

A wide range of tourism intelligence is obtained at a local level, but this is relatively uncoordinated across the region. A survey of 53 destination management organisations, including local authorities, national parks and major tourism associations, was undertaken at the outset of this study to ascertain their amount of research-based tourism knowledge at a local level.


This achieved a 60% response, including most of the main authorities. The results obtained are presented in Appendix 2. There has been some coordination of tourism data within counties: Dorset Dorset Market Research Intelligence Group / Dorset Tourism Data Project (Bournemouth University), undertake main and off-peak season visitor surveys, accommodation trends surveys, occupancy surveys, investment monitor, and economic impact studies. Information is made available for each district. Devon ‘Tourism Trends in Devon’ published annually – systematic data collection of enterprise performance for 5 sectors, broken down by district. Additional survey on different aspects of enterprise performance/issues. Some market research focus groups have been conducted at a county level. Somerset ‘Tourism in Somerset - The Facts’ published annually – based on surveys undertaken in conjunction with SWT. Data broken down for each district. Accommodation and attractions surveys provide broad measure of degree of business each month, source of business and answers to specific questions about business operations (sustainability, disability, i.t. etc.). Broken down by district. Economic impact based on Cambridge model. Business and leisure visitor surveys undertaken in 1997/8. Cornwall Cornwall Tourism Profile, based on county-wide visitor survey every 2 years. Focus groups on market segments and non-visitor survey undertaken with SWT. Cornwall self-catering occupancy survey. Gloucestershire Annual use of UKTS, IPS and occupancy survey to calculate volume and value of tourism, broken down by district. Wiltshire Wiltshire visitor profile undertaken in 1997 and 1999. Economic impact via Cambridge model. Former Avon The unitary authorities have been active in undertaking their own visitor and enterprise surveys. Our survey of tourism intelligence at a local level revealed: • A considerable number of visitor surveys, some of which relate to benchmarking

exercises. Some surveys (which may be additional ones) are undertaken at or for TICs.

• A high proportion of market research work relating to marketing activity, including

user and conversion analysis of campaigns and market profiling of enquiries.


• Good information on attractions and inspected accommodation, but limited on other accommodation, restaurants etc. Destinations say they do not have time to build up a comprehensive picture.

• Patchy knowledge of business performance, being best where destinations have

undertaken local surveys on their own or through boosting participation in SWT surveys. Some check on satisfaction with local authority services, for example through stakeholder panels. Surveys on sustainability issues have been undertaken in South Hams and in Somerset.

• Some information on training needs, which tends to be collected separately or

through links with Tourism Training Skills Network SW. • Very sporadic logging of new investment. A small number of destinations report

this, usually via planning departments. Investment has been monitored as part of the Dorset Tourism Data Project.

• Reliance on the harmonised ETC/AA/RAC scheme for quality checking of

accommodation. A few supplement this with their own scheme. There are few separate quality checks for other types of tourism service.

• Considerable use of the Cambridge model, or local variations, to measure

economic impact, either at a district level or disaggregated from county initiatives. This is now coordinated due to the work of the Regional Research Group.

• Some simple prioritisation of market segments by most local destinations, within

overseas and domestic markets.

How to use this Data Resource

The first eight chapters of this report relate to the eight separate topics listed earlier. Each chapter is free standing and can be interrogated independently. The main components of the report are also available on the South West Tourism website. It must be emphasised that this is essentially a regional data resource, providing high level information for the South West regional as a whole. The aim has been to assemble regional product and market information in one place, to guide the forthcoming regional tourism plan. The information presented, either from disaggregated national data or from our own regional surveys, seeks to be consistent across the whole region. Therefore, local and partial data, such as that obtained from local research referred to above, is not presented here. Detailed information on the performance, needs or opportunities of any one sub-region or specific activity is not provided: this would need to be addressed by local or subject-specific studies. Consistent, regional data of this kind is, nevertheless, relevant to local destinations and even individual enterprises who can benefit from considering their position in a regional context.


1 CURRENT VISITORS AND ECONOMIC IMPACT

This section of the report provides an overview of the scale and nature of tourism in the region. It is written in the form of a commentary designed to bring out the main headlines and key features, with more detailed information provided in supporting tables and charts. Further sources of information are highlighted where appropriate. The figures relate to 2001, which was an unusual year because of the Foot and Mouth outbreak. We comment on the impacts of this at a regional level later in this section. The data presented in the section is based mainly upon information from the national tourism surveys of UKTS, IPS and UKDVS. Some of this is new data not previously published before. Sample sizes mean that some of the figures need to be treated with caution. Note: All SW figures in this report relate to the boundaries of the government region (RDA) of the South West unless stated otherwise (ie Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, plus the unitary authorities of Bath and NE Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bournemouth and Poole).

1.1 Regional overview

The main dimensions of tourism in the South West are presented in tables 1.1 to 1.4 In 2001, some 26m tourists stayed overnight in the South West from both the UK and overseas. Together these visitors stayed for 105m nights and spent a total of £4.5bn during their visit. In terms of domestic tourism the SW is the most visited government (RDA) region of the UK. If overseas visits are taken into account then it is exceeded only by London and the South East. The region attracts significantly more visitors than Scotland and twice as many visitors as Wales. Some key facts are set out below although it needs to be borne in mind that there is significant variation in the incidence and type of tourism across the region. • The South West accounts for 15% of UK domestic tourism trips and domestic

tourism spending. In terms of overseas tourism the region accounts for 8% of UK visits and 6% of overseas spending.

• Most visitors are from the UK with only 7% coming from overseas. Overseas

visitors however account for 14% of tourism spending because they tend to stay longer.


• Average spend per night is similar for UK visitors (£43) and overseas visitors (£42)

but overseas visitors tend to stay much longer, 7.9 nights on average as opposed to 3.7 nights.

• The majority of visitors are on holiday, accounting for 71% of domestic and 40% of

overseas trips. Visits to friends and relatives account for 19% of domestic visits and nearly one third (31%) of overseas visits. Business visits account for 10% of domestic trips.

• Devon is the most visited county accounting for 30% of the region’s domestic trips

and 20% of overseas visits. This is followed by Cornwall and Dorset. Note that Devon and Cornwall together account for half of all trips and tourism spend in the region.

TABLE 1.1 Volume and value of tourism Trips

(m) Nights

(m) Spend

(m) SW region Domestic 24.0 89.9 3889 Overseas 1.9 15.0 635 Total SW 25.9 104.9 4524 UK as a whole Domestic 163.1 529.6 26095 Overseas 22.8 189.5 11306 Total UK 185.9 719.1 37401 Source: UKTS, IPS 2001 TABLE 1.2 Tourism by UK residents in SW Trips

(m) Nights

(m) Spend

(£m) Holiday 17.0 71.6 2992 Visits to friends and relatives 4.5 10.8 362 Work/business 2.3 6.7 485 Total 24.0 89.9 3889 Source: UKTS 2001 TABLE 1.3 Tourism by overseas residents in SW Trips

(m) Nights

(m) Spend

(£m) Holiday 0.78 4.55 184 Visits to friends and relatives 0.60 4.71 149 Work/business 0.37 2.17 161 Total 1.93 15.0 634 Source: IPS 2001


TABLE 1.4 Distribution of tourism (domestic plus overseas) Trips (m) Nights

(m) Spend

(£m) % overseas

trips Cornwall 5.0 24.0 1035 4% Devon 7.8 32.3 1312 5% Somerset 3.1 10.7 458 6% Wiltshire 1.7 5.0 266 10% Dorset 4.0 15.7 664 6% Gloucestershire 1.8 6.2 267 10% Former Avon 3.0 10.6 522 19% Source: UKTS, IPS 2001

1.2 Tourism trends

Measurement of tourism trends in the region is complicated by changes in methodology to the UKTS survey in 2000. To enable comparisons with current figures, previous years’ data has been reformulated but this information is only available for the old regional boundary. Nevertheless, the trends are likely to hold good for the wider region. (Table 1.5) Overseas tourism to the region has followed the national trend. From 1996- 2000 it remained fairly static but fell by 16% in 2001 in response to FMD and September 11. Domestic tourism has also followed the national trend for England as a whole with a 12% increase in trips over the period 1996-2001. Within this overall picture there have been fluctuations from year to year. Within this period: • Short holiday trips have grown by 48% • Long holidays have fallen by 14% • VFR has shown a significant increase in recent years (this might be due to

changes in survey methodology) • Business tourism has remained broadly static TABLE 1.5 Tourism trips to SW* 1996-2001 1996 (m) 1997 (m) 1998 (m) 1999 (m) 2000 (m) 2001 (m) 1-3 hols 4.8 6.2 6.7 7.7 6.7 7.1 4+hols 8.4 8.9 8.5 9.4 6.4 7.2 VFR 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.5 2.9 3.6 Business 1.7 1.9 1.6 2.1 2.0 1.8 All tourism 17.5 19.5 19.5 22.3 18.6 19.8 Overseas 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.4 Source: IPS, UKTS/ETC. Figures adjusted for changes in survey methodology *NB these figures are only available for the old regional tourist board boundary which excluded Gloucestershire and eastern Dorset.


Fig 1.1 Trends in tourism in SW (former region)

0

5

10

15

20

25

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

tourism trips

Overseas

BusinessVFR

4+ hols

1-3 hols

1.3 Sub-regional differences

There is significant variation across the region in terms of the scale and type of tourism. The section below highlights some of the differences by providing a brief snapshot of tourism in each of the counties based on the 2001 figures. Cornwall Compared to the regional average Cornwall has low levels of business and overseas tourism but a very high dependence on holiday visitors, especially long holidays. Long holidays are hugely important to Cornwall accounting for 2/3 of domestic nights and spending. The short holiday sector is relatively small reflecting the relative isolation of the county from centres of population. Average trip duration and spend per trip is relatively high reflecting the dominance of the long holiday sector. Spend per night, however, is at the regional average. TABLE 1.6 Cornwall tourism profile

Cornwall SW Region Trips nights Spend Trips

Domestic 4.8 22.7 980 24.0 Short hols 25% 11% 18% 37% Long hols 48% 70% 66% 34% VFR 21% 12% 9% 19% Business 4% 7% 7% 10% Overseas 0.20 1.5 55 1.9 Total 5.0 24.2 1035 25.9 Average stay 4.8 nights 4.1 Spend per trip £206 £173 Spend per night £43 £43


Fig 1.2 Cornwall -Staying visits by District

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Caradon Carrick Kerrier N Cornwall Penwith Restormel Isles ofScilly

Trip

s (o

oo)

In terms of the distribution within the county, the districts with the largest concentrations of staying tourism are Restormel and North Cornwall. Together these districts account for 44% of Cornwall’s tourism. (See Fig 1.2. Figures taken from SW Tourism Economic Impact Study GBA, 2003).

Devon

Devon accounts for almost a third of the region’s tourism. Holiday tourism predominates, accounting for 80% of tourism spending, but compared to Cornwall there is more of a balance between long and short holidays. Compared to the region as a whole Devon attracts a smaller proportion of overseas visitors and VFR. Spend per night is just below the regional average. TABLE 1.7 Devon tourism profile

Devon SW Region Trips Nights Spend Trips

Domestic 7.4 28.8 1181 24.0 Short hols 34% 17% 23% 37% Long hols 42% 67% 58% 34% VFR 14% 8% 8% 19% Business 9% 7% 9% 10% Overseas 0.39 3.5 131 1.9 Total 7.8 32.3 1312 25.9 Average stay 4.1 nights 4.1 Spend per trip £167 £173 Spend per night £40 £43 Source: UKTS, IPS 2001


Fig 1.3 Devon - Staying visitors by district

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

East D

evon

Exeter

Mid Dev

on

Plymou

th

South

Hams

Teignb

ridge

Torbay

Torridg

e

West D

evon

North D

evon

trips

(000

)

In terms of the distribution within the County, Torbay attracts the most staying visitors with 1.7m trips. North Devon and Plymouth attract over 1m staying visitors a year. The least visited districts in terms of staying visitors are Mid Devon and West Devon. (See Fig 1.3. Figures taken from SW Tourism Economic Impact Study GBA, 2003).

Somerset

Somerset accounts for 12% of the region’s tourism. Holiday tourism predominates although it is marginally less important than in Devon and Cornwall and short holiday trips outnumber long holiday trips. This is reflected in a shorter than average length of stay. Spend per night is similar to the regional average. The county attracts a higher than average share of overseas visitors. TABLE 1.8 Somerset tourism profile

Somerset SW Region Trips Nights Spend Trips



Fig 1 .4 Somerse t - S tay ing v is i t s by d is t r i c t

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1 0 0 0

M e n d i p S e d g e m o o r S S o m e r s e t T a u n t o n D e a n e W S o m e r s e t The biggest district in terms of staying visitors is Sedgemoor which attracted an estimated 0.9m staying visits in 2001. (See Fig 1.4. Figures taken from SW Tourism Economic Impact Study GBA, 2003).

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire accounts for a relatively low proportion (7%) of the region’s tourism. Holiday tourism is still the most important type of tourism to the county but it is dominated by short holidays which account for twice as many trips as long holidays. This is reflected in the average length of stay. Gloucestershire attracts high levels of business tourism (twice the regional average) and higher levels of overseas visitors. Tourism spend is average for the region. TABLE 1.9 Gloucestershire tourism profile

SW Region Trips Nights spend Trips

Domestic 1.6 5.1 217 24.0 Short hols 43% 25% 31% 37% Long hols 19% 39% 24% 34% VFR 19% 16% 13% 19% Business 19% 18% 28% 10% Overseas 0.18 1.0 50 1.9 Total 1.8 6.1 267 25.9 Average stay 3.4 nights 4.1 Spend per trip £147 £173 Spend per night £43 £43 Source: UKTS, IPS 2001 Tourism in Gloucestershire is relatively evenly distributed between the districts. Cotswold attracts the most staying visitors with an estimated 430,000 visits in 2001. (See Fig 1.5. Figures taken from SW Tourism Economic Impact Study GBA, 2003).


Fig 1.5 Gloucestershire - Staying visitors by distr ict

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Cheltenham Cotswold Forest ofDean

Gloucester Stroud Tewkesbury

trips

(000

)

Wiltshire Wiltshire accounts for a relatively small share of the region’s tourism (7%). The picture is not dissimilar from Gloucestershire, with the holiday sector dominated by short breaks, and higher levels than average of overseas and business visitors. Average length of stay is very short whilst average spend appears to be much higher than for the region as a whole. It is not clear why this should be so high and it may be due to unreliable data. TABLE 1.10 Wiltshire tourism profile

Wiltshire

SW Region

Trips Nights Spend Trips Domestic 1.5 4.1 218 24.0 Short hols 40% 32% 47% 37% Long hols 20% 41% 21% 34% VFR 20% 20% 12% 19% Business 13% 10% 21% 10% Overseas 0.16 0.9 48 1.9 Total 1.7 5.0 266 25.8 Average stay 2.9 nights 4.1 Spend per trip £156 £173 Spend per night £53 £43 Source: UKTS, IPS 2001 Swindon attracted the most staying visitors in 2001 with an estimated 410,000 staying visitors. The other districts are pretty much on a par. (See Fig 1.6. Figures taken from SW Tourism Economic Impact Study GBA, 2003).


F ig 1 .6 Wi l t sh i re - S tay ing v is i t s by d is t r i c t

0

50

1 0 0

1 5 0

2 0 0

2 5 0

3 0 0

3 5 0

4 0 0

4 5 0

K e n n e t N Wi l t sh i re Sa l i sbu ry S w i n d o n W Wi l t sh i r e

Trip

s (o

oo)

Dorset

Dorset accounts for 17% of the region’s tourism. Holidays predominate and are broadly split between short and long holidays with the former just outnumbering the latter. VFR stands at just below the regional average as does business tourism and overseas visits. Length of stay is below the regional average as is spend TABLE 1.11 Dorset tourism profile

Dorset SW Region Trips Nights Spend Trips

Domestic 3.8 12,9 530 24.0 Short hols 37% 23% 32% 37% Long hols 32% 58% 44% 34% VFR 17% 13% 6% 19% Business 7% 5% 18% 10% Overseas 0.26 2.8 134 1.9 Total 4.1 15.7 664 25.9 Average stay 3.7 nights 4.1 Spend per trip £156 £173 Spend per night £43 £43 Source: UKTS, IPS 2001 Bournemouth dominates tourism in Dorset with an estimated 1.4m nights. West Dorset, Weymouth and Poole all receive 0.5m or more staying visits. The least visited districts are Christchurch and N Dorset. (See Fig 1.7. Figures taken from SW Tourism Economic Impact Study GBA, 2003).


Fig 1.7 Dorset - Staying visitors by district

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Bourne

mouth

Christc

hurch

E Dors

et

N Dors

et

Poole

Purbec

k

W D

orset

Wey

mouth

trips

(000

)

Former Avon

The unitary authorities which made up the former County of Avon account for about 10% of the region’s tourism. There are nearly three times as many short holidays as long holidays in this area. VFR is above average, reflecting the large resident population, and there are also above average levels of business tourism and overseas visits. Average length of stay is quite short and spend per night is high. TABLE 1.12 Former Avon tourism profile

Former Avon SW Region Trips Nights Spend Trips



Bristol dominates staying tourism in Avon with an estimated 1.17m visits in 2001. Bath and NE Somerset attracted an estimated 743,000 staying visits. See Fig 1.8. Figures taken from SW Tourism Economic Impact Study GBA, 2003). Figure 1.9 shows the pattern of the variation in the number of staying visitors received by all the districts in the SW. There are seven districts with more than 1m staying visitors, with Torbay in the lead followed by Bournemouth. Four of the top seven are resorts and two are major cities - Bristol and Plymouth.

Fig 1.8 Former Avon - Staying visitors by district

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Bath NESomerset

Bristol N Somerset S Gloucester

Trip

s (0

00)


Fig 1.9 Staying visitors by district 2001

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

Torbay

Bourne

mouth

Restor

mel

Bristol

N Dev

on

Plymou

th

N Corn

wall

East D

evon

Sedge

moor

Carrick

South

Hams

Teignb

ridge

Bath N

E Somers

et

Penwith

W Somers

et

W Dors

et

Carado

n

S Somers

etPoo

le

Kerrier

S Glou

ceste

r

N Som

erset

Exeter

Mendip

Wey

mouth

Cotswold

Taunto

n Dea

ne

Swindon

Torridg

e

Salisb

ury

Purbec

k

W Wilts

hire

N Wilts

hire

Wes

t Dev

onStro

ud

Chelte

nham

E Dors

et

Mid Dev

on

Glouce

ster

Forest

of Dea

n

Tewke

sbury

N Dors

et

Kenne

t

Christc

hurch

Isles

of Scil

ly

stay

ing

visi

ts (0

00)


1.4 Market sector profiles

The following section explores some of the main market sectors in more detail at a regional level, drawing on the UKTS and IPS information. All data refer to the SWRDA region unless otherwise indicated. Domestic markets are examined first followed by overseas visitors. More detailed figures are given in the accompanying table.

Business tourism

Business visits account for 9% of all domestic tourism trips to the region and 13% of domestic tourism spend. Most business visitors to the Region are on general business trips, visiting customers or business contacts etc. Conference and exhibition visits, a subset of business tourism, accounts for about 10% of the region’s business trips. TABLE 1.13 Business trips in SW 2001 Trips 2.3 Nights 6.7 Spend £485m Duration 2.9 nights Spend per trip £211 Spend per night £73

Characteristics of business trips

• Higher than average spend • Short duration, the average duration is 2.9 nights and half of all trips are for one

night only • Almost a third take place in Devon, the rest are fairly evenly spread around the

sub-regions • Primarily car-borne trips (72%) although 12% arrive by train and 3% by plane • Most use hotels (59%) with a further 10% making use of B+B accommodation. A

significant minority (11%) stay with friends and relatives. • Low points tend to correspond with school holiday periods • Business visitors spend the majority of their budget on accommodation (£129m).

Travel and eating/drinking both account for a further £71m). • Half of all business trips take place in cities or large towns. The rest are spread

evenly across resorts, countryside and small towns.

The business visitor

• The majority (78%) of business visitors are male and the biggest age group is 35-44. Nearly three quarters of business visitors are aged 25-54. 73% are married.

• Business visitors are up-market. The majority (72%) are classified as ABC1 with an equal split between AB and C1.

• 22% come from within the SW region with a further 26% coming from London/SE


• Almost all are in full-time work (91%) • Over a quarter (29%) have a household income of £20-40,000 pa and a further

quarter have a household income of £40-60,000 • 91% are car owners

Visits to friends and relatives

VFR trips (where visiting friends/relatives is the main purpose of the trip) account for 19% of the region’s tourism trips but only 9% of total spend because of the relatively low spend on accommodation and meals. TABLE 1.14 VFR trips in SW 2001 Trips 4.5m Nights 10.8m Spend £362m Duration 2.4 nights Spend per trip £80 Spend per night £33

Characteristics of VFR trips

• Low spend per night • Primarily short duration, 85% 1-3 nights • Uneven pattern not particularly related to resident population with high levels of

VFR tourism in Cornwall and Devon, low in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire • High use of car, accounting for 79% of trips • Most stay with friends and relatives but some use commercial accommodation • Even distribution of trips throughout the year with peak at Christmas • Trips self-arranged and not pre-booked • A third of trips made by people travelling alone • Even spread across destination type, 56% take place in urban areas.

The VFR tourist

• Two thirds are female • Fairly evenly spread across the age groups but higher propensity for younger age

groups to travel • 58% are ABC1 • Half come from SW and SE regions • 58% have household income of less than £40k probably reflecting the young age

profile

Short holidays

Short holidays are defined here as holidays or breaks with 1-3 nights away from home. They account for 37% of all domestic tourism trips to the SW but only 20% of nights and 28% of spending. Short holiday trips outnumber long holiday trips.


TABLE 1.15 Short holiday trips in SW 2001 Trips 8.8m Nights 17.6m Spend £1079m Duration 2.0 nights Spend per trip £123 Spend per night £61

Characteristics of short holidays

• High spending holiday makers but short duration • Devon accounts for 28% but rest more evenly spread throughout the region • Strongly car based, some use of train • Almost half stay with friends and relatives. Hotels are the most common form of

commercial accommodation used (26%). • Bias towards the summer with 58% of trips in AMJJAS • Limited pre-booking, reflects numbers staying with friends and relatives. 12 %

used internet for information. • More likely to be adult only groups • Seaside is most popular location (35%) but countryside and larger towns also

visited • Strong likelihood of additional/secondary

The short holiday visitor

• Equal split between men and women • Younger than holidaymakers in general. Half (47%) are aged 25-44. • Less likely to be married than holiday makers in general • More up-market, two thirds are ABC1 • Come from nearer at hand than holidaymakers as a whole - 61% from SW,

London, SE • Two thirds are working • More affluent than holiday makers as a whole. • High car ownership (93%) • One third have children at home

Long holidays

Long holidays, defined here as holidays involving 4 or more night away from home, account for 34% of all domestic tourism trips in the SW but 60% of nights and 49% of spending. TABLE 1.16 Long holiday trips in SW 2001 Trips 8.2m Nights 54.0m Spend £1913m Duration 6.6 nights Spend per trip £233 Spend per night £35


Characteristics of SW long holiday trips

• Strong bias towards Devon and Cornwall (63%). Few long holidays in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and former Avon.

• Slightly less likely than short breakers to come by car. 20% come by some form of public transport.

• Over a quarter (28%) stay with friends/relatives. Self catering accommodation twice as likely to be used as serviced.

• High degree of concentration with 26% of trips in August and over half (55%) taking place in JAS.

• 61% pre-book, 13% use internet as a source of information • A quarter of all long holidays last for more than a week. • Half consist of adult only parties. Children are present in 43% of long holidays • Half (53%) of all trips take place at the seaside and a further quarter in the

countryside. • Two thirds (63%) are people’s main holiday.

The long holiday visitor

• More likely to be female (60%) • More likely to be families and older age groups • 72% are married • More even spread across social classes but 54% ABC1. • Come from further afield but majority (69%) from southern half of England • Lower car ownership than short breakers • Slightly higher proportion have children, 41% are families • 40% are over 55, but only 8% are 16-34 Overseas visitors The SW region attracted an estimated 1.9m overseas visitors in 2001. Overseas visitors account for 7% of total tourism trips to the region but 14% of nights and spend. Less detail is available on the make-up and characteristics of overseas visits. TABLE 1.17 Overseas trips to SW 2001 Trips 1.9m Nights 15.1m Spend £634m Duration 7.9 nights Spend per trip £330 Spend per night £42

Characteristics of overseas visits

• A high average length of stay • Spend per night is less than domestic visitors • Devon and Avon attract the most overseas visitors, around twice as many as

Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. • 20% of overseas visitors come from N America. The bulk of the rest come from

continental Europe


• The USA, France, Germany, Ireland account for one half of all visitors. • Holiday is the main trip purpose but 58% of visits are for other purposes such as

VFR, business and study • Two thirds of overseas visitors arrive by air, 44% through Heathrow and Gatwick • Over a third of all overseas visitors (38%) are staying with friends and relatives • Almost all the rest stay in serviced accommodation. • 39% arrive in the third quarter, 69% in the summer 6 months • A fairly even spread across the age groups but few over 65. A younger age

distribution than domestic visitors.


TABLE 1.18 Summary - Trip characteristics Business

tourism Visits to friends

and relatives

Short holidays

Long holidays

Overseas visits

Total trips in SW 2.3m 4.5m 8.8m 8.2m Distribution % % % % % Cornwall 9 23 14 27 10 Devon 30 23 28 36 20 Somerset 13 11 14 10 9 Wiltshire 9 7 7 3 8 Dorset 13 16 17 15 13 Gloucestershire 13 7 8 3 9 Former Avon 13 14 13 5 30 Main transport used % % % % Car 72 79 83 76 15 Train 12 11 8 7 Bus 2 6 4 5 Coach 1 * 2 6 12 Plane 3 1 1 2 65 Accommodation used % % %

Hotel/GH 59 26 22 29 Farm/B+B 10 7 5 20 Rented accom 1 5 23 4 Caravan/camp 6 11 24 3 Holiday camp - 1 2 * Hostel/educ 2 * * 4 Friends /relatives home 11 43 28 38 Month of trip % % % % % J 7 7 4 2 F 10 9 6 3 M 6 8 7 3

15

A 5 6 8 8 M 7 5 10 8 J 7 7 8 10

30

J 11 9 10 17 A 9 8 11 26 S 6 9 10 12

39

O 11 9 7 8 N 11 11 9 3 D 10 13 10 9

16

Booking arrangements % % % % No pre-booking 43 82 66 39 Inclusive trip 4 2 5 10 Book via travel agent 4 * 1 6 Book via telephone 40 11 25 43 Book via internet/e-mail 4 * 1 1 Book via letter/coupon * * 2 4 Used internet 9 7 12 13 Duration of trip % % % % 1 –3 nights 74 85 100 0 4-7 nights 17 11 0 77 8+ nights 9 4 0 23 Average 2.9 2.9 2.0 6.6 7.9 Party composition % % % % Alone 65 31 17 9 With children 4 24 26 43 Adults only 30 44 57 49


Expenditure % Inclusive package - Accommodation 38 Travel 21 Services/advice 1 Buy clothes 1 Eat/drink 21 Other shopping 5 Entertainment 3 Other 1 Location of trip % % % %

Seaside 18 21 35 53 City/large town 48 28 22 8 Small town 17 28 16 11 Countryside/village 17 26 26 26 Main/secondary holiday % % Only holiday - - 4 12 Main holiday(s) - - 27 51 Secondary holiday - - 57 33 Country of origin % USA 17 France 15 Germany 12 Ireland 8 Australia 7 Netherlands 5 Spain 4 Italy 3 Canada 3 S Africa 2 Sweden 2 Belgium 2 Switzerland 2 Other 18 Trip purpose % Holiday 42 VFR 31 Business 20 Study 3 Other 4 Port of entry Heathrow 33 Gatwick 11 Bristol 15 Other airport 7 Seaport 27 Tunnel

8


TABLE 1.19 Summary - Visitor characteristics Business

tourism Visits to friends

and relatives

Short holidays

Long holidays

Overseas visits

Total trips in SW 2.3m 4.5m 8.8m 8.2m

Gender % % % % % Male 78 38 50 40 Female 22 62 50 60 Age % % % % % 16-24 9 19 16 10 11 25-34 22 22 25 16 16 35-44 26 16 22 22 17 45-54 22 13 15 13 17 55-64 13 13 15 14 13 65+ 4 16 15 25 7 Marital status % Married 73 58 65 72 Social class %

AB 36 28 33 27 C1 36 30 33 27 C2 23 19 20 22 DE 4 23 14 22 Region of residence % % % % Scotland 4 2 1 2 Wales 9 4 6 5 NE * 2 2 1 NW/Merseyside 9 4 6 7 Y&H 4 2 3 7 EM 4 7 3 7 WM 9 9 10 15 SW 22 29 27 16 E 9 7 7 6 L 9 13 10 11 SE 17 20 24 20 Working status % Working FT/PT 91 58 66 36 Household income % Up to 20K 21 29 24 33 20+ - 40K 29 29 29 24 40+ - 60K 25 7 15 9 60+- 80K 8 2 5 1 80+- 100K 0 0 2 0 >100K 4 0 2 1 DK/NA 12 32 23 31 Car ownership % Car in hh 91 87 93 84 Children <16 in hh % Yes 35 33 35 41 Life cycle % % % % 16-34/ unmarried/no kids 12 16 15 5 16-34/M/no kids 10 6 7 3 16-34/ kids 11 20 15 17 35-54/ no kids 25 18 16 12 35-54/ kids 25 13 19 24 55+ 17 27 28 40


1.5 Economic impact

This section of the report draws on the findings from an Economic Impact Study undertaken for SW Tourism by Geoff Broom Associates in 2003. The study is based on the Cambridge Model, which uses UKTS, IPS and UKDVS to provide baseline data on tourism volumes and spending in the Region. Estimates of tourist spending at District and County level are derived from the regional findings from the national surveys, taking account of the distribution of accommodation, attractions and other factors influencing tourism activity at local level. The breakdown of tourist spending by type of visitor, derived from regional data from the national surveys, allows estimates to be made for each District of the additional turnover generated in tourism related businesses; primarily those in the accommodation, retail, catering, attractions/entertainment and transport sectors. The increased turnover in those businesses benefiting from visitor spending will support employment directly in those businesses as well as additional spending on the purchase of supplies and services from other local businesses. Apart from additional jobs arising indirectly in the latter, further economic activity is generated by spending by employees in jobs supported directly and indirectly by tourism spending. Estimates of total jobs attributable to tourism are based on assumptions about the proportions spent on wages and supplies, which varies by business sector and by the relative strength of the local economy. The estimates for each District are based on ratios established from surveys of tourism related businesses at numerous locations in the South West and elsewhere. The calculation uses estimates of wage costs arising in different business at the local level, based on district level data from the New Earnings Survey. TABLE 1.20 Economic impact 2001

Tourism spend £m FTE jobs Staying visitors

Day visitors

Direct Indirect/ Induced

Actual jobs

Avon 522 700 20627 8707 40017 Cornwall 1035 529 32198 13769 62838 Devon 1312 854 41280 18157 80798 Dorset 664 535 23764 9910 45839 Gloucestershire 267 395 10880 5706 22353 Somerset 458 393 17384 8201 34838 Wiltshire 266 366 10458 4531 20350 SW REGION 4524 3772 156591 68981 307032 Source: SW Tourism economic Impact Study, GBA In 2001 staying visitors spent £4.5bn in the region, with day visitors contributing a further £3.8bn. (Table 1.20). The impact of this spending as it circulates through the regional economy is estimated to have supported the equivalent of 225,572 full time equivalent jobs in the region. This equates to a total of 307,032 actual jobs because in practice some of these jobs are part-time or seasonal. Tourism employment varies quite widely across the region, as shown in Fig 1.10. Devon accounts for 26% of the jobs, Cornwall 20%, whilst Gloucestershire and Wiltshire have the least number of jobs with 7% of the total.


Fig 1.10 Tourism supported jobs, by county

0100002000030000400005000060000700008000090000

Avon

Cornwall

Devon

Dorset

Gloucs

.

Somers

et

Wilts

hire

The importance of tourism employment also varies significantly by county. In Cornwall, tourism accounts for 29% of all jobs whereas in Avon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire the figure is only between 6 and 8%. TABLE 1.21 The importance of tourism employment Tourism employment as

% of total employment Avon 8% Cornwall 29% Devon 16% Dorset 14% Gloucestershire 8% Somerset 15% Wiltshire 6% Source: Economic Impact Study, GBA Tourism spending benefits a number of different sectors of the economy. Across the region as a whole, 31% of day and staying visitor spending goes on food and drink, 27% on other shopping, 21% on accommodation, 11% on attractions and activities and a similar amount on travel. (Table 1.22) TABLE 1.22 Business turnover by sector, 2001 Day and staying visitor spend (£m) Accom

Shop

Food drink

Attractions

Travel

Total

Avon 184 387 361 128 97 1157 Cornwall 378 315 442 171 155 1461 Devon 472 485 619 235 213 2024 Dorset 234 300 349 132 111 1126 Gloucestershire 96 193 201 68 61 619 Somerset 168 207 248 90 83 796 Wiltshire 95 175 193 65 63 591 SW REGION 1627 2062 2413 889 783 7774 Source: Economic Impact Study, GBA Note: A proportion of travel spend has been assumed to take place at destination.


2 MARKET FORECASTS

Tourism activity in the South West will continue to reflect national trends in tourism. The approach to forecasting activity in the South West therefore seeks to identify likely changes in activity in England, and the likely consequences for the South West and its sub regions. This Chapter presents the results of a forecasting model which estimates the volume and value of tourism nationally, based on assumptions about socio-economic changes, and uses these to make projections for the South West based on assumptions about market share. The first two sections provide national forecasts for domestic and overseas tourism; next some qualitative implications of national changes are considered; and then the projections for tourism in the South West are given. The final section looks at national and regional forecasts for day visiting. The National Tourist Boards produced a tourism forecast for domestic tourism down to the England level in January 2003. This was produced by a slightly different methodology than used here but gives very similar results. Rather than confusing the reader with references to both forecasts we quote only the forecasts produced for this study.

2.1 UK tourist activity

Holiday tourism Holiday spending by UK residents is primarily affected by:

• Growth in personal disposable income • Changes in holiday and leisure time • Competition from alternative leisure spending opportunities.

During the last decade, disposable income per head has grown at around 2% per annum, although holiday and leisure time availability has remained relatively unchanged. Holiday spending has also remained relatively stable against other leisure spending alternatives. It is therefore assumed that the main driver for change in the coming decade will be increases in disposable income and overall growth in the population. The former is likely to be adversely affected by economic slowdown, financial and taxation changes in the short term, but in the medium and longer term is expected to continue to grow at around 2%. TABLE 2.1 Projected change in UK total holiday spend at 2001 values

• £53,900 million in 2001 • £64,922 million in 2006 • £78,444 million in 2011

Much of the growth in UK holiday spending has been absorbed by holiday taking abroad. This trend is affected by:


• changes in the value of sterling against overseas currencies • growth in travel opportunities and reductions in relative travel costs • marketing and promotion activities by travel agents, carriers and competing

destinations. Sterling has varied in value over the last decade, being relatively weak in the first half but strong in the second half, particularly against Euro currencies. Thus overseas destinations have offered relatively good value for UK holidaymakers since the mid 1990s. The trend to holidays abroad has been further stimulated by the rapid development of budget airlines serving a widening network of routes within Europe. Sterling has recently fallen slightly in value against the Euro and strengthened against the dollar. For the purposes of projecting tourism spend, it is assumed that sterling will stabilise at its existing level, while travel opportunities and marketing impacts will remain a strong influence. The outcome is that UK spend overseas is likely to continue to grow at twice the rate of UK holiday spend at home. TABLE 2.2 Projected division of holiday spending between UK and overseas (at 2001 values) Abroad In the UK In England 2001 £36,900,000,000 £17,000,000,000 £12,988,000,000 2006 £45,818,000,000 £19,104,000,000 £14,519,000,000 2011 £57,142,000,000 £21,602,000,000 £16,418,000,000 Apart from the trend towards overseas holidays, there has been a substantial switch within the UK towards spending on short breaks and additional holidays away from the traditional long main holiday. Much of the change is driven by the growth in main holiday taking abroad, but the decrease in longer main holidays in the UK has been offset by the growth in additional holidays of over 3 nights duration. As a result the number of trips has remained relatively stable although the number of nights has fallen. In making future projections it is assumed that the overall trend towards short and additional holidays will continue. The outcome is that spending on short breaks is likely to grow by 53% over the period to 2011, while spending on long holidays will hardly change over the same period. TABLE 2.3 Projected division of holiday spending within England (at 2001 values) All holiday spend Short break Long holidays 2001 £12,988,000,000 £6,408,000,000 £6,580,000,000 2006 £14,519,000,000 £7,935,000,000 £6,584,000,000 2011 £16,418,000,000 £9,828,000,000 £6,590,000,000 Note: Short breaks defined as stays of 3 nights or less, long holidays as stays of 4 or more nights. However, the projection based on past relationships between growth in income and spend on holidays in England is likely to be modified by:

• an overall aging of the population with growth in the 45+ age groups, but also some growth in the 15-24 age groups

• a gradual increase in the proportion of the population falling within the ABC1 socio-economic groups

• increases in single people with no children in the 16-34 age group and an increase in the 55+ age groups, and some decline in the number of families with young children.


The changes in the population aging and in socio-economic composition, with higher spending groups tending to increase faster than the average, could result in an increase of up to 10% over the projected spend set out above.

Short break holidays (1 to 3 nights)

Short break holidays have shown strong growth over the last decade, and this trend is likely to continue. In estimating future projections, the trends in spend per night and average length of trip derived from regression analysis of trends in the 1990s have been used. These suggest that:

• the average spend per night will continue to fall slowly • the average length of trip will also decline slowly.

On this basis, the projections suggest a growth in trips of 58% over the decade, with nights increasing by 49% and spending at 2001 values of 53%. TABLE 2.4 Projected short break activity in England Trips Nights Spend (2001 values) 2001 51,480,000 97,297,000 £6,408,000,000 2006 64,780,000 118,685,000 £7,935,000,000 2011 81,544,000 144,825,000 £9,828,000,000 Taking account of likely changes in the age and socio-economic profile of the population over the decade, spending could be up to 15% higher than the projection set out above with consequent associated increases in trips and nights.

Long holidays

Holidays involving overnight stays of 4 nights or more in England have been adversely affected by the trend to take main holidays abroad. However, the growth in additional holidays particularly those in the 4-6 night length has offset the fall in longer main holidays. Nevertheless the relative decline compared to short break holidays is likely to continue. The age shift will tend to slow the decline in that older age groups generally have a higher expenditure per head on long holidays than younger age groups, the exception being the 35-44 age group with young families who also tend to favour holidays in England. The analysis of trends in the 1990s suggest that:

• spend per head will not change significantly over the next decade • the average length of trip will continue to decline.

On this basis, the projections suggest a modest increase in the number of trips by 4%, with a fall of 4% in nights and little change in spend at 2001 values. TABLE 2.5 Projected long holiday activity in England Trips Nights Spend (at 2001 values) 2001 28,500,000 184,100,000 £6,580,000,000 2006 29,007,000 180,542,000 £6,584,000,000 2011 29,527,000 177,053,000 £6,590,000,000 The impact of changes in the age and socio-economic profile of the population could result in greater spend on long holidays with an increase in trips and nights over the


base case.

Business tourism

Business tourism including attendance at conferences and exhibitions is driven by a number of factors, but primarily by the overall level of business activity. The change in Gross Domestic Product provides a proxy measure of national business activity. Future business tourism spending is therefore based on anticipated changes in GDP. The projected changes in business tourism are therefore based on the following:

• GDP growth is expected to be slow in 2003/4 before resuming growth of around 2.5% per year in line with annual growth in the latter half of the 1990s.

• Spend per night on business trips will continue to decline in line with the trend in the 1990s

• Average trip length will remain stable at around 2.46 nights per trip. The anticipated changes suggest a 41% growth in trips, 38% in nights and 16% in spend at 2001 values. TABLE 2.6 Projected trends in business tourism in England Trips Nights Spend (at 2001 values) 2001 18,400,000 46,300,000 £4,435,000,000 2006 21,523,000 52,947,000 £4,655,000,000 2011 25,999,000 63,957,000 £5,161,000,000

Visits to Friends and Relatives

Visits to friends and relatives grew strongly in the 1990s, particularly in the first half of the decade. However, more recent trends suggest a slow down in the growth of such visits, and this trend is expected to continue over the next decade, given that there are likely only to be limited changes in available leisure time. In making projections of the future change in visits to friends and relatives for non-holiday purposes, it is assumed that:

• The rate of increase in spending will only be around two thirds that experienced in the 1990s

• Average spend per night will continue to decline albeit at a slower rate than in the previous decade

• Average trip length will also decline again at a slower rate than in the 1990s. The projections suggest that the visits to friends and relatives will increase by around 71% over the ten years, with nights increasing by 53% and spending at 2001 values by 24%. TABLE 2.7 Projected trends for VFR in England Trips Nights Spend (at 2001 values) 2001 31,200,000 74,300,000 £2,513,000,000 2006 40,856,000 91,958,000 £2,806,000,000 2011 53,346,000 113,484,000 £3,125,000,000 In addition to spending by visitors, a recent study by the English Tourism Council of Visits to Friends and Relatives found that host households spent on average a further £108 per visit. This additional spending is not included in the forecasts above, but


assuming similar spending in future, would result in additional spending of £5.8 million by 2011. Changes related to age groups in the population over the period could increase the volume of nights by around 10% and spending at 2001 value by 6%.

Overseas tourism

The volume of visits and spend by overseas visitors to the UK is affected by a number of factors which may impact on different origin areas in different ways. The main influences are:

• Changes in the economic activity and disposable income in the origin countries

• The relative value of sterling against the origin country currencies • Changes in the routes and opportunities to access the UK, together with the

marketing and promotion of those opportunities in the origin countries • Political and health events such as war, terrorism incidents and disease

outbreaks that can have significant, albeit short term, impacts on the willingness to travel.

Following relatively strong growth in the first half of the 1990s, there has been a decline in overall activity since 1998. The changes conceal differences by region of origin and by purpose.

EU visitors

Spending by EU visitors rose sharply to 1996 stimulated by the relative weakness of sterling against European currencies. However, since 1997, spending has declined partly as a result of a strengthening of sterling but also as a result of economic slowdown in the main origin countries and the impact of foot and mouth and other poor publicity for the UK. Recently, the Euro has gained strength against sterling, but the European economy continues to be sluggish. In generating a view of future activity, it is assumed that:

• Holiday visitors from Europe will continue to be depressed by the economy in the short term but will recover from 2004 onwards towards their long term growth rates

• Business visits will continue to grow albeit, more slowly in the short term • Visits to friends and relatives will continue to grow steadily • Miscellaneous visits including study trips will continue to be depressed in the

short term and grow slowly from 2004 onwards. The projections suggest that trips will grow by 31% over the decade, but nights will increase by only 4% and spending by 12%. TABLE 2.8 Projected trends for visitors from the EU Trips Nights Spend (at 2001 values) 2001 12,865,000 73,558,000 £4,015,000,000 2006 14,321,000 72,918,000 £4,065,000,000 2011 16,796,000 76,254,000 £4,498,000,000


North American visitors

The volume of visitors from North America rose steadily from 1991 through to 2001, helped by a decline in the value of sterling against the dollar and fierce competition on airline services across the Atlantic. However there was a sharp fall in 2001 associated with the adverse impacts of foot and mouth and terrorist incidents. In considering future projections, it is assumed that:

• The uncertainty surrounding the Iraq war will depress any growth in North American traffic in the short term

• Growth will start to recover in 2004 and attain the longer term trend figures established in the previous two decades

• Business and vfr traffic will grow faster than holiday visits. On this basis, the projections suggest a growth in trips of 35%, with nights increasing by 11% and spending by 28%. In the short term, it is likely that there will be a fall in the number of nights and spending. TABLE 2.9 Projected trends for visitors from North America Trips Nights Spend (at 2001 values) 2001 4,227,000 35,841,000 £2,690,000,000 2006 4,663,000 35,987,000 £2,879,000,000 2011 5,714,000 39,862,000 £3,456,000,000

Other Europe

The pattern of visits from other European countries has been broadly similar to the EU trends, with growth in the 1990s, tailing off in 2000 and 2001. Holiday tourism has fallen slightly over the period following a peak in the early 1990s following the collapse of communism at the beginning of the decade. Compared to the EU, business tourism has grown relatively more strongly. In projecting the future growth in visitor numbers it is assumed that:

• Short term growth will be limited, particularly with regard to holidays and miscellaneous visits

• There will be recovery in line with past trends from 2004 onwards, with business tourism continuing to grow more strongly than other sectors, stimulated by increased involvement with the EU.

The projections suggest that there will be a 40% increase in trips, a 20% in nights and a 23% increase in spending over the next decade. TABLE 2.10 Projected trends for visitors from other Europe Trips Nights Spend (at 2001 values) 2001 1,992,000 18,274,000 £1,088,000,000 2006 2,307,000 19,512,000 £1,131,000,000 2011 2,794,000 22,019,000 £1,337,000,000

Other countries

Visitor numbers from other countries grew during the 1990s, although growth checked in 1996 coincident with the strengthening of sterling against a basket of


other currencies in that year. There has been a fall in the overall numbers in 2001. Compared with other origin areas, the strongest growth has been in the friends and relatives sector. In considering future growth, it is assumed that:

• There will be a decline in holiday trips in the short term as a result of the Iraq war

• Following 2004, growth rates will resume the long term trend • Visits to friends and relatives will continue to increase faster than other trips

The projections suggest that there will be a 34% increase in trips, a 31% increase in nights and a 19% increase in spend. TABLE 2.11 Projected trends for visitors from other countries Trips Nights Spend (at 2001 values) 2001 3,751,000 61,888,000 £3,509,000,000 2006 4,205,000 68,996,000 £3,726,000,000 2011 5,029,000 80,869,000 £4,181,000,000

Overseas tourism by purpose

The slow down in overseas tourism in recent years has largely been due to the fall in holiday tourism. In contrast, business tourism and visits to friends and relatives have generally remained positive. While renewed growth is projected in the number of holiday and other purpose trips over the decade, the long term trends towards fewer nights per trip and less spend per night will result in less change in the level of spending in real terms. The overall outcome of the projections suggests significant differences in the changes between trips taken for different tourism purposes.

TABLE 2.12 Change in overseas tourism by purpose 2001-2011 Holiday Business VFR Miscellaneous All Trips 18% 44% 43% 25% 33% Nights 3% 24% 21% 18% 16% Spend -14% 33% 27% 45% 19% TABLE 2.13 Projected trends in overseas tourism by purpose Holidays Business VFR Miscellaneous Total Overseas trips 2001 7,585,000 6,779,000 5,898,000 2,573,000 22,835,000 2006 7,787,000 7,946,000 6,998,000 2,765,000 25,496,000 2011 8,951,000 9,734,000 8,443,000 3,205,000 30,333,000 Overseas nights 2001 54,510,400 28,332,100 65,074,000 41,645,000 189,561,500 2006 52,041,100 30,878,100 70,640,000 43,853,700 197,412,900 2011 55,977,300 35,127,200 78,564,800 49,334,500 219,003,800 Overseas spend (at 2001 values) 2001 £3,500,000,000 £3,590,000,000 £2,252,000,000 £1,960,000,000 £11,302,000,000 2006 £2,989,000,000 £4,041,000,000 £2,490,000,000 £2,281,000,000 £11,801,000,000 2011 £3,022,000,000 £4,759,000,000 £2,850,000,000 £2,841,000,000 £13,472,000,000


2.2 Implications of national changes

The projections of changes in tourism activity at national level have been based on anticipated changes in key drivers such as disposable income, gross domestic product and exchange rates, together with trends established during the previous decade. Any projections should be viewed with some caution since changes in trends can have a significant effect over a decade. For instance, a strong recovery in the world economy could stimulate faster rates of growth in overseas tourism compared with the assumptions used in the base forecasts. There are also a number of established trends that are likely to continue and which will have an impact on demand for different tourism facilities. These include:

• An overall aging in holiday tourists from home and abroad as a result of demographic changes

• A decline in the main family forming age group, with a consequent fall in families with small children, as well as a continuing trend towards single parent families.

• An increasing proportion of the population benefiting from higher education and working in the higher socio-economic groups, resulting in a growth in interest in culture and arts.

• A continuing interest in the environment, evidenced by the growth in membership of environmental organisations and the development of green grading schemes

• A continuing interest in health and personal development, evidenced by the doubling in the number of people taking activities while on holiday over the last decade.

• Growth in personal incomes and individual standards of living. The impact of these changes is likely to be reflected in:

• Increased demand for serviced accommodation, reinforced by the continued strong growth in business tourism

• Better quality provision continuing to generate higher activity rates • Increased interest in arts and heritage. • Increased interest in outdoor recreation and sport, particularly those which

are enjoyed by a wide age spectrum such as walking, and in those sports with a relatively high entry cost such as sailing.

• A continuing fall in traditional family holidays by the seaside • City and countryside destinations enjoying increased demand as a result of

the growth in short breaks, additional holidays, business and vfr tourism.

2.3 Projections for the South West

The projections for the South West region are based on those for England and the United Kingdom as set out in the previous sections, and assume that the region will retain its existing market share of each of the different market sectors, modified to reflect changes in market share.


UK tourist projections for the South West

The projections suggest that over the decade, UK tourist trips to the South West will rise by 39%. Within the overall total:

• Short breaks are expected to increase by 58% • Long holiday trips by 4% • Business trips by 41% • Visits to friends and relatives by 71% • Other trips are assumed to remain the same

TABLE 2.14 Projections for tourism trips by UK tourists to the South West

Short breaks

Long holidays Business VFR Other Total

2001 8,800,000 8,200,000 2,300,000 4,500,000 200,000 24,000,000 2002 8,900,000 8,200,000 2,300,000 4,700,000 200,000 24,300,000 2003 9,600,000 8,300,000 2,400,000 5,000,000 200,000 25,500,000 2004 10,000,000 8,300,000 2,500,000 5,300,000 200,000 26,300,000 2005 10,500,000 8,300,000 2,600,000 5,600,000 200,000 27,200,000 2006 11,100,000 8,300,000 2,700,000 5,900,000 200,000 28,200,000 2007 11,600,000 8,400,000 2,800,000 6,200,000 200,000 29,200,000 2008 12,200,000 8,400,000 2,900,000 6,600,000 200,000 30,300,000 2009 12,800,000 8,400,000 3,000,000 6,900,000 200,000 31,300,000 2010 13,300,000 8,500,000 3,100,000 7,300,000 200,000 32,400,000 2011 13,900,000 8,500,000 3,200,000 7,700,000 200,000 33,500,000

There will be a similar pattern in terms of nights although overall the volume of nights is not expected to increase at the same rate as the average length of trip declines. The total volume of UK tourism nights is likely to increase by 17%. Within this total:

• Short break nights are expected to increase by 49% • Long holiday nights will decline by 4% • Business nights will increase by 38% • Visits to friends and relatives will increase by 53% • Other are assumed to stay stable at 2001 levels.

TABLE 2.15 Projections for tourism nights by UK tourists to the South West

Short breaks

Long holidays Business VFR Other Total

2001 17,600,000 54,000,000 6,700,000 10,800,000 800,000 89,900,000 2002 17,700,000 53,800,000 6,700,000 11,300,000 800,000 90,300,000 2003 19,000,000 53,600,000 6,800,000 11,800,000 800,000 92,000,000 2004 19,700,000 53,400,000 7,100,000 12,300,000 800,000 93,300,000 2005 20,500,000 53,200,000 7,400,000 12,800,000 800,000 94,700,000 2006 21,500,000 53,000,000 7,700,000 13,400,000 800,000 96,400,000 2007 22,400,000 52,800,000 8,000,000 14,000,000 800,000 98,000,000 2008 23,300,000 52,500,000 8,300,000 14,600,000 800,000 99,500,000 2009 24,300,000 52,300,000 8,600,000 15,200,000 800,000 101,200,000 2010 25,200,000 52,100,000 8,900,000 15,800,000 800,000 102,800,000 2011 26,200,000 51,900,000 9,300,000 16,500,000 800,000 104,700,000

Tourism spending associated with UK visits is projected to increase by 20% at 2001 values. Within the overall total, the following changes are anticipated over the decade:

• Short breaks spending will increase by 53% • Long holiday spending will show no change in real value


• Business tourism spending will increase by 16% • Spending associated with visits to friends and relatives will increase by 24% • Other spending is assumed to remain stable at 2001 levels.

TABLE 2.16 Projections for tourism spending by UK tourists to the South West

Short breaks Long holidays Business VFR Other Total

2001 £1,079 £1,913 £485 £362 £50 £3,889 2002 £1,089 £1,913 £474 £370 £50 £3,896 2003 £1,170 £1,913 £479 £378 £50 £3,990 2004 £1,216 £1,914 £489 £387 £50 £4,055 2005 £1,275 £1,914 £499 £395 £50 £4,133 2006 £1,336 £1,914 £509 £404 £50 £4,214 2007 £1,398 £1,915 £520 £413 £50 £4,296 2008 £1,461 £1,915 £530 £422 £50 £4,379 2009 £1,525 £1,915 £542 £432 £50 £4,463 2010 £1,589 £1,915 £553 £441 £50 £4,548 2011 £1,655 £1,916 £564 £450 £50 £4,635

Note: Figures in millions VFR spending does not include additional spending by host households. Such spending could rise to £831 billion by 2011. (see VFR paragraphs in section 2.1 above) The base projections for UK tourists assume that the South West will retain the same market share that it gained in 2001. However, during the 1990s, the South West gained market share in the short breaks, long holidays and business tourism sectors, although it lost market share in the visits to friends and relatives sector. If the same trends continue during the next decade, then there would be significant differences in the level of tourism activity, with the overall volume of tourism trips rising by 43% compared to 39% with the base case projection. Within the change, there would be much stronger growth in the short break and business tourism sectors but little growth in the visits to friends and relatives sector. In particular, if past trends in market share continue, then:

• Short break spend would increase by 113% instead of 53% • Long holiday spend would increase by 5% rather than staying the same • Business spend would increase by 64% instead of 16% • Spend on visits to friends and relatives would fall by 3% instead of growing by

24%. TABLE 2.17 Comparison of projections assuming growth in market share Short

breaks Long holidays Business VFR All

UK trips 2001 8,800,000 8,200,000 2,300,000 4,500,000 24,000,000 2011 base 13,900,000 8,500,000 3,200,000 7,700,000 33,500,000 2011 trend 16,900,000 8,900,000 4,300,000 4,800,000 35,100,000

UK nights 2001 17,600,000 54,000,000 6,700,000 10,800,000 89,600,000 2011 base 26,200,000 51,900,000 9,300,000 16,500,000 104,400,000 2011 trend 31,400,000 51,500,000 13,700,000 11,200,000 108,300,000 UK spend (£ million) 2001 £1,079 £1,913 £485 £362 £3,842 2011 base £1,655 £1,916 £564 £450 £4,588 2011 trend £2,330 £1,927 £802 £340 £5,431


In seeking to gain market share, then the South West is likely to meet increasing competition from other regions seeking to protect their markets. The South West region has a slightly higher proportion of faster growing older age groups in the profile of short break visitors than the national average, but the difference is limited and projections based on trends in the last decade therefore represent a top range compared to the base projection.

Overseas visitors to the South West

Assuming that the South West retains its share of overseas tourists from the main origin areas, then the projections suggest that overseas trips to the South West are likely to grow by 32% between 2001 and 2011, with the number of nights increasing by 16% and spending by 14% in 2001 values. The projections reflect changes in the average length of stay and spend per night, both of which vary by origin and purpose. The overall numbers therefore conceal wide variations by major origins and by purpose of trip.

EU Europe

The projections suggest that the number of EU trips to the South West will increase by 29% overall, with increases of 2% in nights and 4% in spend, reflecting the contraction in the average length of trip. Within the total:

• Holiday trips will increase by 23% and nights by 2%, while spend will still be 13% lower than at 2001

• Business tourism trips will increase by 41%, nights by 13% and spend by 24%

• Visits to friends and relatives will increase by 28%, but nights are expected to fall by 2% and spending by 19%

• Study visits are expected to increase by 22%, with nights by 6% and spend by 52%.

TABLE 2.18 EU tourists by purpose Holiday Business VFR Study Other Total

Volume of trips 2001 363,000 234,000 296,000 66,000 43,000 1,002,000 2006 385,000 271,000 335,000 70,000 46,000 1,107,000 2011 446,000 330,000 379,000 81,000 53,000 1,289,000

Volume of nights 2001 2,324,000 1,329,000 2,032,000 1,657,000 259,000 7,601,000 2006 2,241,000 1,379,000 2,012,000 1,635,000 257,000 7,524,000 2011 2,361,000 1,501,000 1,992,000 1,763,000 268,000 7,885,000 Value of spend (2001 value) 2001 £78,000,000 £86,000,000 £53,000,000 £55,000,000 £8,000,000 £280,000,000 2006 £67,000,000 £94,000,000 £48,000,000 £66,000,000 £8,000,000 £283,000,000 2011 £68,000,000 £107,000,000 £44,000,000 £86,000,000 £9,000,000 £314,000,000


North America

The projections suggest that the number of North America trips to the South West will increase by 33% overall, with increases of 8% in nights and 21% in spend. Within the total:

• Holiday trips will increase by 14%, but nights will fall by 10% and spend by 12%.


• Visits to friends and relatives will increase by 57%, nights by 18% and spending by 46%

• Study visits are expected to increase by 50%, with nights by 32% and spend staying the same, but from a very low base.

TABLE 2.19 North American tourists by purpose Holiday Business VFR Study Other Total Volume of trips 2001 205,000 57,000 117,000 2,000 9,000 390,000 2006 201,000 68,000 144,000 2,000 10,000 425,000 2011 234,000 87,000 183,000 3,000 12,000 519,000 Volume of nights 2001 790,000 228,000 825,000 50,000 62,000 1,955,000 2006 689,000 264,000 879,000 52,000 62,000 1,946,000 2011 709,000 328,000 973,000 59,000 69,000 2,138,000 Value of spend (2001 value) 2001 £46,000,000 £24,000,000 £27,000,000 £1,000,000 £2,000,000 £100,000,000 2006 £40,000,000 £30,000,000 £32,000,000 £1,000,000 £2,000,000 £105,000,000 2011 £41,000,000 £40,000,000 £40,000,000 £1,000,000 £3,000,000 £125,000,000

Other Europe

The projections suggest that the number of Other European trips to the South West will increase by 37% overall, with increases of 18% in nights and 20% in spend. Within the total:

• Holiday trips will increase by 23% and nights by 6%, but spend is likely to fall by 26%.





TABLE 2.20 Other European tourists by purpose Holiday Business VFR Study Other Total Volume of trips 2001 61,000 43,000 41,000 18,000 7,000 170,000 2006 65,000 54,000 48,000 19,000 7,000 193,000 2011 75,000 69,000 57,000 22,000 9,000 232,000 Volume of nights 2001 325,000 248,000 248,000 463,000 105,000 1,389,000 2006 321,000 294,000 258,000 499,000 112,000 1,484,000 2011 347,000 351,000 271,000 588,000 127,000 1,684,000 Value of spend (2001 value) 2001 £13,000,000 £19,000,000 £11,000,000 £23,000,000 £2,000,000 £68,000,000 2006 £10,000,000 £21,000,000 £15,000,000 £26,000,000 £2,000,000 £74,000,000 2011 £10,000,000 £24,000,000 £19,000,000 £34,000,000 £2,000,000 £89,000,000

Rest of world

The projections suggest that the number of trips from the rest of the world to the South West will increase by 38% overall, with increases of 32% in nights and 17% in spend. Within the total:

• Holiday trips will increase by 8% and nights by 13%, but spend is likely to fall by 13%.




TABLE 2.21 Rest of the world tourists by purpose Holiday Business VFR Study Other Total Volume of trips 2001 155,000 32,000 144,000 14,000 24,000 369,000 2006 151,000 36,000 189,000 15,000 26,000 417,000 2011 167,000 42,000 253,000 17,000 29,000 508,000 Volume of nights 2001 1,109,000 311,000 1,604,000 736,000 295,000 4,055,000 2006 1,106,000 341,000 1,929,000 830,000 329,000 4,535,000 2011 1,248,000 381,000 2,366,000 955,000 385,000 5,335,000 Value of spend (2001 value) 2001 £47,000,000 £32,000,000 £58,000,000 £34,000,000 £15,000,000 £186,000,000 2006 £41,000,000 £34,000,000 £69,000,000 £40,000,000 £16,000,000 £200,000,000 2011 £41,000,000 £38,000,000 £84,000,000 £47,000,000 £18,000,000 £228,000,000

Overseas tourism to the South West by purpose

It is clear from the individual projections for the main origin areas that the various sectors within the overseas market are likely to perform rather differently from each other over the next decade. In particular,

• The holiday sector is likely to be slow to recover from the impact of the national and international political and medical crises of the first few years of the decade. The number of nights will also reflect the decline in average trip length and of spend per night.


• The business tourism sector is likely to be the most robust of the market sectors in terms of growth.

• Visits to friends and relatives will also be relatively robust • Study visits will also show modest growth although the actual change is likely

to be particularly sensitive to changes in the exchange rate.

TABLE 2.22 Overseas trips by purpose in the South West Holiday Business VFR Study Other Total 2001 784,000 366,000 598,000 100,000 83,000 1,931,000 2002 793,000 377,000 621,000 100,000 83,000 1,974,000 2003 761,000 383,000 638,000 100,000 83,000 1,965,000 2004 766,000 396,000 662,000 102,000 84,000 2,010,000 2005 781,000 413,000 688,000 104,000 86,000 2,072,000 2006 802,000 429,000 716,000 106,000 89,000 2,142,000 2007 826,000 447,000 744,000 109,000 92,000 2,218,000 2008 850,000 467,000 774,000 112,000 94,000 2,297,000 2009 873,000 487,000 805,000 116,000 97,000 2,378,000 2010 897,000 507,000 838,000 120,000 99,000 2,461,000 2011 922,000 528,000 872,000 123,000 103,000 2,548,000 TABLE 2.23 Overseas nights by purpose in the South West Holiday Business VFR Study Other Total 2001 4,548,000 2,116,000 4,709,000 2,906,000 721,000 15,000,000 2002 4,530,000 2,139,000 4,791,000 2,905,000 730,000 15,095,000 2003 4,312,000 2,143,000 4,815,000 2,889,000 722,000 14,881,000 2004 4,278,000 2,174,000 4,894,000 2,909,000 730,000 14,985,000 2005 4,300,000 2,224,000 4,984,000 2,951,000 744,000 15,203,000 2006 4,357,000 2,278,000 5,078,000 3,016,000 760,000 15,489,000 2007 4,419,000 2,330,000 5,174,000 3,084,000 777,000 15,784,000 2008 4,477,000 2,385,000 5,275,000 3,152,000 794,000 16,083,000 2009 4,539,000 2,443,000 5,379,000 3,220,000 812,000 16,393,000 2010 4,601,000 2,500,000 5,489,000 3,292,000 830,000 16,712,000 2011 4,665,000 2,561,000 5,602,000 3,365,000 849,000 17,042,000 TABLE 2.24 Overseas spending by purpose in the South West (at 2001 values) Holiday Business VFR Study Other Total 2001 £184,000,000 £161,000,000 £149,000,000 £113,000,000 £27,000,000 £634,000,000 2002 £173,000,000 £164,000,000 £151,000,000 £115,000,000 £27,000,000 £630,000,000 2003 £161,000,000 £166,000,000 £152,000,000 £119,000,000 £27,000,000 £625,000,000 2004 £158,000,000 £169,000,000 £156,000,000 £122,000,000 £27,000,000 £632,000,000 2005 £158,000,000 £174,000,000 £160,000,000 £126,000,000 £28,000,000 £646,000,000 2006 £158,000,000 £179,000,000 £164,000,000 £133,000,000 £28,000,000 £662,000,000 2007 £158,000,000 £185,000,000 £168,000,000 £138,000,000 £28,000,000 £677,000,000 2008 £158,000,000 £190,000,000 £172,000,000 £146,000,000 £29,000,000 £695,000,000 2009 £160,000,000 £195,000,000 £176,000,000 £152,000,000 £30,000,000 £713,000,000 2010 £160,000,000 £202,000,000 £180,000,000 £160,000,000 £30,000,000 £732,000,000 2011 £160,000,000 £209,000,000 £187,000,000 £168,000,000 £32,000,000 £756,000,000 Note: VFR expenditure excludes any additional spending by host households. This could amount to £94 million by 2011.


Sub region projections

The future pattern of tourism in the sub regions of the South West will reflect the market mix within the region and the impact of changes in the market sectors within the region as a whole. Sub regions where the proportion of short breaks, business and vfr market in UK tourism, and of business and vfr in the overseas tourism, can be expected to enjoy faster than average growth. The projections assume that the sub regions will retain their market share of the individual sectors. TABLE 2.25 Avon UK tourists Overseas tourists Total Trips 2001 2,400,000 566,000 2,966,000 2006 2,932,000 613,000 3,545,000 2011 3,597,000 726,000 4,323,000 Nights 2001 6,409,000 4,223,000 10,623,000 2006 7,262,000 4,296,000 11,558,000 2011 8,320,000 4,717,000 13,037,000 Spend 2001 £346,000,000 £175,000,000 £522,000,000 2006 £404,000,000 £179,000,000 £583,000,000 2011 £479,000,000 £202,000,000 £681,000,000 TABLE 2.26 Cornwall UK tourists Overseas tourists Total Trips 2001 4,800,000 200,000 5,000,000 2006 5,512,000 215,000 5,727,000 2011 6,425,000 253,000 6,498,000 Nights 2001 22,743,000 1,475,000 24,218,000 2006 23,863,000 1,474,000 25,337,000 2011 25,324,000 1,609,000 26,933,000 Spend 2001 £980,000,000 £55,000,000 £1,035,000 2006 £1,034,000,000 £54,000,000 £1,088,000 2011 £1,104,000,000 £59,000,000 £1,163,000

TABLE 2.27 Devon UK tourists Overseas tourists Total Trips 2001 7,404,000 391,000 7,795,000 2006 8,498,000 430,000 8,928,000 2011 9,884,000 509,000 10,393,000 Nights 2001 28,844,000 3,518,000 32,362,000 2006 30,465,000 3,628,000 34,093,000 2011 32,567,000 3,991,000 36,558,000 Spend 2001 £1,184,000,000 £131,000,000 £1,315,000,000 2006 £1,263,000,000 £140,000,000 £1,403,000,000 2011 £1,364,000,000 £161,000.000 £1,525,000,000


TABLE 2.28 Dorset UK tourists Overseas tourists Total Trips 2001 4,001,000 261,000 4,262,000 2006 4,723,000 289,000 5,012,000 2011 5,632,000 342,000 5,974,000 Nights 2001 12,913,000 2,840,000 15,753,000 2006 13,947,000 2,942,000 16,889,000 2011 15,244,000 3,241,000 18,485,000 Spend 2001 £530,000,000 £134,000,000 £664,000,000 2006 £578,000,000 £146,000,000 £724,000,000 2011 £642,000,000 £169,000,000 £811,000,000 TABLE 2.29 Gloucestershire UK tourists Overseas tourists Total Trips 2001 1,602,000 179,000 1,781,000 2006 1,908,000 208,000 2,116,000 2011 2,289,000 251,000 2,540,000 Nights 2001 5,143,000 1,048,000 6,191,000 2006 5,716,000 1,103,000 6,819,000 2011 6,461,000 1,220,000 7,681,000 Spend 2001 £216,000,000 £50,000,000 £266,000,000 2006 £238,000,000 £51,000,000 £289,000,000 2011 £269,000,000 £59,000,000 £328,000,000

TABLE 2.30 Somerset UK tourists Overseas tourists Total Trips 2001 2,901,000 170,000 3,071,000 2006 3,423,000 193,000 3,616,000 2011 4,078,000 231,000 4,309,000 Nights 2001 9,746,000 1,037,000 10,783,000 2006 10,547,000 1,074,000 11,621,000 2011 11,563,000 1,184,000 12,747,000 Spend 2001 £415,000,000 £42,000,000 £457,000,000 2006 £455,000,000 £41,000,000 £496,000,000 2011 £507,000,000 £47,000,000 £554,000,000


TABLE 2.31 Wiltshire UK tourists Overseas tourists Total Trips 2001 1,499,000 160,000 1,659,000 2006 1,812,000 194,000 2,006,000 2011 2,205,000 236,000 2,441,000 Nights 2001 4,099,000 903,000 5,002,000 2006 4,595,000 971,000 5,566,000 2011 5,216,000 1,080,000 6,296,000 Spend 2001 £218,000,000 £48,000,000 £266,000,000 2006 £247,000,000 £50,000,000 £297,000,000 2011 £286,000,000 £59,000,000 £345,000,000

2.4 Day trips

UK tourism day trips

Tourism day trips from home, defined as those leisure trips starting from and finishing at home lasting 3 hours or more and taken on an irregular basis, are an important part of tourism activity in England. Data on such activity is more limited than for staying tourism with the latest available information relating to the 1998 UK Day Visits Survey, although data from 2002 should be available later this year. The available evidence suggests that town trips increased by between 4% and 6% per year in the ten years to 1998, with countryside trips increasing at a slower rate and coastal trips remaining the same or even falling in number. It is likely that the rate of growth over the next decade is likely to be slower in that:

• Available leisure time is not expected to increase significantly • Increasing congestion particularly in the urban areas will impact on travel

times and constrain growth in the volume of trips. In projecting future growth, it is therefore assumed that:

• Town trips will increase by around 2% per annum • Countryside trips will increase by around 1% per annum, after recovering to

pre foot and mouth levels in 2002/3 • Coastal trips will increase marginally at around 0.5% per annum.

Spend per trip will remain the same over the period at constant values. The projections suggest that the total number of tourism day trips will increase by 21%.


TABLE 2.32 Projected volume and value of tourism day trips in England Town trips Countryside

trips Coastal trips Total trips

Volume 2001 (estimate)

843,000,000 223,000,000 65,000,000 1,131,000,000

2006 931,000,000 253,000,000 67,000,000 1,250,000,000 2011 1,028,000,000 268,000,000 68,000,000 1,364,000,000 Value (£ million at 2001 value) 2001 (estimate)

£25,914 £3,630 £1,293 £30,837

2006 £28,619 £4,119 £1,323 £34,061 2011 £31,601 £4,363 £1,353 £37,317 Note: 2001 estimate derived from national tourist board forecast group. Taking account of further increases in population and changes in the structure of the population, the increases in tourism day trips could be a further 5% higher across the board above the base projection.

South West Tourism day trips

The South West accounts for around 13% of tourism day trips within England and around 12% of associated spending. The difference is accounted for by the higher proportion of coastal and countryside day trips in the South West, with a lower proportion of the higher spending city/town trips. Assuming that the current levels of market share are maintained, then tourism day trips are expected to increase from an estimated 148.5 million in 2001 to 177.5 million in 2011, with expenditure rising from £3,771 million to £4,528 million in 2011. The projections assume that the level of countryside trips will recover to pre foot and mouth levels by 2003. TABLE 2.33 Projected volume of tourism day trips in the South West (000s) Town Coast Country Total

2001 89,314 16,986 42,248 148,548 2002 91,115 17,064 44,332 152,511 2003 92,916 17,143 46,605 156,664 2004 94,823 17,221 46,984 159,029 2005 96,730 17,300 47,363 161,393 2006 98,637 17,378 47,932 163,947 2007 100,650 17,456 48,500 166,607 2008 102,663 17,535 49,068 169,267 2009 104,676 17,613 49,637 171,926 2010 106,795 17,692 50,205 174,692 2011 108,914 17,770 50,773 177,458


TABLE 2.34 Projected spending associated with tourism day trips in the South West (£million at 2001 value) Town Coast Country Total

2001 £2,746 £338 £688 £3,771 2002 £2,801 £339 £722 £3,862 2003 £2,856 £341 £759 £3,956 2004 £2,915 £343 £765 £4,022 2005 £2,973 £344 £771 £4,089 2006 £3,032 £346 £780 £4,158 2007 £3,094 £347 £790 £4,231 2008 £3,156 £349 £799 £4,303 2009 £3,218 £350 £808 £4,376 2010 £3,283 £352 £817 £4,452 2011 £3,348 £353 £827 £4,528


3 MARKET PROFILES AND OPPORTUNITIES

This section of the report explores tourism markets in more detail. It examines perceptions of the region, provides a detailed profile of the characteristics and requirements of key market segments, and highlights some strategic priorities and market opportunities for the South West that will help guide the overall strategy.

3.1 Perceptions of the South West

Understanding how people perceive the Region is fundamental to being able to market it effectively. If the message that is being put out runs counter to peoples’ own experience and belief then you are rolling stones uphill. To explore this in more detail we held focus group discussions amongst UK holiday/break takers in the Midlands and Thames & Chilterns area, both of which are important markets for the South West. We used these discussions to explore perceptions and attitudes to the South West amongst visitors1 and non visitors and different lifestage groups. The full report has been supplied to South West Tourism and key points are summarised below: • There was generally a very favourable response to the South West. Almost all the

respondents had visited the region on holiday at some stage in their lives and virtually all had positive and warm feelings about it. Many were making regular visits.

• This is not surprising, perhaps, as the South West is the nearest ‘holiday’ region

for these people. Although, it is worth noting that Wales, which is also close, has a much poorer image than the South West.

• When asked to rate the region against other regions in the UK, the South West

consistently scored above other UK regions for both breaks and holidays. However, the bottom line is that most people would prefer to holiday abroad rather than in the South West.

• It is important to note that the boundary of the South West Region has little

meaning for people. For our respondents, (and we suspect most other people) the South West primarily encompasses Devon and Cornwall, along with parts of Dorset and Somerset. Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are not seen as part of the South West, they belong to the Midlands or South East.

• Whilst people had taken breaks and holidays in all counties in the Region the

greatest familiarity and experience was of Cornwall and Devon. People were less aware and knowledgeable about Dorset and Somerset and knew even less about Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. This was true for both visitors and non-visitors. Experience and knowledge of the region increases with age; the pre-family groups in particular have very limited geographical knowledge and awareness.

1 Visitors defined as having visited the region for a break or holiday in the past three years.


Someone thought Bristol was in the north of England. This suggests that much destination marketing is falling on stony ground.

There were significant differences in attitudes and requirements amongst the different lifestage groups. These were more marked than differences between affluent and less affluent groups and visitors and non visitors. In general the more affluent groups took more holidays, more often and roamed further afield. Their aspirations, however, did not seem to differ markedly. Visitors were asked to write a postcard home setting out the positive and negative experiences of a recent stay in the South West. These are summarised in Table 3.1. Note that these comments are more likely to reflect experience of the west of Devon and Cornwall than of the Region as a whole. TABLE 3.1 Visitors’ experiences of the South West Positive features Negative features Pre-family Variety of things to see and do such as beaches and surfing, historic sites, Eden, views and walking, nightlife, pubs and clubs.

Pre-family Weather Quieter nightlife Accessibility

Family The sea, sandy beaches, surfing Beautiful scenery and sights Unique holiday atmosphere

Family Weather Poor accommodation and food Traffic and parking Higher cost compared to abroad

Post-family Scenery and sights, gardens, coastline, Food Weather

Post-family Cost and ease of parking Weather

Source: The focus groups

Why people don't visit the region

A proportion of the respondents were classed as ‘non visitors’, defined as not having visited the Region for at least three years. The main factors cited as stopping ‘non visitors’ from visiting the South West were as follows: • A lack of awareness of what there is on offer. There is a fear that there won’t be

enough to do or to keep children occupied. This becomes more important for a longer break or holiday and is more important for families and pre-family groups. People often remarked on the lack of marketing of the Region and felt they never came across any exposure of the Region or places within it compared to destinations abroad.

• The weather. This assumes more importance for longer holidays and breaks

where a spell of bad weather can ruin the holiday experience. Bad weather also


means that you end up spending more on entertainment as opposed to just lying on the beach. Abroad is a safer bet, especially for longer holidays.

• Cost. A holiday or break abroad is perceived to be cheaper than a holiday at

home. For the same price, accommodation is of a higher standard and food is cheaper. Cheap flights have made breaks abroad a cost effective option for many, and make holidays abroad appear cheaper.

• Distance/access. This is an important consideration for short breaks to Cornwall;

however the length and hassle of the car journey (and worries about congestion) is also a constraint for families with young children and post family groups where driving may be more of a chore.

What people think of the sub-regions

Because of the size and diversity of the Region we divided it into smaller areas to examine how perceptions varied between the different sub-regions.

Devon and Cornwall

There were positive views and responses and a good awareness and knowledge of the sub-region but significant differences between the lifestage groups in terms of what they were looking for. Pre-family: Limited knowledge of the area but many had positive memories of childhood holidays. Some appeal for longer breaks but not as holiday destination because of weather. Interest focuses on lively resorts and nightlife with mentions of Torquay and Newquay. The surfing associations of Newquay have made it a ‘cool’ and acceptable destination. Family: Too far for breaks but good for family holidays (main and additional) with plenty to do and interest the children and good scenery for the adults. Perceived to have better weather than elsewhere in the UK (but not as good as abroad). The coast is a key element in the appeal and the ability to move from north to south coast increases the range of possibilities. A good range and variety of accommodation but some concerns about quality and price. Post-family: Attractive for longer breaks and some week long holidays but abroad generally preferred for holidays because of guaranteed weather. Cornwall is too far for short breaks and access is a deterrent for some, so need to stay for longer to make it worthwhile. The area is distinctive and different from home, valued for its scenic beauty (coastline is important element of this) and gardens (Eden is big draw and much mentioned). Cornwall is known for its rugged coast, Devon is softer countryside. Range of accommodation but concerns about quality and price and lack of recognised brands.

Somerset and Dorset

There was less awareness of these counties and what they have to offer compared to Devon and Cornwall and people thus have less developed views and opinions. Dorset is better known (particularly amongst the London groups) and has more


appeal than Somerset, where the coast is seen as down-market (Weston, Minehead) and associated with holiday camps. Pre-family: Low awareness, although people wouldn’t rule it out if there was something to stimulate their interest. Access is easy and this is an ideal distance for short breaks. The London groups were enthusiastic about Bournemouth and Poole, which were seen as lively places with good shopping and nightlife. Somerset was chiefly associated with Minehad and Butlins (negative) and Glastonbury Festival (positive). It was assumed that there would be acceptable accommodation available. Family: No negative views but very little knowledge. Pleasant rural counties but no real hook to draw families to the area and no recall of specific attractions. Close enough for breaks but almost too close for holidays. Dorset generally seen as having more appeal than Somerset with better coast, and positive mentions of places such as Lyme Regis and Weymouth. An expectation there would be a range of suitable accommodation. Post family: Acceptable for short break and would consider, but limited awareness and knowledge of area so need a trigger. Less appeal than Devon and Cornwall. Dorset better known than Somerset, seen as pretty and picturesque. Positive mentions of Bournemouth, Lulworth, Purbeck, Lyme Regis and Weymouth and fossils, implying coastal strip is key strength. In contrast Somerset coast is seen as a negative. Wiltshire and Gloucestershire (including Bristol and Bath) There was limited awareness amongst these groups and the area was not seen as a tourist or holiday area. It was almost too accessible for short breaks (for these people) and more familiar as a day trip destination. There was much less interest in these counties than in Somerset and Dorset although there was a high awareness of the Cotswolds. The latter was seen as separate sub-region in its own right, not associated with either Gloucestershire or South West. There were positive views of Bristol and Bath as short break destinations. Pre-family: No awareness of area apart from Cotswolds and Stonehenge. Cotswolds seen as destination for older people or for a romantic weekend. With the exception of Bath and Bristol, which have positive appeal, no interest in taking short breaks in area. Family: Rather like home and not different enough to make visit worthwhile. Expected to have more limited accommodation as less geared up for tourism. Possible for short breaks but no real reason to visit, although Bath and Bristol seen in positive light. Post family: Strong and positive views about the Cotswolds, but not associated with Gloucestershire or SW. Bath and Bristol also mentioned as attractive for city breaks. Some positive views about both Wiltshire and Gloucestershire for short breaks from people who had visited, but non visitors see no reason to visit. Area perceived as very green with little towns and villages and less crowded than SE. The lack of a coastline is seen as a drawback compared to the other counties.


Other studies on perceptions of the Region

Other studies have also been carried out on perceptions of the Region, which provide some additional evidence and are worth examining: • Cornwall Non Visitor Survey 2002. This was a telephone survey of four market

segments carried out for the Cornwall Tourist Board. Non visitors were defined as people who had not visited Cornwall within the past 2 years.

• Tourism Brand Map Research 2000. Focus groups were held in the Midlands,

Thames Valley and Bristol to explore perceptions and awareness of the Region as a holiday destination. The study was carried out for SWT and SWRDA.

3.2 Segmenting the market

Market segmentation is the process of breaking the market down into discrete elements that share a common set of characteristics, needs or behaviours. The purpose of market segmentation is to improve the effectiveness of marketing by gaining a better understanding of what consumers want and delivering products which satisfy their needs. The more homogeneous the group, the easier this is. For segments to be of practical use they must be capable of being identified, measured and reached in a cost-effective way. There is a trade off between focussing on smaller and ever more tightly defined segments and the additional marketing cost of trying to reach them. The attraction of customer relationship marketing (CRM) is that it offers the prospect of being able to deliver a tailor-made product for a segment of one. There are lots of ways in which tourism markets can be segmented eg by trip purpose, age/sex, buyer behaviour, attitudes and values, geodemographic profiling (eg ACORN) etc. These are not mutually exclusive and there is no right or wrong way. The most appropriate approach will vary according to the circumstance, type of organisation and resources available. The real test is: does it deliver?

Current practice and future developments

Current practice in the Region has been influenced by the segmentation models developed by BTA and ETB in the 1990s, and pragmatic considerations such as resource constraints. There is little point in developing a sophisticated segmentation model if your only marketing activity is distribution of a single piece of print. In the questionnaire survey of DMOs (primarily local authorities), there were 33 responses on market segmentation. Of these 23 have undertaken market segmentation exercises generally in association with ETB/BTA. Bodies such as DACOM have been instrumental in initiating this for the overseas market. Some 29 authorities were able to identify priority market segments. • For the overseas market, the segments tend to be differentiated by country of

origin and then by some lifestage grouping such as empty nester, seniors, DINKS etc


• There is more variation in the segmentation of the domestic market, but typically

variables include lifestage (families, empty nesters), social class/wealth (ABs, affluent achievers), activities (golf/walkers), type of holiday (short breaks/cruises) and region of origin/catchment.

A number of points relating to market segmentation/market intelligence emerged from workshop discussions in January. There was not a particularly clear direction: • The level of sophistication and resources varies quite widely between authorities. • Some people are using the TARGET system or other geodemographic tools with

some success. (see below) • People are quite marketing driven and are more interested (because their jobs

depend upon it) in measuring effectiveness of marketing via enquiry rates and conversion rates and economic impact.

• There is a danger of over segmentation (eventually you get down to segments of one) – if you only have one piece of print then sophisticated segmentation is a bit of a luxury

• People do feel they need to know more about their customers and particularly those who don’t come. The industry would benefit from this wider understanding.

• There is an interest in understanding more about decision making and perceptions and brand recognition and what people want

• There is also a recognition that understanding market requirements has wider implications (ie product development) than just brochure production.

• There is an interest in working together with similar destinations to reach segments of common interest

• The main emphasis should be on domestic. Mustn’t forget VFR, groups and business tourism. It’s not just about holidays.

More recently the Regional Tourist Boards have developed the TARGET system which breaks the market down into 35 segments based on trip taking behaviour, household type and affluence drawing on data from UKTS. This can be used in conjunction with the CAMEO geodemographic classification to identify target markets and future prospects for destinations and sub regions. There have been various attempts over the past decade by the Tourist Boards to refine existing segmentation models by defining segments in terms of peoples’ core attitudes and values which drive behaviour. This approach acknowledges that whilst lifestage and affluence has a significant impact on behaviour there are other factors at work which are more fundamental, and better predict behaviour. Understanding peoples’ motivations and basic needs is clearly key to influencing their behaviour. To date this has not yielded a practical segmentation model but Visit Britain (the new tourism body for Britain) is in the process of developing a new classification system which, it is hoped, will provide a useful and practical tool. The details of this are not yet available but it will classify people in terms of whether they are innovators or more conservative in outlook, whether they are independent or follow the crowd etc. The segments will be linked to UKTS and other survey data and will provide an understanding of: • What people want to do on holiday • What they are looking for and what messages they are receptive to • How to reach them


Although this has been developed in the context of the domestic market it is likely that the same model will be adapted and applied to overseas markets.

Segmenting the market for the SW

Due to the timing of the above research (which began after our study and has not yet been released) it has not proved possible to apply the new segmentation approach to the SW. Neither did it seem sensible to develop a competing (less well funded) approach in the SW given that the Visit Britain study was underway and will no doubt act as the gold standard when it is launched. In the light of this dilemma, and given the resources available to us, we decided the most helpful approach was to adopt a relatively straightforward and robust approach to segmentation based primarily on trip purpose and lifecycle. Lifecycle and affluence are still the two key factors influencing and constraining trip taking behaviour. For each of these broad segments we have brought together key pieces of information about the size, value, requirements and motivations of the segment drawing on the focus group research, special tabulations of UKTS and other published material. We could have opted to look at smaller and more tightly focused segments but by doing so we would inevitably have missed the bigger picture. This is a starting point for understanding and describing tourism in the Region. Whilst this is as far as some people will need to go, other destinations and organisations will want to take this further and focus on subdivisions within these broad groupings and we have highlighted some of these where appropriate. Nevertheless, we feel this provides a useful reference and starting point for destinations and enterprises and helps focus where the strategic priorities lie for the region. The segments we have adopted are as follows: A1 General business tourism A2 Discretionary business tourism B VFR C1 Holiday/breaks pre-family C2 Holiday/breaks family C3 Holiday/breaks post family C4 Breaks 1-6 nights C5 Long holidays 7+ nights C6 Activity holidays

C7 Group holidays D1 USA D2 Australia D3 France D4 Germany D5 Ireland E1 Independent day visits E2 Group day visits

For each of these we have prepared a free-standing segment profile setting out: • Market definition • Market size and value • Importance to the South West • Areas and sectors which benefit • Market characteristics and profile • Trends and prospects • What the market wants • How to reach and influence the market • How the SW measures up • Key competitors • Where to find out more


These profiles contain both quantified and qualitative data. In preparing them we have drawn upon special tabulations of UKTS/IPS data, fresh qualitative research carried out for this study, previous research studies, ETC Insights and any other material we have found to be relevant. These profiles should be seen as templates which can be refined and developed over time as more information becomes available. We have tried wherever possible to relate this information to the South West although general market requirements are not necessarily region-specific. The segment profile fact sheets are presented as a separate section at the end of the document.

3.3 A market overview

Figure 3.1 shows the relative size of these market segments in the SW. The size of each circle is in proportion to the number of nights spent in the Region. This clearly underlines the dominance and importance of the holiday market. For the purposes of the segmentation exercise we have split the holiday market in a number of ways, by lifecycle (eg pre-family), by holiday type (eg activity/group) and by length of holiday (eg break/holiday). Note that in terms of the latter we have adopted a split of breaks (1-6 nights) and long holidays (7+nights) rather than the more usual split of 1-3 and 4+ nights which has been used as a basis for forecasting in chapter 2. We believe this represents a more useful way of looking at the holiday market and reflects the findings from the focus groups where there was a strong consensus that a holiday was at least a week away (ie 7+ nights) and anything else was a break. Under this definition, breaks lead the field in terms of the scale of visits and spend and are hugely important to the Region, although in terms of nights they are on a par with longer holidays. The holiday market as a whole is dominated by the family and post family groups, with the pre-family groups making a relatively modest contribution. Other sectors of tourism are much less significant but none the less play an important role in some areas. Overseas visits are small in terms of volume but rather more important in terms of value. VFR trips present the reverse picture whilst business tourism falls somewhere in between the two. Added together, overseas, VFR and business tourism exceed the volume and value of long holiday trips. Day trips are not shown in Fig 3.1 but it is worth noting that the overall estimated spending from day trips is not dissimilar to that from domestic staying visitors as a whole.


TABLE 3.2 Size and importance of SW segments Relevance to Segment

Trip

s (m

)

Nig

hts

(m)

Spen

d £m

Trip

Le

ngth

£/tri

p

£/ni

ght

SW m

arke

t Sh

are

%

Gro

wth

po

tent

ial

Rur

al

coas

t

Seas

ide

reso

rts

Inla

nd ru

ral

Prot

ecte

d ru

ral

Citi

es

tow

ns

Smal

l to

wns

A1 General business 2.1 6.1 452 2.9 215 74 10 H/M A2 Conferences.exhibitions 0.2 0.6 33 3.0 165 55 10 H/M B VFR 4.5 10.8 362 2.4 80 34 12 H C1 Pre-family holidays/breaks 2.6 7.9 450 3.0 173 57 14 M C2 Family holidays/breaks 6.2 28 1000 4.5 161 38 17 M/L C3 Post-family holidays/breaks 5.6 26 1000 4.6 178 38 20 H/M C4 Breaks 1-6 nights 12.8 37.2 1897 2.9 148 51 15 H C5 Holidays 7+ nights 4.1 34.5 1094 8.4 267 32 24 L C6 Activity holidays 2.3 8.0 281 3.5 122 35 13 M C7 Group holidays 0.7 3.2 170 4.5 243 53 23 M D Overseas total 1.9 15.0 634 7.9 334 42 8 M D1 USA 0.3 1.5 85 5 265 54 9 M D2 Australia 0.1 0.9 39 9 300 38 20 M D3 Germany 0.2 1.7 63 8 275 36 10 M/L D4 France 0.3 2.5 74 8 264 31 10 M/L D5 Ireland 0.15 0.8 40 5 265 51 8 M/L E1 Day visits 148 0 3771 - 26 - 13 M/L E2 Group day visits 4 0 90 - - M/L


We now look at the market opportunities provided by each of these segments in turn drawing on the information in the segment profiles. Key indicators are summarised in Table 3.2. In examining the potential of these we have looked at them in terms of: • The current importance of the segment in terms of its size and value and market

share • The attractiveness of the segment in terms of its growth potential, value, ability

to extend the season and relevance to destinations and businesses in the region • The feasibility of attracting the segment to the region given the product fit,

competition, cost of reaching the market and ability to influence it. The boxes below summarise the findings and highlight the main market opportunities. More detailed information will be found in the accompanying segment profiles.

Business tourism

A1 GENERAL BUSINESS TOURISM Trips: 2.1m Nights: 6.1m Spend: £452m Market share: 10% Attractiveness Feasibility Medium sized segment for the SW. High spending with good potential for growth and is counter seasonal to leisure tourism. Most parts of the Region will benefit although it is not evenly distributed. Particularly important in large towns and cities.

Difficult to influence the overall level of business tourism that is largely determined by external factors.

This is an important market region-wide although the SW market share is relatively low. The scope for action and influence is limited because levels of business activity are primarily driven by local economic activity. The main priority is to ensure that an adequate business tourism infrastructure is in place and that business visitors' needs are being met. The main market opportunity lies in building relationships with business visitors to encourage return leisure visits through loyalty schemes, special promotions and information. A2 DISCRETIONARY BUSINESS TOURISM Trips: 0.2m Nights: 0.6m Spend: £33m Market share: 10% Attractiveness Feasibility Discretionary business tourism (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) is a small, high value, niche market which is very important for a few destinations and enterprises, particularly some resorts and major towns/cities, but not widespread. It has good prospects for growth.

This is a market that is susceptible to influence and relatively cost effective to reach through third parties such as conference organisers. However, there is strong competition from within the UK and the SW is not especially rich in product and facilities. The main audience is likely to be domestic.

This is a small specialist market, not of general interest but very important to a few destinations and facilities. Because it is open to influence and valuable it is highly


sought after and quite competitive. This is not a major strength for the SW. The main market opportunities lie with: • Larger meetings of association and corporate conferences • Regional exhibitions • Incentive trips from Europe • Smaller day meetings taking place in hotels and other facilities.

Visits to friends and relatives

B VFR Trips: 4.5m Nights: 10.8m Spend: £362m Market share: 12% Attractiveness Feasibility Large segment but relatively low value. Of interest to all parts of region although more important in areas of high population density. Good potential for growth. Good seasonal spread.

The product is the people living in the region. Hard to influence overall volume but can encourage local spend. Reach through local population. No real competition.

This is an important market for the SW of interest to most places within the Region although there is limited scope to influence the level of activity and expand it. The main market opportunity lies with incentivising and encouraging local people to take their visitors out and about in the local area, generating spin-off for local attractions, pubs, restaurants etc. This is primarily the responsibility of destinations and local enterprises.

Domestic holidays

C1 PRE-FAMILY HOLIDAYS/BREAKS Trips: 2.6m Nights: 7.9m Spend: £450m Market share: 14% Attractiveness Feasibility Medium sized segment for the SW. Primarily interested in short breaks so some growth potential. High spend per night reflecting breaks. Less concentration in summer peak than other holidays. Relevant to much of Region with most interest in cities/ resorts.

Low awareness of region and not great product fit. Lot of competition from UK and abroad. Internet is good medium to reach this group.

This is the smallest of the holiday segments for the SW and is the most difficult to attract given the low awareness and interest. However, it is important that the SW doesn't lose contact with this group because it forms potential visitors for the future. There is no point trying to sell holidays to this segment, the main market opportunities lie with: • Weekend city and resort breaks, based around entertainment, youth culture and

events aimed at young singles/couples aged 18-25. • Adrenalin and extreme sports have strong appeal to this group. • Romantic, shopping and city breaks aimed at older (25-35) couples


• Capitalising on the appeal of key locations and attractions which already have a strong resonance in this market such as Newquay, Bath and Bournemouth

C2 FAMILY HOLIDAYS Trips: 6.2m Nights: 28m Spend: £1000m Market share: 17% Attractiveness Feasibility Large and valuable segment for the SW which has above average market share. Medium growth prospects but lower than for other holiday sectors. Heavily concentrated in summer peak. Bias towards coast and west of Region.

Positive attitude to SW for both holidays and breaks. Good product match and relatively easy to reach market. Strong competition from destinations abroad for holidays.

This is a key segment for the SW which has a higher than average market share of the UK market. The family segment is already favourably disposed to the SW and has a positive view of the Region, albeit primarily focussed on Devon and Cornwall and to a lesser extent Dorset and Somerset. This market is looking for good value, no hassle, holidays and breaks in attractive settings with a range of activities to keep the children occupied and happy even if it rains. This segment will travel for breaks and longer holidays although many would go abroad by preference. The main opportunities lie with: • Less affluent families taking main summer holidays seeking resorts and self

catering accommodation on or near the coast • More affluent families taking week long additional holidays in the shoulder

periods, half term, Christmas/New Year. Countryside and coast, generally self catering.

• Weekend and longer 4/5 day breaks aimed at all groups throughout the region, Easter to October and making use of serviced and self catering accommodation.

C3 POST-FAMILY HOLIDAYS Trips: 5.6m Nights: 26m Spend: £1000m Market share: 20% Attractiveness Feasibility A large and valuable segment for the SW with a high market share. Good growth prospects, slightly less seasonally peaked than family holiday market and widespread relevance across region.

Good product fit although abroad is seen as preferred destination by many. Good level of product knowledge and awareness with breaks being driven by special offers. Reach through traditional media.

This is a key segment for the SW which already has a high market penetration. The post-family segment has a positive view of the Region and a good level of product awareness and is set to increase in size. This group puts a high premium on value for money and quality and many will also be holidaying and increasingly taking breaks abroad. They are looking for scenery, interest and soft activities and are primarily interested in serviced accommodation. The main market opportunities are: • Bargain breaks of any length (2-5 days) outside the main summer season, in

good quality serviced accommodation. Special offers are a key driver for these. • Week long holidays outside the school holidays, primarily in serviced

accommodation.


All sections of this market are susceptible. The empty-nesters and newly retireds are serial holidaytakers and will take holidays abroad as well as in the UK. The 'silver-greys' (70+) take less holidays but are more likely to take them at home. C4 BREAKS (1-6 nights) Trips: 12.8m Nights: 37m Spend: £1897m Market share: 15% Attractiveness Feasibility Excellent growth potential, high value and volume and SW has reasonable market share. Less seasonally peaked than main holidays and wide relevance across the Region.

Short lead times and less destination focused than long holidays. Wide appeal to all groups but significant competition from abroad and other UK destinations. Susceptible to special offers and promotions

The breaks market is huge and growing and the SW is relatively well placed to attract this business although it doesn't have a particularly high market share at present. The main market is for people within a 2 to 3 hour drive time of the Region and 25% of breaks originate from within the Region itself. The main market opportunities are: • Weekend breaks aimed at pre-family segments based in towns/resorts • Weekend breaks aimed at families in family friendly hotels and self catering

accommodation • Weekend and mid week breaks aimed at the post-family group in good quality

hotels C5 HOLIDAYS (7+ nights) Trips: 4.1m Nights: 34.5m Spend: £1094m Market share: 24% Attractiveness Feasibility An important segment for the SW, which has a very high market share in this sector. Spend per trip is quite high because of reasonable length of stay. Growth prospects are limited however. Most relevance to seaside and countryside and to the west of the Region. Quite seasonal.

The SW has a good reputation for long holidays although faces significant and increasing competition from abroad. Long holidaytakers are more destination focused than break takers and can be influenced.

This is an important segment for the SW, which has a strong presence in the marketplace. However the market as a whole is in decline and so it may be hard to grow this segment other than by increasing market share. The key market opportunities for the SW lie in: • Main summer holidays in July and August aimed at less affluent families focused

on self catering accommodation. • Additional and secondary holidays aimed at more affluent families in the shoulder

period and school holidays. Primarily self catering. • Holidays of a week or so aimed at the post family market outside school holidays

using serviced accommodation and self catering.


C6 ACTIVITY AND SPECIAL INTEREST HOLIDAYS Trips: 2.3m Nights: 8.0m Spend: £281m Market share: 13% Attractiveness Feasibility Medium sized segment but not particularly high spend. Less seasonally peaked than holidays as a whole and can attract people on the back of the activity. Modest growth expected. Huge range of potential activities so potentially relevant to most parts of the Region.

Good product fit but Region has only average market share. Strong competition. Relatively easy to reach market but complicated by wide range of activities with small markets for each. The internet is an important tool for reaching small niche interests.

Activity holidays are an important sector of holiday tourism but also highly fragmented. Outside the main activities the market for a particular sport or interest is often tiny. The main market opportunities are: • DIY activity holidays where people make their own arrangements. The need

primarily is about raising awareness and providing information to enable people to construct their own packages. The main demand is for the big activities of walking, cycling, golf, fishing and watersports.

• Inclusive packages covering a wide range of interests and activities provided by a host of small operators.

• Informal activity programmes for people to access whilst on holiday. This is particularly important for children and families. Primarily the responsibility of destinations and local enterprises

• Activities where the SW has a competitive edge such as surfing and watersports, where it can develop a high profile and reputation

C7 DOMESTIC GROUP HOLIDAYS Trips: 0.7m Nights 3.2m Spend: £168m Market share: 24% Attractiveness Feasibility A small market where the SW has a very high market share. Although renowned for being price sensitive, spend per trip is relatively high. Less seasonal than holidays as a whole and well spread throughout the Region. Particularly important for resorts and larger hotels. Potential for further growth.

The SW has a good product fit and is competitive with other parts of the UK although there is increasing competition from abroad. The market is relatively cheap to reach via intermediaries.

This is a relatively small and specialised market but one where the SW has traditionally performed well and has a high market share. The market has proved to be more resilient than many thought and appears to be surviving quite well. The key market is the less affluent over 55s on 4/5 day breaks and longer (7+) holidays. These are primarily centred holidays with day excursions rather than touring holidays.


Overseas tourism

D OVERSEAS VISITORS Trips: 1.9m Nights:15.0m Spend: £634m Market share: 8% Attractiveness Feasibility A medium size segment for the SW which has a low market share of overseas tourism, much of which is focused on London. High spend per trip. Has shown significant growth in past but recent events have depressed inbound tourism. Modest growth projected in future. Not evenly spread throughout the Region. Quite seasonal.

Product is OK but generally low awareness of Region in overseas markets. Significant competition from other destinations in UK and abroad. Expensive and difficult to reach.

Overseas tourism is relatively high spend but forms a small proportion of tourism in the SW. Half of this is accounted for by business and VFR tourism which is less discretionary than holiday tourism. Recent events have temporarily halted the long term growth of overseas tourism. Five countries (USA, Australia, Germany, France and Ireland) account for over half (60%) of the Region's overseas tourism. There is a clear distinction between short haul and long haul visitors. The latter are far more likely to visit the SW as part of a longer tour of the UK, whilst visitors from Europe are more likely to treat the SW or the SW/Southern England as a destination in itself. The main market opportunities are: • Long haul destinations: Seniors, empty nesters and young singles/couples

visiting the UK on an extended tour and including the SW as part of the itinerary. • Western Europe: All age groups.

Day visits

E1 LEISURE DAY VISITS Trips: 148m Nights: 0 Spend: £3771m Market share: 13% Attractiveness Feasibility Numerically large market and significant spend, although much of it is movement by people living within the region. Further growth is likely to be limited. Quite seasonal but affects all parts of region benefit.

Good product but competitive market. Can be difficult and expensive for individual attractions to reach the market.

This is a very important market for the SW by virtue of its size and spend but is also very broad covering all age groups and social classes and encompassing a wide range of activities. It is the lifeblood of many visitor attractions, generates income for shops, pubs, restaurants and entertainment facilities and underpins the economy of some destinations. Day visitor activity often helps support tourism infrastructure used by staying visitors. At a strategic level much day visiting is simply moving spending around the Region from one place to another. The main incentive and responsibility for stimulating this market lies with destinations and individual attractions.


E2 GROUP DAY VISITS Trips: 4m Nights: 0 Spend: £90m Market share: Attractiveness Feasibility Small market but important for some attractions and destinations. Limited potential for further growth. Quite seasonal.

Good product but competitive market and price sensitive. Easy and cost effective to reach via intermediaries.

A relatively small market and modest value although it equates to the same spend as made by USA visitors. Much of this is internally generated within the Region, although organised day visitors will travel further than independent day visitors. Primarily of interest to visitor attractions, retail and catering sector and certain destinations. There are several distinct market segments: • Outings from clubs, retirement groups etc with strong bias to the older age groups • Coach operator excursions from home and holiday destinations which tend to be

relatively downmarket • School and education trips

3.4 Strategic priorities

It is not possible to agree a set of market priorities that will apply to all destinations and enterprises in the SW. Market priorities will inevitably vary according to local circumstances. What makes sense for a hotel in Swindon will not be appropriate for a caravan site in West Cornwall or a district council in Dorset. It is up to individual operators and places to determine their own market strategy in the light of their own experience and knowledge. Nevertheless, from a regional perspective it is possible to begin to identify some broad strategic priorities which might form the basis for a marketing strategy. Figure 3.2 shows the various market segments discussed above plotted by market share and growth potential. The size of the circles are proportional to the value of the segment. Segments where the Region has a high market share indicate that the SW has been successful in attracting that market in the past and perhaps has some competitive advantage. In an ideal world the Region would be best advised to target segments which are valuable, have the best growth potential and where it has a high market share. On this basis, the post family holiday market looks like a good proposition, as do coach holidays although they are only a small market. Breaks are attractive because of the growth potential although the Region does not have a particularly high market share. It does well in long holidays in terms of market share although growth prospects look weak. Many of the other market segments are really quite small in terms of value.


In the light of the preceding analysis and the information contained in the segment profiles we have distinguished between three broad categories of market priority and significance which might form a basis for future marketing strategy. We have divided these into: • Primary markets • Secondary markets • Support markets

Primary regional markets

These are the main drivers of tourism in the SW, have widespread importance right across the Region and offer the best potential for future growth and prosperity. It is critical to get these right and, whilst much of the marketing will be done at the level of the sub-region and below, regional co-ordination and input will be required. Key market opportunities and products will be: • Weekend breaks aimed at the pre-family market • Breaks of any length and additional holidays aimed at the post family market • Breaks and additional holidays aimed at affluent families • Main summer holidays aimed at less affluent families • Breaks and holidays aimed at key Western Europe markets

Secondary regional markets

These are smaller niche markets which are of less value and significance in themselves or of interest only to a small number of destinations and enterprises. Although their impact is less they are nevertheless important because they add diversity, spread the risk and create new opportunities. The market segments in this category consist of: • Activity holidays • Discretionary business tourism • Coach holidays

To which we might also add segments such as: • Cruise ships • Language schools

Supporting regional markets

These are importance sectors of tourism and help support the tourism infrastructure and many enterprises but there is relatively little that can be done at a regional or sub-regional level to influence them. Action is primarily down to the level of the enterprise or destination. These include: • General business tourism • VFR • Independent and group day trips


4 TOURISM INDUSTRY SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION

This chapter examines the supply side of tourism in the South West. It considers: • The size and composition of the tourism industry • The distribution of the product across the South West region The first sections looks at accommodation enterprises. This is followed by a consideration of visitor attractions and activity tourism operators. Next, evidence on the significance of the retail and catering sector is presented. Finally, some quantitative evidence on the supply side of the tourism industry over the last few years, based on the Standard Industry Classification system, is given.

4.1 Accommodation

A starting point for quantifying the volume of accommodation is to examine and ‘test’ the accuracy of the TRIPS database for the South West region. TRIPS is the most comprehensive source of information on tourism accommodation. At the end of 2002, there were 16,629 commercial accommodation establishments on the database across the whole of the South West region. Table 4.1 shows a breakdown of accommodation stock for the South West by county and type of establishment. Tables 4.2 and 4.3 give an indication of the accommodation capacity, in terms of serviced accommodation bedspaces, self-catering units and holiday park pitches or units. It is widely agreed that the TRIPS database does not provide an accurate measure of the actual amount of accommodation on the ground. There are a number of reasons for this: • New establishments are not automatically entered onto the database if they are

not inspected. • To a degree, TRIPS is reliant on receiving information about new stock from

external sources for whom providing this data may not be a priority. • Regular contact is maintained with inspected properties to update information on

business changes and developments. Nevertheless, because this process is cyclical, at any one time there may be out-of-date information on a proportion of establishments.

• Non-inspected properties are sent a short questionnaire to help up-date TRIPS information but there is little incentive for them to return these forms, regardless of whether the business is operational or has ceased trading.

• There are a number of systems in place to ‘clean’ and update the database but given the volume of entries only a proportion of the database can be up-to-date at any one time and TRIPS may include operators that have ceased trading. These anomalies are more likely, though not exclusively, to relate to smaller serviced establishments.


TABLE 4.1 Total number of accommodation enterprises by county Cornwall Devon Dorset Form Avon Gloucs. Somerset Wiltshire TOTAL Hotel 430 790 327 161 173 199 139 2,219 Inn 63 132 56 17 81 101 76 526 Guesthouse 329 511 369 107 76 169 58 1,619 B&B 314 458 471 225 346 423 335 2,572 Serviced Farm 71 117 37 14 55 74 48 416 Self catering 2,895 2,793 1,232 213 429 661 187 8,410 Holiday park 247 198 116 23 29 106 26 745 Holiday centre 6 10 4 1 0 3 0 24 University and College 1 2 0 3 2 1 0 9 Youth and Group accom 19 25 15 8 9 12 1 89 TOTAL establishments 4,375 5,036 2,627 772 1,200 1,749 870 16,629

TABLE 4.2 Serviced accommodation capacity (bedspaces)

Cornwall Devon Dorset Form Avon Gloucs. Somerset Wiltshire TOTAL Hotel 19,835 33,900 20,015 12,914 8,250 5,467 7,303 107,684 Inn 1,079 1,706 804 182 1,199 1,121 710 6,801 Guesthouse 5,249 8,610 7,267 1,635 920 1,218 603 25,502 B&B 3,158 4,391 3,740 2,633 2,375 2,368 1,987 20,652 Serviced Farm 563 864 247 109 421 501 301 3,006 TOTAL serviced BEDSPACES 29,884 49,471 32,073 17,473 13,165 10,675 10,904 163,645

TABLE 4.3 Indicative size of other types of accommodation

Cornwall Devon Dorset Form Avon Gloucs. Somerset Wiltshire TOTAL Self catering UNITS 6,584 7,029 2,135 587 661 982 264 18,242 Holiday park STATIC UNITS 9,921 7,366 2,902 140 53 1,267 0 21,649 Holiday park TOURING PITCHES 20,082 16,696 10,073 1,345 3,483 6,463 1,443 59,585 Holiday Centre CAPACITY 10,406 8,642 5,032 580 0 12,018 0 36,678 Uni/ College BEDSPACES 88 2,952 0 3,626 1,122 180 0 7,968 Youth/Group BEDSPACES 1,144 1,277 1,414 645 538 1,640 70 6,728


Local authority monitoring and recording procedures

The level of checking of accommodation statistics and records varies considerable between local authorities. Most rely on the TRIPS data for summary statistics of their accommodation stock. A few undertake ad-hoc audits in house (sometimes motivated by Best Value requirements) or research in conjunction with locally based colleges. This checking may involve physical checking (in a very few cases) or cross-checking with other data sources such as commercial guides, Yellow Pages and the internet. None of the tourism officers we contacted had supported their research methods with telephone or face to face contact with accommodation operators within their districts. As a result, only the volume of businesses are measured and not their capacity, which cannot be determined without operator contact. Bournemouth reality checking One of the most robust research exercises appears to have been undertaken by Bournemouth Tourism, in association with The Market Research Group based within Bournemouth University. This research took place over a four week period and unearthed 270 establishments within five pre-defined districts. The survey was conducted on foot, with students following pre-determined routes. The on-street data was matched against published data (accommodation guide and yellow pages) and anomalies (additions or subtractions to the expected stock levels) were checked again during further on-street research work. None of the accommodation operators were contacted directly during this process. Bournemouth Tourism commented that this method worked particularly well within concentrated residential areas. It also enabled them to take into account seasonal operators that may offer rooms for rental on a non-formalised basis during the main holiday season. Bournemouth Tourism undertook a similar methodology within the district of Purbeck, which is a rural district on the South Coast. The provision of accommodation within Purbeck is less concentrated and the “on-foot” methodology used in Bournemouth was replaced by “in-car” survey teams. Once the survey had been completed it was acknowledged that it had been valuable to physically check the local area in person. However, overall, it was felt the exercise was less successful than the Bournemouth survey because of the less densely populated guest accommodation provision. This exercise revealed that the TRIPS database underestimated the actual amount of accommodation in both areas.

Weaknesses in accommodation records and statistics

The following problems with accommodation data and sources of information were identified in the course of our study: • Difficulties in keeping up to date. Many accommodation establishments are very

small lifestyle businesses that dip in and out of trading. • Bias towards inspected accommodation. Local authorities acknowledge that they

should have a clear understanding of all accommodation in order to monitor


standards and address supply and demand issues. However, the inclusion of graded-only accommodation within local authority accommodation guides often means that un-graded accommodation is lost/removed from best value led counting systems. This may even include large group based hotels or travel lodges.

• Occasional fudging of boundaries, for example where an urban area may be

served by a hotel on the outskirts that may be in a neighbouring district. This may lead to double counting.

• Particular inconsistency in the way self-catering accommodation is counted and

classified. Self catering units are variously not included, only included if they are let privately and not through agencies, or listed but with a caveat indicating not complete.

• Accommodation guides are invariably not comprehensive owing to use of paid

entries or inspected only accommodation. Business directories are also found to be incomplete. In particular, properties let by self-catering agencies, or corporate branded hotels with their own marketing media, are often not listed. Our experience is supported by Bournemouth Tourism’s recent research findings, which stated that between 20-30% of accommodation providers are not featured in either the main accommodation guide or Yellow Pages.

• Inconsistency in the classification of enterprises into different types, including:

- Lack of clarity in what is meant by self-catering, static vans, holiday centres etc. Some enterprise may qualify as more than one type, leading to double counting.

- Smaller hotel operators ‘downgrading’ their property to guest-house status, feeling that their market position is stronger as a 5 diamond property than a one or two star hotel.

- No clear distinction between a B&B and a guesthouse. - Serviced and self catering being offered flexibly by the same enterprise,

leading to double counting.

Testing the TRIPS database

An investigation of the accuracy of the TRIPS database was undertaken by us via an in-depth study of accommodation and bed-stock provision in three separate areas. The following areas were chosen because they provided a good representation of the towns, countryside and coastal locations within the South West region. • Kerrier, on the Cornwall Peninsula - essentially a rural inland and coastal district,

without major resorts. • North Devon district, which has an established county town (Barnstaple) and a

developed coastal strip from Braunton around to Lynton, which includes Ilfracombe as the main traditional seaside town.

• Cheltenham in Gloucestershire - an historic Spa town with an established, non-coastal tourism product.

The accommodation stock within each area was researched through desk based secondary research methods. Published sources such as accommodation guides and Yellow Pages were systematically checked. Substantial web-based research was also undertaken to check the data within published guides, or to source accommodation operators that only undertake web-based promotions. Direct


telephone contact was also made with operators where necessary, to check whether businesses were trading and to establish bed-space capacity where this was in doubt. Over 500 serviced accommodation providers were contacted together with a substantial number of the over 1,500 non-service providers. From a sample of 400 of the establishments contacted, it was found that: • 74 had ceased trading. • 50 were not listed on the database, mostly being very small. This reveals the propensity for TRIPS both to overestimate reality by retaining establishments that no longer exist, and to underestimate it by failing to pick up some places that exist. Turning to the complete audit of the enterprises we found, Table 4.4 shows how this compares with TRIPS. TABLE 4.4 TRIPS data vs Consultant Research

Establishments Capacity

Kerrier

Serviced TRIPS underestimates by 28% by 20% Self-catering TRIPS underestimates by 34% by 25%

N Devon

Serviced TRIPS overestimates by 7% by 24% Self-catering TRIPS underestimates by 42% by 29%

Cheltenham

Serviced TRIPS overestimates by 26% by 20% The above table does not include holiday parks (camping, caravanning and holiday centres). Here there was also found to be significant differences between TRIPS and our survey, but as parks tend to be few in number but are very sizeable in terms of capacity, the inclusion or exclusion of just one or two parks seriously affects percentage differences and so quantification can be very misleading. These figures need to be treated with extreme caution and the exercise revealed the dangers of over-reliance on either set of data. However the broad indications are that: • TRIPS may underestimate self-catering. This may be due to the effect of self-

catering agencies and probably is mainly felt at the very small end of the market such as one unit enterprises, so underestimation in capacity will be less than in enterprise numbers. There may also be a small effect of serviced accommodation converting to self-catering in resorts that may not be picked up (this was found in N Devon).

• TRIPS may underestimate or overestimate serviced accommodation, depending

on location. In N Devon, some small lower quality hotels and guest houses had ceased trading or converted to self-catering.

Revisions made by local authorities

Towards the end of 2002, South West Tourism asked local authorities to revise the TRIPS statistics based on their local knowledge, where possible, as part of the


Cambridge economic impact model study. New figures were submitted by all counties, except Cornwall. In some cases, there were no changes made, or these were insignificant. This exercise revealed the great difficulty that local authorities have in making such revisions. Of all the parts of the region, the unitary authorities in former Avon appear to be keeping the closest check on accommodation establishments. Changes made for the Avon area suggested: • TRIPS had been moderately accurate with respect to serviced accommodation,

but nevertheless overestimating numbers (there are now fewer B&B and inns) but underestimating capacity (possibly owing to new or extended hotels).

• In total, self-catering had been underestimated by TRIPS, especially in terms of

capacity, but this may have been particularly affected by the definition of caravan sites/holiday parks and under-counting by TRIPS in this sector, which can make a big difference to figures.

Conclusions on accommodation enumeration

This is an area fraught with difficulty. Our investigation has only really served to reveal the unreliability of existing records of known accommodation stock. It is impossible to make a comprehensive and reliable reassessment of TRIPS across the region. If it is felt important to have accurate knowledge of the total amount of accommodation in the area, outwith the inspection scheme, then a new, systematic checking programme on the ground would have to be introduced with the cooperation of DMOs and the private sector, possibly under the auspices of EnglandNet. Even this would not be fully accurate as operators change working practices at short notice and vary supply according to market need through the addition of extra beds on a short-term basis. At the moment, TRIPS provides the only basis for forming a view of total accommodation stock. It provides no more than a partial picture, variously over and under estimating enterprise numbers and capacity across counties and by types of accommodation and location. Taking the region as a whole, we reckon that TRIPS may underestimate serviced accommodation by between 5% and 10% (though it will overestimate it in some places) and may underestimate non-serviced accommodation by up to 20%.

Distribution of accommodation

The following main patterns emerge from the revised TRIPS database. • Hotels and inns together account for under 40% of serviced accommodation

enterprises, with 60% being B&B/guest houses. However, 70% of serviced accommodation capacity is supplied by hotels and inns. This ignores group and campus accommodation.

• There is more self-catering than serviced accommodation in the region, both in

terms of number of enterprises and total bedspace capacity.


• There is far more accommodation of all types in the three counties of Devon,

Cornwall and Dorset than in the other counties. • Devon has significantly the most hotel and guest house capacity, followed by

Dorset and then Cornwall. The amount of serviced accommodation in Cornwall and Dorset is fairly similar.

• Bed and breakfast establishments are more evenly spread across all seven

counties, with the most in Dorset and Devon. • Devon has twice as much farm accommodation as other counties, followed by

Cornwall and then Somerset. There is relatively little farm accommodation in Dorset and Wiltshire.

• There is most touring caravan capacity in Cornwall. • There are huge numbers of small self-catering establishments in the region with

one or a handful of units, especially in Devon and Cornwall.

Inspected and quality graded accommodation

More certainty rests in the field of accommodation that is inspected and quality graded. A breakdown of this accommodation by county is provided in Table 4.5. There is variation between sectors, particularly in the average grade awarded to inspected accommodation. Hotels have the lowest average grade (2.9), while holiday parks have the highest (3.9). Serviced farms appear be highly engaged, with on average 82.9% of known stock having been inspected, achieving an average grade of 3.7. Each county has strengths in different sectors: Cornwall has above average grades for B&Bs, serviced farms and holiday parks, and has over half its inns within the inspection scheme. Devon has above average grades for B&B and holiday parks, although it has low participation rates in the inspection scheme in a number of sectors. Dorset has high participation rates for hotels, self-catering and holiday parks, and an above average grade for inns. In former Avon, hotels are of a slightly higher average grade, but their guesthouses, serviced farms and holiday parks perform less well .


TABLE 4.5 Inspected and quality graded accommodation by county Cornwall Devon Dorset Form Avon Gloucs Somerset Wiltshire TOTAL Hotels 430 790 327 161 173 199 139 2219 Total inspected 227 421 202 83 103 94 65 1195 Inspected as % known stock 52.8 53.3 61.8 51.6 59.5 47.2 46.8 53.9 Average grade 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.1 2.9 2.9 3.2 2.9 Inns 63 132 56 17 81 101 76 526 Total inspected 37 35 13 7 33 37 24 186 Inspected as % known stock 58.7 26.5 23.2 41.2 40.7 36.6 31.6 35.4 Average grade 3.1 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.0 3.5 3.2 B&Bs 314 458 471 225 346 423 335 2572 Total inspected 158 173 205 114 195 193 146 1184 Inspected as % known stock 50.3 37.8 43.5 50.7 56.4 45.6 43.6 46.0 Average grade 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.6 Guest houses 329 511 369 107 76 169 58 1619 Total inspected 104 191 127 37 43 65 22 589 Inspected as % known stock 31.6 37.4 34.4 34.6 56.6 38.5 37.9 36.4 Average grade 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.5 Serviced Farms 71 117 37 14 55 74 48 416 Total inspected 59 90 30 12 48 67 39 345 Inspected as % known stock 83.1 76.9 81.1 85.7 87.3 90.5 81.3 82.9 Average grade 3.8 3.6 3.7 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.7 3.7 Self catering 2,895 2,793 1,232 213 429 661 187 8,410 Total inspected 1031 855 701 81 228 231 95 3222 Inspected as % known stock 35.6 30.6 56.9 38.0 53.1 34.9 50.8 38.3 Average grade 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.4 3.5 3.3 Holiday parks 247 198 116 23 29 106 26 745 Total inspected 112 95 72 10 10 44 9 352 Inspected as % known stock 45.3 48.0 62.1 43.5 34.5 41.5 34.6 47.2 Average grade 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.6 3.8 3.9 3.9


Gloucestershire performs well across the board, with particular quality strengths in the B&B, guest house and self-catering sectors: by contrast, its holiday parks perform less well. Somerset has no sectors that are either particularly strong or particularly weak. Wiltshire has strengths in the average quality grade of its hotels, inns and holiday parks, although its B&Bs perform slightly less well than other areas.

4.2 Visitor attractions and activities

We estimate that there are just over 1,000 attractions in the South West region. Table 4.6 presents these attractions within 13 categories and shows how they are dispersed across the region. We have cross-referenced the list of attractions on both databases with the British Tourist Authority's Visit Britain website and have made other minor adjustments as appropriate and based on our knowledge of the regional attraction product. We also note that The Heart of England Tourist Board TRIPS for Gloucestershire included a number of entries that are either not usually categorised as visitor attractions e.g. town centre locations, or which provide an illustrative list of supply only (principally relating to pubs and restaurants). These entries have been excluded for consistency with the other Counties. Notwithstanding, the table of attractions overleaf is not considered to be definitive.

Attraction Categories

The South West tourism attraction product is strongly heritage-led. Museums/galleries comprise the largest category, accounting for 25% of attractions, followed by historic houses/castles (16% of all attractions) and other historic/archaeological sites (12%).


TABLE 4.6 Tourist attractions in the South West Region

Devon Cornwall Glos. Somerset Wiltshire Dorset Avon Total Museums/art galleries 53 38 37 31 25 35 23 242 Historic houses/castles 47 24 27 17 16 27 5 163 Other historic/archaeological sites 12 30 17 14 19 11 8 111 Gardens 20 43 10 10 11 15 5 114 Workplaces 24 13 13 18 0 13 3 83 Wildlife attractions/zoos 18 13 6 10 0 10 2 60 Natural heritage visitor attractions 14 5 8 4 5 3 5 44 Visitor/heritage centres 11 7 9 7 2 3 5 45 Farms 13 5 9 5 3 4 1 40 Places of worship 8 2 7 4 3 5 6 35 Leisure/theme parks and attractions 8 10 3 4 1 5 2 33 Steam/heritage railways 8 5 6 3 1 1 0 24 Boat trip 7 2 0 1 1 0 2 13 Total 243 171 152 128 87 132 67 1006 Source: TRIPS databases (South West Tourism, Heart of England of Tourist Board) + revisions.


We note that TRIPS database does not list commercial art galleries. The TRIPS list of 21 galleries for the whole of the South West (not including Gloucestershire) under-represents the significance of the broader gallery sector within some areas. For example, The Tate, St Ives, has contributed to a growing trend for commercial art galleries in the immediate area. Many galleries may not have been listed due to their dual role as both a visitor attraction and a retail outlet. The South West has a number of destination attractions with international/national status including Stonehenge, The Eden Project and Roman Bath and The Pump Rooms in Bath. In addition, there are several significant ‘industry at work’ and adventure parks that attract significant numbers of visitors and are important day visitor destination attractions for people on holiday in the area and for coach trips. In looking at total supply, it is interesting to note that, while the South West is strongly associated with gardens, overall the number of garden attractions is not high. Rather it is the strong reputation of a number of establishments and their concentration within particular parts of the region, principally Cornwall and Devon, that has built up this association. The region has a large number of family based attractions accounting for about 16-18% of supply and reflecting the continuing importance of parts of the region as main family holiday destinations.

Distribution of Attractions

There is a particularly high concentration of museums and heritage attractions in the north of the region, notably in Bristol and Bath. Garden attractions are a strong feature in Devon and Cornwall. Together these two counties contain 47% of all garden based visitor attractions in the South West region including high profile attractions such as The Eden Project, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Trebah Garden Trust and Tregrehan. Devon has the largest number of attractions in the South West region, with a total of 243 attractions (26% of South West attraction supply). It is also well off in terms of the distribution of types of attraction, accounting for around 30% of the region’s farm attractions, steam/heritage railways, natural heritage attractions, historic houses/castles, workplaces and wildlife attractions/zoos. Cornwall has the highest concentration of historic/archaeological sites, accounting for 32% of the total number in the South West region. Cornwall also contains the highest number of leisure/theme parks, accounting for a third of the region’s total.

Activity tourism sector

Activity-based tourism enterprises include operators providing single activities (such as riding) or multiple activities (such as water or adventure sports), service providers such as cycle hire companies, and tour operators packaging different recreational activities such as walking. There are also many specialist retailers throughout the region supplying the activity tourism market, both marine and land based. There is no definitive list of activity tourism enterprises. Enumeration is difficult. Some evidence is provided by:


• The inclusion of activity providers on the Gloucestershire Tourism database. This lists a total of 248, thereby demonstrating the significance of this sector.

• South West Tourism’s SWH2O campaign, in which 1,148 marine leisure businesses and suppliers (including watersports facilities such as chandlers) are currently taking part.

• Our own enumeration of walking tour operators/package suppliers in the region, based on an analysis of publicity material – we found 28.

Some activity providers may also appear in other tourism operator categories, for example where a farm diversification initiative might include farm accommodation and also promote and organise walking holidays. Therefore, some operators may also appear in accommodation or attraction listings. Furthermore, we suspect that many activity suppliers may not be part of formal local tourism associations and networks and may not be recorded within existing tourism operator lists.

4.3 Retail and Food & Drink

Retail outlets provide an extremely important tourism resource and, in turn, tourists and day visitors from home can provide the majority of the market, or at least a vital component of it, for many shops, especially in more popular tourist destinations. Therefore the retail and tourism sectors are mutually interdependent. However, as individual retail outlets depend to a lesser or greater degree on tourist spend, depending on location and product, it is not possible to quantify the number of retail outlets involved with tourism in the South West. Tourists and day visitors may make dedicated leisure shopping trips (predominantly day visits) or combine shopping with other activities on a holiday or short break. Retail purchases can span a broad range of goods including souvenirs, gifts and luxury items and clothes. Food and drink is also an integral part of the tourist experience and is often closely interwoven with the shopping trip experience. A report published in 2001 for MAFF (now DEFRA) found that between 61-69% of holiday makers and visitors felt that food in general made a positive contribution to their holiday, while 39% said that it contributed 'a lot'. Between 32% and 66% of tourists purchase or eat local foods during their visit. The most popular venues for eating out are: pubs (64%), tea-rooms (43%), café and snack bars (32%) and fish and chip shops (31%). However, whether a particular eating establishment is classified as predominantly a tourism or a local business varies widely according to location, opening hours, product and marketing. The importance of these activities is confirmed by national statistics on visitor spending. In 2001, 22% of domestic visitor spending was on eating out and 15% on shopping; the equivalent percentages for overseas visitors were 27% and 21% respectively. Around half the expenditure on shopping was on clothes. Examples of retailing enterprises with a strong tourism interdependency include: • Village stores and garages in popular rural destinations and costal areas, which

will often depend on the additional income brought by tourists for their survival. • Specialist arts, crafts and souvenir shops in resorts and heritage towns which

form a key part of the visitor appeal and will be mainly dependent on tourists and leisure day visitors.


• Visitor attractions developed in whole or in part around retail. This may include factory shots and outlets, such as Dartington Crystal.

• Major shopping complexes which act as a draw for day visitors in their own right (such as Clarks Village, Street and Cribbs Causway, near Bristol).

Case studies of the retail and tourism relationship Bath is a major shopping destination as well as a world famous heritage city. Around 40% of the retail outlets are specialist independent shops, many of which are unique to the city. Bath's historic core contains thousands of small listed buildings that cannot be altered or enlarged. 43% are less than 1,000 sq. ft. and therefore do not have enough floor space to attract the multiples. This creates a distinctive shopping experience that is an attraction in its own right and adds value to heritage trips. The three main retail markets are local shoppers, regional day shoppers and tourists. The most successful retail operations are those that can cater to all these markets. Shire’s Yard is an example of an independently run small specialist shopping centre in the more affluent northern quarter of Bath. Opened since 1989, it comprises 20 individual stores selling designer clothes, accessories and homeware, as well as two cafes, attracting 100,000 visitors a week during the summer. It predominantly attracts the affluent AB socio-economic groups. For example, "Blue", a designer store in the centre, report that the majority of their trade comes from visitors making special shopping trips to Bath three or four times a year from as far as Wales and Chester, sometimes spending as much as £2,000-£3,000 in one trip. Bath has a population of 87,000. In 1999 Bath and NE Somerset received 937,000 staying visitors and 2.8 million day visitors with a combined expenditure of £195 million. This divided into: Retail sector £55.4 million; Catering industry £53.6 million; Accommodation sector £43.4 million; Transport industry £24.7 million; Attractions and entertainment sector £17.9 million. The highest level of spending was in the retail sector, closely followed by the catering industry. Dartington Crystal in Torrington was set up in 1967 by the Dartington Hall Trust to try to counter the depopulation that was occurring in rural North Devon at that time. Employment has grown from 35 to 250. The current visitor centre, built in 1987, includes exhibitions, working demonstrations by craftsmen and a family activity centre. Dartington Crystal is now one of the West Country's leading visitor attractions and there are plans for further development. Of the estimated 250,000 visitors, approximately 75% of visitors are staying in the area on holiday. One third of visitors give their reason for visiting Dartington Crystal as to visit the shop or to get a bargain, compared to only 23% who came to go on the factory tour. The glass shop is extensive and stocks a wide selection of first quality crystal and slightly imperfect pieces at reduced prices. It is considered to be the largest glass shop in the country. The complex also contains a giftware shop, which hosts a variety of leading brand names. Retail turnover in the last financial year amounted to £1.8 million, with an average spend of £22 per visitor in 2002.


4.4 Standard Industrial Classifications

Visit Britain and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport define the industry in terms of a number of Standard Industrial Classifications (SIC) which are used in national labour market studies undertaken by bodies such as the Office of National Statistics (ONS). These SIC’s group businesses into types at various levels of aggregation. The most detailed classification is called Sub-Class (which consists of up to 6 digits) whilst the most aggregated classification is by industry (defined by a letter). The SIC definitions used by the organisations mentioned above are defined at Group level (3 digits). One of the main disadvantages of using 3 digit classifications is that they define industries at a very broad level and are therefore likely to include enterprises that are not engaged in the tourism sector. For instance museums, which one could argue are clearly constituents of the tourism industry, are included in a broader category that also includes libraries and archives. In the main, these latter two are likely to serve a resident population rather than visitors. In order to gain an increased level of detail and overcome some of the problems detailed above, a specially selected range of 4 digit SIC’s have been used in this study. Descriptions of the classifications are contained in the following tables. TABLE 4.7 Employee Numbers in the Tourism Industry in South West

Employee Numbers SIC Class

Description 1998 1999 2000 2001

% change (98-01)

5511 Hotels and motels, with restaurant

36,505 34,923 35,406 36,863 1%

5512 Hotels and motels, without restaurant

644 621 665 556 -14%

5521 Youth hostels and mountain refuges

170 215 218 123 -28%

5522 Camping sites, including caravan sites

2,090 1,802 1,908 2,327 11%

5523 Other provision of lodgings 8,136 6,332 6,520 7,718 -5% 5530 Restaurants 38,993 36,169 37,183 41,125 5% 5540 Bars 45,525 46,048 47,940 50,560 11% 6220 Non-scheduled air transport 1,208 1,133 1,212 569 -53% 6330 Activities of travel agencies

etc 6,434 5,623 8,363 7,371 15%

Total of above 139,705 132,866 139,415 147,212 5%

Source: Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) 1998 – 2001 Note: ABI does not include self-employed data As can be seen from the table above, the measures of employment used here suggest that it has risen by 5% from 1998. The largest employers in the sector are Bars, Restaurants and Hotels with Restaurants.


The sectors showing the largest growth in terms of employment are Activities of Travel Agencies (15%), Bars (11%) and Camping Sites including Caravan Sites (11%). The sectors showing the largest decrease are Non-Scheduled Air Transport (-53%), Youth Hostels and Mountain Refuges (-28%) and Hotels and Motels, without Restaurant (-14%). TABLE 4.8 Tourism Enterprise Numbers in the Tourism Industry in South West

Number of enterprise groups*

SIC Class

Description

1999 2000

% change

5511 Hotels and motels, with restaurant 1,854 1,769 -5% 5512 Hotels and motels, without restaurant 78 87 12% 5521 Youth hostels and mountain refuges 17 17 0% 5522 Camping sites, including caravan sites 252 253 0% 5523 Other provision of lodgings 584 601 3% 5530 Restaurants 4,376 4,529 3% 5540 Bars 4,802 4,869 1% 6220 Non-scheduled air transport 45 46 2% 6330 Activities of travel agencies etc 469 478 2%

Total of above 12,477 12,649 1%

* enterprise group refers to one or more enterprise sites under common ownership. Enterprise figures are not available earlier than 1999 owing to what ONS describe as methodological problems. It is interesting to note that the number of hotels went down between 1999 and 2000 and the number of restaurants went up.


5 TOURISM INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE AND NEEDS

The key to success in regional tourism lies with the performance of individual enterprises. This chapter provides data on this. It is primarily based on the results of the postal survey of tourism businesses conducted for this study in February and March 2003. This utilised a stratified sample of 3175 enterprises, of which 1190 returned the questionnaire, an excellent response rate of 37.5%. The main advantage of this survey in providing a picture on which to base regional policy is that it covered the whole region and all types of accommodation and attraction enterprise. Table 5.1 shows the breakdown of respondents. TABLE 5.1 Respondents to the business survey Type County Hotel 140 Avon 59 Guest house/B&B 436 Cornwall 260 Self-catering 291 Gloucestershire 73 Holiday park 46 Devon 280 Visitor attraction 211 Dorset 249 Other 68 Somerset 147 Wiltshire 102 Source: TTC business survey In general, the level of response is fairly representative of the make up of the industry. Attractions are over-represented by design (they were sampled separately) owing to their importance as generators of visitors. Within the accommodation sector guesthouses and B&B are rather over represented while hotels, self-catering and holiday parks are under represented. Amongst the counties, Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset are over represented and Devon slightly underrepresented. Other information on business performance is available at a regional level, such as the accommodation occupancy survey and business barometer, and this is referred to as appropriate. The analysis that follows concentrates on, and compares, the performance of different types of enterprise, enabling a good picture to be provided of the needs of the various sectors of the industry. Table 5.2 shows the size of the accommodation establishments in the survey. The vast majority of guesthouses/B&B and self-catering establishments are very small businesses. Over half the hotels are medium sized (10 to 30 bedrooms) but with a good representation also of smaller and larger hotels. Half the holiday parks, which will be a mixture of camping/touring van/static and chalet sites, have over 100 units/pitches.


TABLE 5.2 Size of responding enterprises No. of rooms/units/pitches

Hotels B&B/Guest Houses

Self-catering

Holiday parks

0 – 9 18% 92% 91% 12% 10-30 55% 8% 6% 7% 31-100 24% 0% 1% 29% Over 100 3% 0% 1% 51% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Source: TTC business survey One measure of the ‘size’ of attractions is the total annual visitor throughput. Table 5.3 shows this for attractions in the survey. This indicates a fairly even spread, but very small attractions are slightly over represented compared with the regional population. TABLE 5.3 Total number of visitors received

Attractions <5000 30% 5001-10,000 17% 10,001 - 20,000 13% 20,001 - 50,000 18% 50,001 - 100,000 12% Over 100,000 11%

100% Source: TTC business survey The remainder of this chapter looks at the performance of tourism businesses, their need for more business, trends and expectations, investments made, employment and training, business support, marketing and sustainability issues.

5.1 Business turnover and utilisation

Businesses were asked to indicate their turnover in their last financial year. The results are given in Table 5.4. TABLE 5.4 Level of business turnover per annum Hotels B&B/Guest

Houses Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

£ < 10k 0% 24% 53% 8% 27% 28% £ 10-50k 13% 56% 33% 23% 22% 37% £ 51-100k 22% 14% 10% 13% 10% 13% £ 101-200k 16% 4% 2% 13% 13% 7% £ 201-500k 22% 1% 1% 31% 12% 7% £ 500-750k 8% 0% 0% 0% 6% 2% £ > 750k 19% 0% 1% 13% 10% 6% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Source: TTC business survey The overall picture emphasises the pattern of very small businesses which make up this industry, with over a quarter of surveyed enterprises having a turnover of less


than £10,000, with a further third between £11,000-50,000. There is a distinct pattern between type of business and turnover: • Self-catering establishments tend to be particularly small; half have a turnover of

less than £10,000. • B&B/Guest Houses tend to show a slightly higher turnover with half reporting

turnovers between £11,000-50,000. • As might be expected, hotels show higher turnover than other serviced

accommodation operators with turnover spread across all bands, though none report a turnover less than £10,000.

• Caravan/camping establishments also show a span across a range of turnover bands with a clustering in the £11,000-50,000 and £200,000-500,000 bands, indicating a mix of larger sites and smaller scale facilities.

• Turnover of attractions varies greatly. Nearly a quarter report a turnover of less than £10,000 and 13% of more than £500,000, again reflecting the diversity of attractions from small specialist facilities to large commercial attractions.

Occupancy and seasonality

Information on accommodation occupancy is available from both South West Tourism’s monthly Occupancy Survey and from our business survey. Table 5.5 compares the findings for serviced accommodation from each survey for 2002 (using a combination of the results for hotels and B&B/Guest Houses within our business survey). There is broad comparability across both surveys. Our survey shows lower occupancies in the winter and higher in the summer than the SWT survey, probably due to a higher proportion of B&B/Guest Houses in our survey. TABLE 5.5 Serviced accommodation – surveys compared (% bedroom occupancy) Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec South West Tourism Occupancy Survey 37 46 51 51 59 67 71 77 72 57 45 41 Business Survey 32 34 42 48 56 68 76 80 71 56 42 37 Note: Figures show % room occupancy for SWT survey; and % capacity Source: TTC business survey; SWT Occupancy Survey The business survey asked all types of accommodation operator to provide information about their average occupancy rates for each month of the year, based on bedroom occupancy for serviced accommodation and unit or pitch occupancy for self-catering and holiday parks. Table 5.6 shows the mean average occupancy for each month by type of provider. The information is then shown graphically in Figure 5.1.


TABLE 5.6 Bedroom/unit/pitch occupancy 2002 Hotels B&B/Guest

House Self catering Holiday park

January 39 25 29 12 February 42 26 35 13 March 49 34 40 22 April 52 43 51 29 May 59 53 65 40 June 70 65 77 51 July 77 75 88 74 August 80 79 91 89 September 73 68 78 50 October 61 51 63 32 November 47 36 37 21 December 44 29 40 17

Figure 5.1 Bedroom/unit/pitch occupancy 2002

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Jan Feb Mar April May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

Month

% o

f cap

acity

Hotels B&B/Guest House Self catering Holiday park

When looking at levels of occupancy throughout the year, it is also important to consider the proportion of businesses that close in the winter. This is shown in Table 5.7.


TABLE 5.7 Percentage of businesses closed per month Hotels B&B Self

catering Holiday park

All

January 30% 33% 47% 59% 42% February 18% 23% 40% 59% 35% March 7% 13% 27% 44% 23% April 1% 3% 16% 7% 7% May 9% 2% 8% 0% 5% June 0% 1% 4% 2% 2% July 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% August 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% September 6% 0% 4% 7% 4% October 2% 6% 15% 22% 11% November 16% 23% 38% 50% 32% December 19% 30% 30% 57% 34% Taken together, the results show: • Significant seasonality of business in all four sectors, but most starkly with

respect to holiday parks which have a very narrow peak in July and August. • Near capacity trading in self-catering and holiday parks in August. • A relatively longer season for self-catering than bed and breakfast/guest houses. Looking in more detail at the location and profile of accommodation enterprises reveals considerable differences in performance and seasonality across the region. Naturally, between October and June, hotels in the east and in larger towns have considerably higher occupancies than those elsewhere. For example, hotels in Avon recorded an average occupancy of 74% in March compared with 39% by Devon hotels. Average occupancy of bed and breakfast and self-catering is similarly much more peaked the further west they are in the region. Resorts show noticeably greater peaking than non-resort coastal and rural areas, especially with respect to serviced accommodation, which records extremely high occupancies in August but a steeper decline after this. In general across the year, occupancies tend to be slightly lower in rural areas than in resort and coastal areas and in towns. However, serviced farm accommodation does better on average than B&B/guest houses off farms, especially out of the main summer season. Farm based self-catering does no better or worse than the average self-catering enterprise. The level of visitor throughput received by visitor attractions in the survey was shown in Table 5.3. This showed the wide variation in levels of business received by attractions, with a high percentage receiving only modest visitor numbers. Respondents had been asked to indicate their target or annual throughput but very few were able to respond to this question, suggesting that concepts of capacity and optimum trading are not very prevalent in the attractions sector.


The need for more business

Operators were asked to indicate how important it was for them that they received more business. The results are shown in Table 5.8.

TABLE 5.8 How important is achieving more business? Hotels B&B/Guest


Holiday parks

Attractions All

Would provide welcome additional income

33% 43% 38% 39% 31% 38%

Necessary, if a reasonable profit is to be achieved

31% 23% 31% 37% 22% 26%

Essential, to achieve viability

24% 10% 10% 15% 30% 16%

Not particularly necessary as working at near capacity

5% 13% 14% 4% 4% 10%

Not sought at all 1% 4% 3% 0% 4% 4% Not answered 5% 6% 3% 4% 10% 5%

The importance of a policy of effective marketing and a careful approach to the development of new capacity is underlined by the fact that achieving more business is a necessity for 26% of respondents to the survey, with a further 16% saying that it is vital in order for them to be viable. Attractions and hotels stand out as being particularly in need of more business, with between on quarter and one third saying this is essential for viability. The bed and breakfast and self-catering sectors, which tend mainly to be made up of very small enterprises, generally appear to be less in need of more business. Within the attractions sector, the greatest proportion indicating significant economic need were the medium to large attractions rather than the smaller ones. Within the hotel sector, need was reasonably evenly divided across all sizes. The incidence of perceived need appears to be reasonably similar across the region and within different types of location. Enterprises are likely to be keener to see additional visitors at some times in the year rather than at others. They were asked to say when they particularly wanted more business and the results are given in Table 5.9 and Figure 5.2


TABLE 5.9 When is more business particularly sought? Hotels B&B/Guest


Holiday parks

Attractions All

Jan 57% 38% 36% 5% 29% 37% Feb 64% 47% 43% 9% 31% 43% Mar 56% 54% 59% 23% 38% 51% Apr 46% 52% 59% 60% 51% 53% May 27% 42% 45% 79% 59% 46% Jun 19% 22% 24% 70% 56% 31% Jul 14% 16% 21% 67% 59% 28% Aug 17% 6% 4% 7% 40% 14% Sep 14% 16% 21% 67% 59% 28% Oct 37% 33% 46% 58% 55% 42% Nov 50% 38% 47% 7% 34% 40% Dec 46% 28% 30% 2% 25% 29%

Note: % add up to more than 100% due to respondents being able to select more than one month.

Figure 5.2 When is more business particularly sought?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month

% o

f res

pond

ents

Hotels B&B/Guest Houses Self-catering Holiday parks Attractions


Rather than mirroring the occupancy patterns, additional business is more likely to be sought in the ‘shoulder’ months than in the winter, presumably partly because of enterprises being closed. However, this applies less to hotels who are most in need from January to March. The majority of attractions are seeking more business throughout the summer, and holiday parks are particularly in need of business in May and June but also in July and September. Within the hotel and B&B sectors, the figures disguise a significant difference between the needs of enterprises in towns as against coastal and rural areas. Urban enterprises need more business in high summer; rural/coastal in March to June and October.

5.2 Market and business trends

Market sector performance

Enterprises were asked to indicate the proportion of their visitors that fell into certain basic market categories. Inevitably, in many cases these will have been very rough estimates, but still it gives an idea of market profiles for the different sectors. The results are in Table 5.10. TABLE 5.10 Approximate market profiles of each sector (indicative only)

Hotels B&B / Guest Houses

Self catering

Holiday parks

Attractions Total

Local residents or their visitors

6.7% 10.7% 4.4% 5.8% 36.1% 12.7%

UK short break takers 35.5% 42.4% 11.0% 30.0% 16.0% 27.0% UK holidaymakers 21.2% 20.1% 76.8% 55.9% 23.1% 39.4% Visitors from overseas 6.8% 13.5% 5.7% 6.7% 10.0% 8.5% Groups 6.9% 0.8% 0.2% 0.7% 11.0% 3.9% Business & conference visitors

20.5% 9.4% 0.6% 0.2% 0.7% 6.3%

Other types 2.4% 3.0% 1.2% 0.7% 3.0% 2.1% Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Note: This table should be treated with caution. Many enterprises did not show their complete profile, only their main markets. The results have been rounded up to 100%. This shows the continuing importance of the long holiday market for enterprises in the region, especially self-catering operators and holiday parks. Around 40% of self-catering operators said that the long holiday market accounted for over 80% of their business. However, the considerable dependency of these two sectors on long holidays is a cause for concern in the light of market forecasts. It is interesting that short breaks appear now to be twice as important as the long holiday market to the B&B/guest house sector. Overseas visitors are also more important to B&B/guest houses than other types of enterprise.


For the hotels sector as a whole, short breaks are also more important than long holidays, the latter seeming to equate approximately to business tourism in terms of proportion of the overall market to hotels in the region. However, obviously, the proportion of holiday and business tourism will fluctuate widely across the region, as was shown in Chapter 1. Attractions as a whole appear to be receiving a relatively healthy mix of local resident, tourist and group business, but again this would be expected to vary significantly between attractions. While the local resident and v.f.r. market may account for over a third of business for the attractions sector, it does have a small role to play as a source of business for commercial accommodation, notably B&B/guest houses. The overseas market has relatively limited significance to all enterprise sectors in the South West. It is slightly more important to enterprises in former Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, presumably owing to the influence of Bath and the Cotswolds.

Market profile change

Respondents also indicated whether they thought the markets in question had gone up or down in the last 5 years. The results are given in Table 5.11 TABLE 5.11 Has the market been going up or down in the last 5 years?

Hotels B&B / Guest Houses

Self catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Local residents or their visitors

41%

(1%)

35%

(3%)

26%

(6%)

43%

(14%(

37%

(16%)

35%

(6%) UK short break takers

60%

(6%)

49%

(8%)

45%

(4%)

63%

(7%)

48%

(16%)

50%

(8%) UK holidaymakers

32%

(19%)

28%

(23%)

34%

(8%)

50%

(10%)

35%

(17%)

32%

(16%) Visitors from overseas

18%

(36%)

18%

(46%)

23%

(21%)

17%

(35%)

22%

(34%)

20%

(37%) Groups 26%

(29%)

26%

(4%)

40%

(0%)

67%

(33%)

45%

(25%)

38%

(22%) Business & conference visitors

47%

(12%)

39%

(7%)

8%

(23%)

0%

(0%)

48%

(14%)

40%

(10%) Note: Figures show % of respondents indicating ‘up’/ (% of respondents indicating ‘down’) The picture that emerges is fairly positive, with between one third and one half of respondents reporting a growth in most markets.


Half of all respondents indicated a growth in short breaks, observed by all sectors. It is interesting that this applies to about two thirds of holiday parks, more traditionally the home of long holiday takers. Very few enterprises report a decline in this market. More surprisingly, almost one third of all enterprises indicated a growth in the long holiday market, with only half this number observing a decline, despite relatively poor performance of this market nationally. However, with B&B/guesthouses the numbers reporting growth and decline were almost equal. Almost half the hotels and a significant proportion of guest houses/B&B have seen an increase in business visitors. The one market where a decline is widely observed is the overseas market, with almost twice as many enterprises reporting this as those who felt there had been growth. The exception is the self-catering sector, where slightly more respondents had seen an increase rather than a decrease in overseas visitors.

Business growth

Market trends do not necessarily totally translate into business trends, but there should be a close correlation. Enterprises were also asked to indicate what change they had seen in their business turnover during this period (Table 5.12). TABLE 5.12 Change in turnover in last 5 years


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Increased a lot 25% 16% 15% 24% 18% 17% Increased a little

49% 42% 47% 46% 32% 42%

Stayed much the same

14% 23% 20% 17% 26% 21%

Decreased a little

7% 8% 6% 9% 11% 8%

Decreased a lot 0% 3% 1% 0% 3% 2% Not answered 5% 8% 11% 4% 10% 9%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Again, this is a positive result, with only 10% of enterprises saying that turnover has gone down and 59% indicating an increase. However, few people report significant growth. The spread of turnover increase/decrease varied slightly according to sector and region. Cornwall exhibited a higher than average percentage of businesses reporting a strong increase in turnover. This may partly have been affected by the Eden Project. Enterprises in coastal areas are slightly more likely to report an increase than those in urban areas. The hotel sector appears to be fairly buoyant with just under three quarters of operators reporting that turnover has increased a little or a lot. A similar pattern is


evident with holiday parks. Relatively, B&B/Guest houses and self-catering have been slightly less likely to report growth. The more successful enterprises, in that they were significantly more likely to have reported that turnover had increased ‘a lot’, appear to have been: • businesses at the larger end of the scale, with turnovers in excess of 500k (this

applies equally to large attractions and large hotels) perhaps partly reflecting an ability to fund sizeable marketing campaigns.

• Hotels and B&B/guest houses at the top end of quality grading (4+ stars or 5 diamonds).

• Serviced farmhouse accommodation (but to a lesser extent). Visitor attractions as a whole were slightly more likely to show a decline in turnover than the accommodation sector. This may possibly be accounted for in part by an overall increase in supply following a range of new lottery funded attractions in recent years, a pattern exhibited elsewhere in the UK.

Expectations

Are these relatively positive trends expected to last? A further question was asked about expectations for turnover in the next three years. TABLE 5.13 Expectations of change in turnover in next 3 years


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Increase a lot 11% 8% 13% 9% 15% 11% Increase a little 64% 50% 51% 61% 45% 51%

Stay much the same

21% 32% 31% 28% 26% 29%

Decrease a little

2% 5% 2% 0% 4% 3%

Decrease a lot 0% 2% 0% 0% 0% 1% Not answered 3% 3% 3% 2% 9% 4%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Expectations for the future are positive. 62% of all businesses surveyed anticipated an increase in turnover (albeit little), only 4% a decline. Optimism was strongest amongst hotels. Optimism was spread fairly evenly across most counties and types of destination, though was slightly higher in the west than the east and was less prevalent in Gloucestershire. Establishments that have experienced an increase in turnover in the last five years are also the establishments that tend to anticipate this trend will continue, including larger establishments and those with the highest quality grades. New entrants, who have been in business under two years, are particularly likely to anticipate that turnover will increase a lot.


Influences on business

There may be many influences on business performance. We suggested some to enterprises to test their reaction to them. The results are given in table 5.14. Respondents were invited to write in other influences but very few did so. TABLE 5.14 Main influences on future business


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Changes in the UK economy

84% 75% 75% 74% 56% 72%

International situations / politics

56% 68% 56% 70% 42% 58%

Increasing costs 44% 31% 28% 41% 42% 35% Local competition 23% 26% 26% 20% 26% 25% Perception of traffic congestion in South West

15% 22% 30% 39% 19% 23%

Competition from other parts of the UK

19% 18% 27% 20% 18% 21%

State of the local economy 21% 18% 10% 11% 32% 19% Competition from overseas 9% 14% 22% 7% 8% 14% Staff shortages 16% 6% 2% 9% 10% 7%

Note: % (with the exception of the All column) relate to respondents within each enterprise category. The percentages add up to more than 100% due to respondents being able to select more than one answer. Enterprises were most likely to believe that their business would be most affected by issues outside their control or that of the local agencies, namely the UK economy and the international situation. The state of the local economy is of far less concern, but of more significance to attractions and hotels, presumably reflecting the importance of the local market to them. It is interesting that a quarter of all enterprises are concerned about local competition and this clearly must be taken into account in the future tourism strategy for the region. Competition from other parts of the UK is of slightly less concern, but is most prevalent amongst self-catering operators, who are also the most likely to be concerned about overseas competition. Local competition is more of a concern in towns and rural areas than in coastal resorts, where competition from other parts of the UK is seen as a bigger issue. Traffic congestion is seen as an important factor by 23% of respondents, and is particularly an issue amongst holiday park operators. It is of significantly greater concern amongst enterprises in Devon and Cornwall and those in coastal resorts. Interestingly, staff shortages are seen as an important factor by 16% of hotels (rising to 25% amongst larger hotels), but less so by other sectors.


5.3 Business investment

The relatively positive perceptions of trends and expectations might be expected to have encouraged tourism enterprises to make investments and improvements to their businesses.

Recent investments

We asked enterprises to tell us what substantial improvements they had made, if any, in the last three years, based on a pre-prompted list of possibilities as shown in Table 5.15. TABLE 5.15 Substantial improvements in last 3 years


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Have made no improvements

6% 12% 11% 7% 14% 11%

Upgraded bedrooms or self catering units

77% 72% 74% 37% 1% 57%

New / upgrade other facilities (e.g. car park)

34% 17% 9% 54% 19% 19%

Additional/ upgrade exhibits

9% 4% 3% 9% 59% 16%

New / upgrade catering/ restaurants

44% 8% 0% 17% 20% 14%

Additional rooms / units 14% 11% 12% 22% 4% 11% New / upgrade shops 1% 1% 0% 22% 27% 7% New /upgrade leisure facilities (e.g. gym)

11% 2% 5% 15% 4% 5%

New / upgrade meeting/ function facilities

15% 2% 0% 2% 8% 5%

Other 6% 9% 11% 35% 9% 10%

Note: % (with the exception of the All column) relate to respondents within each enterprise category. The percentages add up to more than 100% due to respondents being able to select more than one answer. It is encouraging that the vast majority (around 90%) of enterprises had made investments in the last three years. It is clear that the emphasis has been on improvement rather than expansion – for example over 70% of serviced and self-catering accommodation had upgraded bedrooms or units, but only around 12% had added new ones. With holiday parks, there appears to comparatively less improvement to units (37%) and more expansion (22%) than with other types of accommodation. However, the balance has still been on improvement and indeed over a half of the parks had upgraded other facilities on the park, including landscaping and toilet blocks. It is important for attractions to have a continual programme of changing and upgrading exhibits if they are to maintain custom, and it is striking and encouraging


that almost 60% are doing this in the South West. Significant numbers have also improved or added to their shops. The large proportion of hotels (44%) that have been upgrading their catering/ restaurant is also encouraging. This has been quite prevalent across the region. Over 40% of hotels sampled in Goucestershire and Avon have been upgrading or adding meeting and function rooms, which is far higher than in other areas (only 8% doing so in Devon and Cornwall). Coastal resorts showed a greater proportion of accommodation enterprises upgrading bedrooms or units than average, whereas rural areas have seen less upgrading.

Planned future investment

As a further indication of relative dynamism in the industry, plans for the next three years were investigated and results are given in Table 5.16. TABLE 5.16 Substantial improvements planned in next 3 years


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Do not plan any significant changes

19% 39% 36% 22% 19% 31%

Upgrade bedrooms or self catering units

58% 43% 48% 28% 1% 36%

New / upgrade other facilities (e.g. Car park, reception)

18% 9% 8% 37% 17% 13%

Additional/ upgrade exhibits

2% 1% 2% 4% 55% 12%

New / upgrade catering/ restaurants

19% 3% 1% 11% 17% 8%

Additional rooms / units 16% 8% 11% 13% 6% 10% New / upgrade shops 0% 1% 1% 11% 18% 5% New /upgrade leisure facilities (e.g. gym)

9% 1% 6% 24% 4% 5%

New / upgrade meeting/ function facilities

16% 3% 2% 2% 11% 6%

Other 6% 9% 7% 20% 9% 8% Note: % (with the exception of the All column) relate to respondents within each enterprise category. The percentages add up to more than 100% due to respondents being able to select more than one answer. Two thirds of all enterprises are planning significant investment in the next three years. Again, the emphasis is on improvements rather than new capacity, with around half the serviced and self-catering establishments upgrading bedrooms and units but only between 8% (B&B/gh) and 16% (hotels) planning to add rooms or units.


The proportion of holiday parks planning to add leisure facilities (24%) is significant – far more than any other type of enterprise. The ‘other’ category under holiday parks includes landscaping and washrooms; improvements are also planned here. Attractions are continuing with their exhibit upgrading – over half will be doing this – and 18% also plan to improve the shop. Amongst B&B/guest house and self-catering operators, the proportion planning to upgrade their bedrooms/units is greater amongst the lower grades of accommodation than the higher grades. This may be encouraging if the policy is to encourage improvement in quality. However, the same does not apply to hotels. Continuing the pattern of recent changes, B&B/guest houses in coastal resorts were far more likely to say they were planning to upgrade bedrooms than were those in rural areas, with urban properties falling in the middle. The proportion of all enterprises planning improvements was greater in Cornwall, followed by Devon, than in other counties.

Deterrents to investment

In terms of tailoring future policies and support mechanisms to business needs, it is important to consider reasons why enterprises may not be planning investments. The results for all respondent enterprises together are shown in Table 5.17. Only relatively few respondents answered this question and quantification within sectors would be misleading. TABLE 5.17 Reasons for not planning investments Not needed 45% Just completed refurbishment 28% Lack of finance 18% Lack of space 10% Difficulty with planning permission 8% Retiring/ selling up 5% Lack of time 5% Lack of market demand 4% Shortage of labour 2% Not interested 2% Note: Respondents could indicate more than one reason B&B/guest houses and self-catering establishments were far more likely to indicate ‘not needed’ than other types of enterprise. With hotels, attractions and holiday parks, lack of investment was more likely to be for more specific reasons. Lack of finance was particularly important for attractions: for them it was the most important of all the reasons given. With holiday parks, planning permission was the most important deterrent indicated, yet with other types of enterprise it was rarely an issue. Lack of space was quite important for attractions. Interestingly, shortage of labour was hardly ever indicated as a reason, despite being on this pre-prompted list.


5.4 Employment and training

Tourism as a sector has a particular reputation for providing more seasonal and part time jobs than many other sectors. The pattern of employment was investigated amongst tourism businesses. Table 5.18 shows average employment levels per enterprise in summer and winter, based on indications of numbers of staff of different types. Respondents were asked to include the proprietors and their families in the figures. TABLE 5.18 Average number of people employed (including proprietors)

Hotel B&B/Guest House

Self catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

SUMMER 2002 Full time 14.5 1.5 0.9 6.5 10.1 5.6 Part time 8.7 1.0 1.5 8.2 5.9 3.8 Casual 2.0 0.5 0.8 1.7 2.6 1.3 Volunteers 0 0.1 0.1 0.2 25.8 5.0 WINTER 2002/2003 Full time 12.7 1.2 0.8 4.0 7.6 4.3 Part time 6.6 0.7 1.1 1.7 2.3 2.1 Casual 1.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.5 Volunteers 0 0 0 0.1 16.5 3.2 These average figures have to be interpreted with caution, especially with respect to hotels, attractions and holiday parks. This is because a few large enterprises in these sectors, employing large numbers of staff, tend to distort the figures. For example, 37% of hotels actually employed 2 or less full time staff in summer, while the 5% of hotels employing more than 50 pushed up the average. Some important observations from the employment figures include: • The limited employment provided by B&B/gh and self-catering enterprises. Only

44% of the former and 21% of the latter employed two full time people in summer, and hardly any employed more than this. Self-catering is more of a part-time than a full time occupation.

• A slightly lower drop in staffing between summer and winter than might have

been expected. This was far more significant with holiday parks than other sectors.

• The significant importance to the volunteer labour force for attractions. 35% of

attractions said that they used a volunteer force in excess of 10 people in the summer.

Employment dynamics

In order to get an idea of movement in the employment market, enterprises were asked about changes over the forthcoming year (Table 5.19).


TABLE 5.19 Planned change in employment in 2003 as compared with 2002 Hotels B&B/Guest


Holiday parks

Attractions All

Will employ more 17% 8% 9% 26% 16% 12% Will employ less 6% 2% 2% 7% 3% 3% No change 74% 80% 80% 67% 70% 76% No answer 4% 10% 8% 0% 11% 9%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% The results show a largely static employment picture. It is encouraging that hardly any enterprises plan to lay off staff. The 26% of holiday parks who plan to take on more is a surprising result – this relates mainly to the larger parks. The fact that 17% of hotels and 16% of attractions plan to employ more staff is quite encouraging. Enterprises were also asked how many additional staff this might be. The average was between 2 and 3 for hotels, attractions and parks, and 1 for the other types of enterprise. All sectors were looking for a mixture of different types of staff, although hotels were more inclined to be looking for full time employees, with the other sectors seeking part time and seasonal staff. Labour shortage has often been quoted as a problem for the tourism industry. We asked enterprises whether they had had any difficulty finding suitable staff in the local area (Table 5.20) TABLE 5.20 Difficulty in finding staff locally


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Yes 67% 27% 26% 50% 38% 35% No 24% 40% 50% 33% 50% 42% No answer 9% 33% 24% 17% 12% 23%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% The results confirmed the problem amongst hotels and holiday parks in particular. This was found to be a significantly greater problem for hotels in rural areas than in other locations, and was least seen as a problem by hotels in smaller towns. There appeared to be little variation across the region in the proportion of enterprises reporting recruitment difficulties. Enterprises reporting difficulties were asked to indicate the reasons and the results are given in Table 5.21.


TABLE 5.21 Problems associated with recruitment (where exist) Hotels B&B/Guest


Holiday parks

Attractions All

Insufficient general labour supply

49% 53% 44% 35% 23% 42%

Seasonality of the work on offer

22% 39% 39% 78% 33% 37%

Unpopular hours of work

57% 27% 27% 57% 24% 35%

People not interested in working in tourism

49% 29% 19% 48% 11% 28%

Cannot pay them enough

17% 22% 15% 43% 36% 24%

Problems with transport to work

31% 13% 17% 22% 33% 22%

Lack of suitable training

10% 2% 3% 4% 6% 5%

Other 9% 12% 12% 1% 23% 12% Note: Percentages refer to those respondents who provided a response (i.e. they do not include enterprises where recruitment was not a problem). Respondents were able to select more than one answer. Holiday parks report a rather different pattern of problems than most other sectors. Although seasonality of the work on offer is quoted as an important issue for around a third of the enterprises in all sectors, it was by far the most frequently mentioned problem by holiday parks. Pay is seen as an important issue by holiday parks and also by a third of attractions. However, unpopular hours was far more likely to be quoted as a problem by hotels, and was seen as the major issue in this sector. It is interesting that transport to work was seen as a problem by one third of hotels and attractions. Not surprisingly, this was far more of a problem in rural areas and coastal (non-resort) locations than elsewhere. Insufficient labour supply was quoted as a problem by 51% of enterprises in rural areas but also by 46% of those in large towns, suggesting that this is as much an issue of competition and low unemployment as of low local population size. However, lack of suitable training for would-be employees is very rarely perceived as an issue in any of the sectors.

Training

Enterprises were asked whether they had a staff training programme (Table 5.22).


TABLE 5.22 Existence of a regular staff training programme Hotels B&B/Guest


Holiday parks

Attractions All

Yes 49% 11% 7% 33% 55% 26% No 44% 60% 69% 59% 38% 55% No answer 8% 28% 24% 9% 15% 19%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Between one third and one half of holiday parks, hotel and attractions had regular training programmes. Naturally, it was far more prevalent amongst enterprises with higher turnovers. Enterprises were asked about the areas in which they would like to see more training and the results are shown in Table 5.23. TABLE 5.23 Skills in which people would like more training


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Customer care 36% 6% 6% 24% 30% 16% Health, hygiene, safety etc

34% 9% 5% 28% 22% 15%

Use of IT 16% 11% 11% 20% 21% 14% Marketing 12% 8% 13% 11% 17% 12% Knowledge of local area

11% 6% 5% 4% 11% 8%

Catering 21% 5% 1% 9% 12% 8% Sustainability (e.g. energy saving)

11% 4% 3% 13% 7% 6%

Business management

9% 3% 4% 13% 9% 6%

Other 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% Note: Respondents could indicate more than one topic None of the subjects are of much interest to B&B/guest houses or self-catering enterprises. This may be because of the low staff employment in such businesses and the fact that many proprietors have a feeling that they need no additional skills. It is interesting that over a third of hotels still feel that they would like more training in customer care, especially as schemes such as Welcome Host have been around for a long time. Health and safety are becoming more important issues in many aspects of service sector activity, which may explain why this is a relatively popular topic for training. Relatively few enterprises are seeking more training with respect to sustainability or in knowledge of the local area. It is also interesting that very few enterprises are interested in business training. Training related to tourism is now available in most areas from a variety of sources. This may be confusing to some people. However, when asked whether they felt they had sufficient knowledge of, and access to, training, only around 15% of enterprises said ‘no’. This was consistent across all enterprises types. It should be noted,


however, that 40% did not answer the question, suggesting a degree of apathy in this field.

5.5 Business support and marketing

There are various ways in which public bodies such as South West Tourism, SWERDA, and the local authorities can support tourism enterprises. In order to obtain a comparative measure of the degree of importance placed on different services, enterprises were presented with a list and asked to score them between 1 (very important ) and 5 (not important). The clearest picture can be obtained by looking at the extent to which people have indicated that the services in question are ‘very important’. This is the basis of Table 5.24. Percentages are also shown, in brackets, of the proportion of people indicating either ‘very important’ or ‘important’. TABLE 5.24 Relative importance of public services


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Raising the awareness of the local area

68% (84%)

64% (78%)

64% (82%)

57% (79%)

60% (77%)

63% (79%)

Maintaining an attractive environment

69% (85%)

64% (81%)

64% (80%)

52% (80%)

55% (73%)

62% (79%)

Raising the awareness of the South West region

61% (80%)

54% (73%)

61% (76%)

46% (72%)

46% (67%)

55% (74%)

Improving access and transport

58% (78%)

46% (66%)

45% (59%)

43% (60%)

45% (63%)

47% (65%)

Running the local TIC

45% (63%)

51% (67%)

42% (57%)

41% (65%)

43% (57%)

46% (62%)

Providing publication to advertise your business

44% (62%)

49% (66%)

51% (70%)

43% (69%)

35% (52%)

45% (63%)

Providing websites to advertise your business

37% (63%)

48% (64%)

48% (65%)

37% (61%)

29% (55%)

42% (61%)

Provision of financial assistance

14% (33%)

14% (23%)

10% (19%)

22% (37%)

39% (52%)

18% (29%)

Creating links for you with other businesses

13% (34%)

14% (27%)

11% (22%)

7% (22%)

9% (30%)

12% (27%)

Provision of business advice

16% (33%)

10% (23%)

8% (19%)

15% (32%)

10% (20%)

11% (23%)

Provision of training 19% (43%)

6% (21%)

5% (13%)

11% (31%)

14% (34%)

10% (25%)

Other 6%

1% 5% 4% 2% 3%

Note: The figures show % of respondents who scored the service as 1, very important, on a scale of 1 to 5. Figures in brackets show the % of respondents who scored the service as either 1, very important, or 2, important.


The results show reasonable agreement between the different types of enterprise. A number of striking points emerge: • Raising awareness of the destination is of greatest importance to people.

Although this primarily relates to awareness of the local area, it is notable that the majority also feel that it is important to raise awareness of the South West region. However, it appears that this more likely to be considered important by enterprises in Devon and Cornwall, who may associate themselves more with the South West, than by enterprises in the east of the region.

• Although significant proportions are looking for public authorities to provide them

with opportunities to advertise in publications and websites, this is less frequently voted highly than overall improvement of awareness.

• Despite the rapid advent of websites, people are still marginally more concerned

about having exposure in publications. • TICs are very important to almost half of all enterprises. This should have an

important message for local authority priorities and funding. Hotels are almost as likely to recognise this importance as B&Bs even though they are often felt to benefit from them less.

• The high proportion of people who appreciate that the maintenance of the

environment is very important to them, is an important result for local policy. • Transport is quite widely recognised as an important issue in the South West and

this is confirmed by the enterprises. • All the factors mentioned above are considerably more likely to be felt to be

important than businesses services. However, there are some exceptions. Large numbers of attractions are keen to see more financial assistance, and this is also of interest to holiday parks when those who scored the service as important are included. Although few people place importance on training, it is nevertheless considered to be very important by 19% of hotels, and as either very important or important by 43% of hotels.

• There is little interest in assistance with networking. Despite this relatively limited interest in business advice, when asked whether they had contacted any public bodies for advice and support in the last 2 years, 37% of respondents said yes. This was significantly higher amongst attractions (60%) than other types of enterprise. Of those who had made such a contact, 30% had approached the local authority, 26% had contacted South West Tourism and 20% Business Link. SWERDA was only mentioned by 8%, and a similar number had contacted their TIC for support. A large number of other bodies were also mentioned, but only by a few enterprises in each case. Attractions were most likely to have contacted their local authority; hotels, Business Link; and self-catering establishments, South West Tourism.


Turning to actual membership of supporting bodies, this is shown in Table 5.25. There is often confusion about this and 20% did not answer the question.

TABLE 5.25 Membership of support bodies Hotels B&B/Guest


Holiday parks

Attractions All

Regional Tourist Board 66% 60% 64% 61% 42% 58% A Local Tourist Association

60% 54% 41% 70% 41% 50%

Chamber of Commerce 26% 7% 3% 9% 19% 12% Network of other similar types of business

31% 19% 14% 35% 40% 24%

Note: % do not add up to 100% because respondents could provide more than one answer. Membership of the RTB was high amongst respondents although it is not clear exactly what this means. High membership levels of local tourism associations is also encouraging, and a quarter of all enterprises surveyed were in sector networks.

Marketing

Some evidence was obtained about the level of marketing undertaken by enterprises. They were asked to indicate their annual marketing spending and the results are shown in Table 5.26. TABLE 5.26 Amount spent on marketing


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Up to £250 0% 8% 17% 0% 12% 10% £251 - £500 3% 26% 33% 22% 10% 22% £501 - £750 0% 11% 7% 8% 3% 7% £751 - £1000 12% 21% 12% 11% 6% 14% £1001 - £2000 12% 20% 16% 14% 8% 16% £2001 - £5000 25% 14% 11% 11% 17% 15% £5001 - £10,000 16% 1% 2% 17% 13% 6% £10,001 - £20,000 16% 0% 0% 8% 12% 4% £20,001 - £50,000 12% 0% 0% 3% 13% 4% £50,000+ 5% 0% 1% 6% 6% 2%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Note: Figures have been adjusted to show a percentage of those who answered this question (17% did not do so).

The results disclose relatively modest budgets. 50% of hotels spend less than £5000 on marketing and 50% of self-catering establishments spend less than £500. Accommodation enterprises with higher quality grades tend to spend more on marketing, and clearly this increases in line with annual turnover.


Turning to other aspects of marketing, we found that only 45% of respondent enterprises made surveys of customer satisfaction. This was much higher amongst hotels and attractions (60%) than B&B, self-catering and holiday parks (35-40%). Some information on the use of the internet in marketing is given in Table 5.27. TABLE 5.27 Use of the Internet


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Have website 86% 68% 64% 85% 74% 72% Will set up website this year

9% 13% 10% 9% 8% 10%

Can accept booking online

19% 27% 18% 19% 15% 18%

Will improve website this year

48% 35% 37% 46% 49% 41%

Will start to provide online booking this year

22% 8% 8% 13% 10% 11%

Will start to enable booking through web agencies this year

12% 7% 6% 2% 2% 6%

The high proportion of enterprises of all kinds who have websites is striking and, with indicated planned investments, this will be nearing 100% amongst hotels. At the moment relatively few establishments can take bookings online. However, this is changing fast – if enterprises carry out their plans as indicated, 41% of hotels and 35% of B&B/gh will be able to do so within 12 months. Some are planning to use the services of web agencies.

Sustainability

The issue of sustainability in tourism has been a topic of considerable interest in recent years, and about which various forms of business advice and support are available. We asked enterprises how important some of the more identifiable aspects of sustainability were to them and the results are given in Table 5.28. TABLE 5.28 Importance of sustainability issues to your business


Self-catering

Holiday parks

Attractions All

Energy saving 58% 53% 42% 57% 41% 48% Waste reduction 44% 44% 34% 61% 30% 40% Using local produce 45% 45% 31% 22% 28% 38% Supporting local environmental projects

27% 38% 33% 26% 31% 34%

Note: The figures show % of respondents who scored the issue as 1(very important) on a scale of 1 to 5. Respondents could provide more than one answer. There appears to be a reasonably strong level of interest here, but slightly more in activities which may be most likely to affect the enterprise itself economically and in


terms of its own environment, than in issues that may benefit the local environment and community. Energy saving is very important to a majority of hotels and holiday parks, and waste management is particularly seen as an issue on holiday parks. The fact that between one quarter and one third of enterprises believe that supporting local environmental projects is important to their business suggests, nevertheless, that there may be scope for extending relevant conservation support schemes linked to tourism in the region. Despite the low interest in training relating to sustainability that was mentioned earlier (Table 5.24), 22% of enterprises said they would like advice and support in this area (from 17% of attractions to 37% of holiday parks). There was interest in help with all four of the topics mentioned in Table 5.28.


6 REGIONAL TOURISM PRODUCT OVERVIEW

The previous chapter looked at the regional tourism product from the point of view of individual tourism businesses and industry sectors. This chapter looks at it in terms of the different types of destination that make up the South West region. The premise is that broadly similar types of destination, which face common issues and problems, can be found across the region, even though they may have different historical backgrounds, geographical locations and ease of access to markets. Looking at the region in this way could help the regional strategy and action plan identify some common approaches and prescriptions and some broad programmes of wide application. It should save having to reinvent the wheel for every district. We have identified the following broad destination types which could be refined into further subdivisions in due course. • Inland countryside • Protected rural areas • Seaside resorts • Rural coast • Large towns and cities • Small towns and cities For each of these we have produced a destination summary which sets out the broad characteristics, the distinctive nature of the tourism product and offer, and the challenges and opportunities presented. In preparing these we have drawn upon the focus group research, business survey, UKTS/IPS and other published material. We have not talked to the individual destinations themselves. Each destination type is described in the following terms: • Incidence, significance in region • Destination characteristics • Image and appeal • Tourism product • Business performance • Markets • Issues and opportunities Figure 6.1 shows how these destination types are distributed around the region by highlighting the predominant characteristics of each district . This classifies each district on the basis of the predominant type or types of destination. A district may comprise several types depending on its size eg a large district with a resort plus a substantial rural hinterland would be classified as both resort and rural.


Fig 6.1 Predominant destination type by district

Rur

al

coas

t

Seas

ide

reso

rts

Inla

nd

rura

l

Prot

ecte

d ru

ral

Larg

e to

wns

Smal

l to

wns

East Devon Exeter Mid Devon North Devon Plymouth South Hams Teignbridge Torbay Torridge West Devon Caradon Carrick Kerrier N Cornwall Penwith Restormel Isles of Scilly Mendip Sedgemoor S Somerset Taunton Deane W Somerset Kennet N Wiltshire Salisbury Swindon W Wiltshire Cheltenham Cotswold Forest of Dean Gloucester Stroud Tewkesbury Bournemouth Christchurch E Dorset N Dorset Poole Purbeck W Dorset Weymouth Bath NE Som. Bristol N Somerset S Gloucs


6.1 Inland countryside

Examples Mid Devon, South Somerset, North Wiltshire. Incidence All parts of the region contain inland rural areas. The more individually distinctive areas are protected as National Parks and AONBs and are covered in section 6.2. However, most of the countryside in the South West outside the protected areas is also appealing to visitors, and the region is arguably more consistent in this respect than other regions of England. Destination characteristics Rural areas outside the NPs and AONBs tend to have lower lying but still rolling countryside. The landscape is dominated by agriculture, although a few areas have other leading land uses, notably woodland in the Forest of Dean. The whole relationship between the landscape, public access, agriculture and tourism is important across the region, within and outside protected areas. This was strongly demonstrated by Foot and Mouth Disease. Since the middle of the last century some of the rural attractiveness of the region, manifest by traditional agricultural practices, has been lost, especially in the east of the region, and could be further threatened by changes in agriculture. Villages and small towns are extremely important to the rural economy and the visitor experience of these inland areas. A characteristic of inland rural areas, which has an important influence on tourism performance, is their relationship to transit routes which cross them. Image and appeal Unlike some of the protected areas, these more general inland areas suffer from a lack of identity. Many are promoted around the brand name of the district in question. Our focus groups revealed a significant lack of awareness and image of the rural areas in the east of the region as tourist destinations and little association of them with the South West. Compared with the protected areas and rural coast, which have more inherent natural appeal, other inland rural areas tend to rely on villages, towns and more specific individual visitor attractions and activities. Appeal rests with gentle exploration, car touring, and specific attractions and activities. Tourism product There are many significant visitor attractions in these areas which form existing and potential foci of visitor interest, such as historic houses, gardens, farm-based attractions and some theme parks. Inland water, such as the Cotswold Water Park and the reservoirs of Devon and Cornwall, also provide a focus of recreational activity. Some areas have generated visitor interest through the designation and promotion of walking and cycling trails, such as in South Somerset and parts of Wiltshire. Accommodation is dominated by small serviced (mainly B&B/gh) and self-catering accommodation, in towns and villages, on farms, on transit routes and elsewhere. Country house hotels and pub accommodation add to the diversity and are prevalent throughout the region. There are some examples of larger scale accommodation, including some inland holiday parks and Center Parcs at Longleat.


Business performance Rural areas are important recipients of tourism in the South West. Around a quarter of all holiday trips (both long and short) in the region are to the countryside. The small sample of hotels in rural areas in our business survey were doing better than the regional average, especially in the winter. Rural bed and breakfast appears to be performing slightly under the regional average, but serviced farm accommodation is doing better than off-farm accommodation. Self-catering performance, on and off farm, is close to the regional average. Rural enterprises appear to be slightly less actively involved in improvements than those in towns or resorts. There is more concern about the effect of local competition on enterprise performance in rural areas. Labour supply is a particular problem for hotels in rural areas, exacerbated by issues of transport to work. Markets The main markets are short and extended breaks and visits to friends and relatives. However, long holidays are also important to enterprises in rural areas because of the high incidence of self-catering cottages in these areas. Rural areas have relatively little appeal for families but are popular destinations for the post-family segment, especially for breaks. Many activity holidays take place in rural areas, and they offer particular opportunities for the sizeable walking market and the growing cycling market. Day visitors are particularly important for the viability of visitor attractions in rural areas, which in turn create part of the tourist appeal. Issues and opportunities Inland rural areas in the region are relatively low key destinations but offer further potential for breaks. Key issues include: • Addressing supply and demand of accommodation and attractions, avoiding over

supply • Increasing performance of attractions as foci of interest • Strengthening the supportive relationship between tourism and agriculture. • Improving accessibility, for employees as well as visitors. • Increasing definition and awareness of rural destinations. • Making more of activity holiday opportunities. • Strengthening local rural distinctiveness. • Adding value to the rural economy through use of local produce etc. • Engaging local communities.

6.2 Protected rural areas

Examples Dartmoor National Park, Exmoor National Park, Cotswolds AONB, Quantock Hills AONB Incidence The region is extremely well off for protected areas, having 2 National Parks and 14 AONBs, which together make up 37% of the region’s land area. These are to be found in every county. The Cotswolds is the largest individual AONB in England. In


the south and east a number of AONBs join together to form a continuous swath of fine, protected countryside from East Devon to West Wiltshire, encompassing most of rural Dorset. The Cornwall AONB is divided into areas around the coast and inland Bodmin Moor. Dartmoor and Exmoor form the main protected areas in Devon and Somerset. Destination characteristics There are five main characteristics of the region’s protected areas: • Sparsely populated moorlands, such as the centre of Dartmoor, parts of Exmoor,

Bodmin Moor and Salisbury Plain • Smaller individual uplands, such as the Mendips and Quantocks. • Areas of rolling countryside, mainly agricultural, with woodland and important

heritage features, such as the Cotswolds, Dorset and the fringes of Dartmoor. • River valleys, including the Tamar and part of the Wye valley • Fine coastal landscapes and the areas immediately inland from them. Issues of the relationship between tourism, agriculture and landscape, as identified in 6.1, are particularly important in the protected areas. The National Park Authorities in Dartmoor and Exmoor have been actively engaged in tourism issues for many years and both areas have tourism associations. Recent increase in the status of AONBs has led to greater recognition of their role with respect to sustainable development issues including tourism. Image and appeal Compared with more general inland areas, the appeal of the protected areas is clear and rests firmly with their landscapes. Consumer studies consistently underline the importance of fine countryside as a primary motivation for overseas and domestic tourism and destination choice. In most areas, the combination of attractive villages combined with natural beauty considerably strengths the appeal. The SW Brand Plotting exercise revealed that the two National Parks have, relatively, a very high awareness rating and reasonably strong interest levels. Amongst the AONBs, the Cotswolds has a strong image but the others probably far less so (in the Brand Plotting, the Mendips, for example, scored poorly). Tourism product As with rural areas in general, accommodation mainly consists of B&B, guesthouses, farmhouses, rural inns and small self-catering enterprises, principally holiday cottages. Outdoor activities and public access for walking are especially important in the protected areas. Business performance The business survey did not separately identify properties in protected areas, partly because it was felt that enterprise owners may not be fully aware of AONB boundaries. The general pattern of business performance is likely to be similar to that for rural areas as a whole (see 6.1). However, it is likely that overall levels of business will be greater owing to inherent appeal, greater awareness and the marketing activities of local associations. Markets Markets for protected areas are similar to those for rural areas as a whole (see 6.1). However, they offer relatively greater appeal for certain forms of activity holiday.


Issues and opportunities There are a number of issues that are particularly important for protected areas in tourism, which reflect worldwide policies on this subject, and include: • The extent to which these areas should be promoted as branded destinations in

their own right, including overlap with local authority brands. • Visitor and traffic management, including promotion of non-car access. • Encouraging tourism enterprises to adopt environmentally responsible

management, including green accreditation. • Supporting conservation initiatives through tourism. • Bringing more value to local communities through tourism. • Promoting local produce, linked in turn to sustainable land management.

6.3 Seaside resorts

Examples Torquay, Weymouth, Newquay, Swanage Incidence Something like a quarter of all districts within the SW contain a seaside resort. Many more contain smaller settlements along the coast which have a tourism function although may not class themselves as resorts. Destination characteristics There is no agreed definition of what constitutes a seaside resort. For our purposes, resorts are towns and cities on the coast which grew up and expanded to serve the needs of tourists and still have a substantial tourism infrastructure. Seaside resorts vary in size from cities to quite small towns. Many have a significant resident population and some are important business and service centres in their own right serving a wide catchment, although this is necessarily restricted because of the coastal location. Most resorts were substantially developed from the mid 19th to the early 20th century. Relatively little development and expansion has taken place since then and many resorts have problems with renewing outworn infrastructure. They are essentially urban in character and can absorb, and are able to handle, large numbers of people. Image and appeal Resorts vary in image and positioning, from quiet and refined (Sidmouth) to more lively (Newquay). In general, resorts are offering an intensive, lively and busy experience geared to fun, entertainment and activities Some resorts have a strong architectural feel with a coherent ‘resort’ style which has appeal. Resorts are good for people without cars as there are a lot of facilities within easy walking distance. Resorts traditionally grew around railway connections and many have retained these. Many are also flat, with appeal to the elderly or those with disabilities. Resorts also perform a wider function with regard to holidaymakers staying outside the resort who come into the resort to make use of its facilities,


Tourism product Resorts contain a significant amount of accommodation. This takes the form of serviced accommodation in hotels and guesthouses, primarily small, independent operations, as well as caravan and camp sites. The accommodation is of mixed quality, much of it in older premises. There has been relatively little investment in new hotels although some of the budget chains have moved into the bigger resorts. Encouragingly, the business survey revealed significant proportions of accommodation establishments (especially guest houses) in resorts which are undertaking improvements, more so than in other types of destination. Strong emphasis on the seafront and beach with piers, formal gardens and promenades. Good range of entertainment facilities and events, with cinemas. theatres and amusements, funfairs, pubs, clubs and restaurants etc although some resorts are more lively than others. Most resorts are surrounded by countryside within easy striking distance which can be seen as part of the overall package. Some resorts have conference and exhibition facilities, usually based on a theatre or winter gardens complex. Business performance The volume of tourism has declined since the heyday of 1950s but despite gloomy prognostications many resorts continue to thrive and survive. ‘Seaside’ accounts for 44% of all holiday trips in the SW and 55% of 7+ holidays (2001). A significant proportion of this will be down to resorts. Also the top three districts in the SW in terms of staying and day visitors are all resorts. Over the past 20 years the general trend has been downwards with shorter season, decreasing length of stay and low overall occupancies. It is possible that that may have bottomed out recently, with similar proportions of enterprises in resorts reporting modest growth in the past 5 years as in the rest of the region. Seasonality remains a problem. The business survey revealed exceptionally high occupancies in August compared with all other types of destination, but average annual occupancies slightly below the regional average. Markets Resorts have particular appeal for family holidays and older people. Coach holidays are an important source of business for many. Having said this, the pre-family group (focus groups) showed more interest in resorts than most destinations because of the appeal of nightlife and entertainment. Bournemouth was mentioned in this context as was Newquay which because of the surfing scene is seen as a ‘cool’ place, attractive to young people. Day visits are an important market for resorts, with some resorts attracting huge numbers. Some resorts are still quite strong in the conference and exhibition market although facing increasing competition from better-resourced urban areas and losing market share. A few resorts have developed niches such as language schools or activity holidays. Issues and opportunities Resorts still have much to offer. They provide robust environments, are places of fun and entertainment and provide wet weather attractions and essential services. The challenge is how to re-position and improve resorts to maintain their attractiveness and appeal.


Key issues are: • Investing in infrastructure and the environment to improve and update their

appeal. • Diversifying the appeal, including activities, lifestyle and health markets • Managing market contraction in some cases. • Identifying areas where resorts have a market advantage. • Improving accommodation quality.

6.4 Rural coast

Examples North Cornwall, Penwith, Purbeck, South Hams Incidence Essentially, the whole of the region’s coastline outside the resorts. Much of the more spectacular stretches, previously designated as Heritage Coast, lie within the AONBs. The recent designation of the East Devon and Dorset coast as a UNESCO World Heritage Site has raised its profile. Destination characteristics Extremely attractive coastal landscapes in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall of a world class quality. Fine beaches and smaller coves as well as cliff architecture and headlands affording extensive views. Numerous small coastal towns and villages, some associated with fishing, providing a location for a range of accommodation, catering, shopping and attractions. Some areas have seen extensive holiday park development in former times. Less physically appealing coast along parts of the Bristol Channel, also the location of holiday parks. Excellent access for walking provided by the South West Coast Path. Image and appeal Coastal scenery and fishing villages provide the quintessential images of Cornwall and to a lesser extent Devon and, by reflection, of the South West. Brand research suggests strong awareness and interest. The focus groups suggest that the coast in Dorset is slightly less well known and people do not associate Somerset and the Avon area with coastline. Some individual towns and villages have established their own image, e.g. Padstow, with its association with seafood. Certain locations attract large numbers of day and staying visitors and provide management challenges (e.g. Lulworth Cove). Tourism product Wide range of accommodation both within towns and villages and in countryside locations along the coast, including B&B, self-catering apartments and rural cottages, small hotels (mainly family run, with relatively few corporate brands), and holiday parks. Some existing and new larger scale developments, eg Carlyon Bay. A range of activity holidays and services on offer for the general tourist and activity segments, including boat trips, fishing trips, surfing etc. Some packaged walking opportunities on South West Coast Path. Walking and cycling trails linking coast and inland – eg Camel Trail, Tarka Trail.


Various locations have visitor and heritage centres. Craft and souvenir shops, and art galleries add to the range of small attractions. Business performance In the business survey, coastal hotels and B&B/guest houses outside the resorts were achieving slightly lower occupancies than resort-based properties. This was especially true of B&B/guest houses, where the main difference was a relatively lower level of occupancy in the high summer. Self-catering occupancy was similar in resorts and non-resort coastal areas, and equal to the regional average. Markets Coastal locations outside the main resorts have appeal for a wide range of markets, including pre-family break takers seeking activities, more affluent family holidays, and post-family holidays and breaks. Long holidays (4+ nights) continue to be important here (business survey participants suggested it accounted for 40% of their business), but this may increasingly be extended breaks up to one week rather than traditional two week holidays. Strong coastal images should provide appeal to the overseas market, though proportions of overseas visitors in these areas appear low. Issues and opportunities These areas are likely to provide long lasting appeal; they require careful promotion and management. Key issues include: • Management of traffic congestion and car parking in certain locations. • Careful development of access opportunities and walking programmes, partly

linked to the coast path. • Improvement of quality and performance of accommodation and attractions, in

line with market expectations. • Retention of character and local distinctiveness, including traditional historic

appeal of fishing harbours etc. • Sensitive promotion of marine activity holiday opportunities.

6.5 Large towns and cities

Examples Bristol, Plymouth, Exeter, Bath, Bournemouth, Swindon, Cheltenham Incidence The South West has relatively few large towns and cities compared with other regions. Destination characteristics Many cities and larger towns have appeal as leisure destinations in their own right as well as being centres of business and providing a service base for the surrounding area. Most would be expected to offer a range of hotels and other accommodation, visitor attractions, cultural and arts facilities and events programmes, restaurants and nightlife. The inherent attractiveness and distinctiveness of towns and cities varies from place to place. With Bristol and Plymouth this centres on historic maritime connections. Bournemouth is a leading resort as well as a major urban area. Exeter is a cathedral


city. In Bath and Cheltenham, the appeal centres on ambience and fine buildings. Swindon is an important business and communications centre. Image and appeal There has been significant growth in the appeal of cities for short breaks both nationally and within the UK. In part, this has been built around nightlife and events, but a number of cities have developed significant attractions which help to generate the appeal. Shopping also serves as an important draw. Bath has a high profile and awareness, domestically and internationally, as a heritage city. It scored strongly in the brand plotting exercise in terms of both awareness and interest. The brand plotting revealed that the other cities have reasonable awareness (especially Bristol and Plymouth) but register lowly in terms of interest. Tourism product Quality hotels offering good value for money for weekend breaks are of major importance in city based tourism. In the main, these tend to be provided by larger corporate brands, but smaller ‘town house’ hotels offering character and style have emerged in some towns and cities. Arts venues and conference facilities are an important part of the tourism product of towns and cities. New or redeveloped attractions have been established in a number of the South West cities in the past five years. Interesting shopping precincts and collections of high quality designer shops, together with café and restaurant quarters, are increasingly seen as part of the city tourism experience. Bath provides a good example of this, with a strong interrelationship between tourism and retailing in the city. Business performance Cities and large towns receive almost half of all the business tourism in the region and over a quarter of the v.f.r. visitors. Interestingly, 22% of short holidays in the South West occur in large towns and cities. Average occupancy levels of hotels and B&B/guest houses in large towns and cities are considerably higher than in the region as a whole. This is largely due to far less seasonality, with good levels of business throughout the year. Markets Cities and large towns are major locations for the business and conference market and for v.f.r. They are particularly important as short break destinations for more affluent pre-family couples. Nationally, the city breaks market has been growing. Forecasts based on past trends suggest a stronger growth in day trips to towns and cities than to other types of destination. The local resident market is particularly important for the viability of services also enjoyed by visitors. Issues and opportunities Although there are relatively few large towns and cities in the South West, there are opportunities for further growth in terms of market trends and current levels of business. Key issues include: • Further development and promotion of attractions, arts and events. • Marketing of special offers and packages.


• Maintenance of distinctiveness in heritage features, townscapes and also shops and restaurants.

• Seeking opportunities for further accommodation development in line with market demand.

6.6 Small towns and cities

Examples Cirencester, Shaftsbury, Okehampton, Truro, Glastonbury, Bradford on Avon. Incidence The South West has a plentiful supply of attractive small towns throughout the whole region. In this category we also include the smaller cathedral cities such as Wells, Salisbury and Truro. Destination characteristics Small towns are often attractive places for visitors to spend time, providing a mixture of heritage interest, shopping and catering. They act as important service centres for visitors to rural and coastal areas. Most small towns now have bypasses, improving their appeal as places to linger but also removing a certain amount of passing trade. Traffic and pedestrian signing, car parking and visitor orientation (including TICs) are important issues for small towns. Market towns are seen as generators of economic growth in rural areas, and as such have been the focus of support for sustainable development initiatives by the Countryside Agency and RDAs. Tourism plays an important part in most market town development projects. Image and appeal There is considerable variation in the inherent interest of individual towns. Arguably, the east of the region sees a higher concentration of towns with heritage appeal and intact old buildings. The small towns of the Cotswolds and parts of Wiltshire and Dorset are notable in this regard. The maintenance of a heritage area in the core of small towns is particularly important to their appeal. Markets provide an important feature of many small towns, including traditional street markets and newer farmers’ markets. Livestock markets have considerable visitor appeal but have been declining. Consumer awareness of individual small towns is likely to be limited and it is not cost effective for them to establish their own brand image – most relate to surrounding rural areas or sub-regions in terms of destination marketing. Tourism product Traditionally, most small towns will have a selection of pubs and inns, providing accommodation and meals. Many of these have been struggling to survive in the past twenty years and standards vary considerably; those investing in quality have fared much better. Some towns have seen recent development of lodge accommodation, usually on by-passes. B&B and guest houses are also important in the tourism product. Visitor attractions in small towns are usually small in scale. Small museums and heritage centres, often volunteer run, are a typical feature of many small towns, often with low visitor numbers.


Many towns have developed town trails and walks into the surrounding countryside. Teashops and craft shops form an important part of the visitor experience. Business performance Small towns in the South West receive only 16% of short holidays and 11% of long holidays, but 28% of v.f.r. business. The business survey found hotels and B&B/guest houses in small towns trading slightly above the regional average, achieving quite good levels of occupancy in the shoulder and winter months. Markets Markets for small towns are similar to those for rural areas. They have main appeal to the post-family segment. They are more likely to be of appeal for breaks than for longer holidays. Local residents, v.f.r. and day visitors are important markets. Issues and opportunities It is important that small towns should retain their inherent appeal as well as acting as service centres. Key issues include: • Heritage conservation and town centre management. • Traffic management and visitor flows. • Improving the appeal, quality and performance of traditional inns. • Strengthening linkages between towns and surrounding rural areas • Maintaining visitor information services. • Improving the appeal and performance of museums and other small attractions. • Maintaining markets and encouraging a range of interesting shops and eating

places.


7 COMPETITIVE POSITION

This chapter presents data to show how the South West region is faring in relation to the country as a whole, and especially with respect to five separate competitor areas, in terms of market performance, perceptions, products and strategic priorities. The main competitor destinations chosen for comparison are Cumbria (the Lake District), Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Brittany. These are all areas on the Atlantic seaboard with similar heritage and potentially comparable strengths in terms of coastal and countryside images and resources. Focus groups confirmed them as competitors for holidays. The chapter is divided into five sections. The first section looks at market performance and share and the second section looks at the make up of the product. This is followed by a comparison of perceptions of the South West and competitor destinations, based on our consumer focus groups. The next section compares how the South West and competitor destinations present themselves to the UK consumer. We finally make a comparison of their strategic objectives.

7.1 Comparison of market performance

Comparative volume and value

The comparative volume and value of tourism to each of the chosen areas is shown in Table 7.1. The South West is the most visited of the competitor areas. TABLE 7.1 Volume and value of tourism 2001

UK residents Overseas residents Trips/visits Nights Spending Trips/visits Nights Spending

Millions Millions £ Millions Millions Millions £ Millions UK 163.1 529.6 26094 22.8 189.5 11306 England 131.9 409.2 20278 19.3 167.0 9922 Scotland 17.5 63.2 3412 1.6 15.0 757 Wales 11.6 44.6 1664 0.9 5.8 248 SW 24.0 89.9 3889 1.9 15.0 634 Cumbria 4.5 15.1 738 0.2 0.9 40 Ireland* 7.5 756 6.4 46.6 2340 Brittany 2.5 9.1 1.0 3.3

Source: UKTS 2001, Tourism Facts 2001 (Bord Failte), Le Tourisme en Bretagne (Observatoire Regional du Tourisme) Table 7.2 shows the volume of tourism per head of resident population. The South West region achieves well, generating 5.3 incoming trips per head.


TABLE 7.2 Tourism trips per head of resident population

Destination Incoming trips per head of population

UK 3.2 England 3.1 Scotland 3.7 Wales 4.3 SW 5.3 Cumbria 9.4 Ireland* 3.6 Brittany 1.2

Source: UKTS 2001, Tourism Facts 2001 (Bord Failte), Le Tourisme en Bretagne (Observatoire Regional du Tourisme), 2001 Census Table 7.3 presents four different measures of average expenditure for each competitor destination. Spend per trip by UK residents is above the UK average in the South West, although not as high as in Scotland. However, spend per night in the South West is below the UK average, beating only Wales. For overseas visitors, the spread is greater. Here, the South West performs poorly. Although average spend per trip is greater than in either Wales or Cumbria, it falls well short of the UK average. The South West also achieves the lowest spend per day by overseas visitors. TABLE 7.3 Average expenditure 2001

UK residents Average spend

Overseas residents Average spend

£ per trip per night per visit per night UK 160 49 489 59 England 154 50 514 59 Scotland 195 54 476 50 Wales 143 37 270 43 SW 162 43 334 42 Cumbria 164 49 190 44 Ireland 101 366

Source: UKTS 2001, Tourism Facts 2001 (Bord Failte)

Comparative performance within different markets

Purpose of trip

Figs 7.1 and 7.2 present the breakdown of trips by purpose for each of the destinations, respectively for domestic and overseas visitors. In comparison with other UK areas, the South West region is relatively dependent on holiday trips and relatively unsuccessful in achieving business trips. The South West succeeds in


generating a higher proportion of VFR visits than other rural areas. On average in the UK, 0.6 VFR trips are generated per head of resident population: the South West achieves 0.9.

Fig 7.1 % of trips by purpose, UK residents 2001

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

UK England Scotland Wales SW Cumbria

OtherVFRBusinessHoliday

When trips by overseas residents are considered, the South West region has a slightly more even spread of trip purpose than other competitor rural areas such as Cumbria and Scotland.

Fig 7.2 % of trips by purpose, overseas residents 2001

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%


OtherVFRBusinessHoliday

Length of stay

Comparative information on length of stay is available for holiday trips. The South West region is considerably more dependent than the competitor areas on longer, 4+ night, as against short, 1-3 night, holidays.


Fig 7.3 % of holiday trips by length of stay, UK residents, 2001

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

UK England Scotland Wales SW

1-3 nights4+ nights

When spend generated is considered, rather than number of trips, then the picture is especially marked, as shown in Fig 7.4. The South West region is particularly dependent on income earned from longer 4+ night holidays, generating over 64% of spending in the South West compared with 52% for the whole of the UK.

Fig 7.4 % of holiday spend by length of stay, UK residents, 2001

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

UK England Scotland Wales SW

1-3 nights4+ nights


Occupancy levels

Comparative occupancy levels are available only for serviced accommodation, and for certain competitor destinations. The limited picture shows that the South West is achieving similar room occupancies to Scotland, with a better performance on bedspace occupancy. The South West outperforms Cumbria on room occupancy. TABLE 7.4 Room and bedspace occupancy, 2000, 2001 Room occupancy Bedspace occupancy % 2001 2000 2001 2000 UK 57 58 42 43 England 59 60 43 44 Scotland 53 53 40 40 Wales n/a n/a n/a n/a SW 53 53 41 41 Cumbria 46 48 38 41 National Accommodation Occupancy Surveys

Seasonality of business

The following two charts consider the seasonality of tourism trips. The spread of trips by UK residents in the South West mirrors relatively closely the picture for the UK as a whole, although it is important to bear in mind that 2001 was atypical because of the particular and seasonal impact of FMD on some regions. Wales appears to be more dependent than the South West on the summer season.

Fig 7.5 % of tourism trips by season, UK residents, 2001

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


Oct-DecJul-SepApr-JunJan-Mar

There is considerably more variation when seasonality of overseas visits is considered. Scotland and Cumbria in particular receive a high proportion of their overseas visits during the summer season. The South West region appears to have


a slightly more even spread, being particularly successful in attracting late spring/early summer visits.

Fig 7.6 % of tourism trips by season, overseas residents, 2001

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

UK England Scotland Wales SW Cumbria Ireland*

Oct-DecJul-SepApr-JunJan-Mar

Visitor profile

Origin of visitors

Table 7.5 shows the relative dependence in rank order of each destination on the domestic and overseas markets. The South West region, in common with Wales and Cumbria, is highly dependent on the domestic market. TABLE 7.5 Relative share of tourism market (domestic vs. overseas) % Domestic % Overseas Ireland* 54.0 46.0 Brittany 71.4 28.6 England 87.2 12.8 UK 87.7 12.3 Scotland 91.6 8.4 SW 92.7 7.3 Wales 92.8 7.2 Cumbria 95.5 4.5

Source: UKTS 2001, Tourism Facts 2001 (Bord Failte), Le Tourisme en Bretagne (Observatoire Regional du Tourisme)

Origin of overseas visits

Relative to some of its competitor destinations, the South West region has a more even spread of overseas countries of origin. Although it has a marginally smaller


proportion of overseas visitors than, for instance, Scotland, it has penetrated a wider group of overseas markets. Scotland appears to be particularly dependent on the US market, while Ireland is heavily dependent on incoming visitors from the UK.

Fig 7.7 Top five overseas countries of origin, %age contribution 2001

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

UK

Englan

d

Scotla

ndW

ales

SW

Cumbri

a

Irelan

d

Brittan

y

Other

UK

Belgium

Canada

Australia

Netherlands

Ireland

Germany

France

USA

Age profile of visitors Table 7.6 shows the age profile of UK visitors for competitor destinations within the UK. The South West appears to be least successful in attracting visitors within the 35-54 age range: it has the highest proportion of 55+ visitors, and attracts a higher proportion of visitors aged 16-34 than its rural competitors. TABLE 7.6 Age profile of UK visitors, 2001 % trips 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ UK 15 21 22 17 12 14 England 16 21 22 16 12 14 Scotland 13 21 23 18 13 12 Wales 12 19 22 18 13 16 SW 14 21 21 15 14 18 Cumbria 11 20 24 20 12 12

Source: UKTS 2001 The picture for overseas visitors is slightly different. Overseas data includes the 0-15 age group, so they are not directly comparable. The profile of overseas visitors is slightly younger. The South West again is least successful in the 35-54 age group, but performs well in the family market. TABLE 7.8 Age profile of overseas visitors, 2001 % trips 0-15 16-34 35-54 55+ UK 7 36 42 15 England 7 37 41 15 Scotland 4 31 41 23 Wales 5 35 39 21 SW 19 27 34 20 Cumbria 9 22 42 29


Source: UKTS 2001

Social profile of visitors

Figure 7.8 shows the social profile of UK visitors for competitor destinations. The South West region attracts a slightly lower proportion of AB/C1 visitors than its competitors. In contrast, C2 visitors feature slightly more strongly within its market mix.

Fig 7.8 Social profile of UK visitors, 2001

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

UK England Scotland Wales SW Cumbria Ireland*

DEC2C1AB

*Figures for Ireland are for overseas visitors, primarily UK

Accommodation used

Table 7.8 shows the %age of trips by UK visitors using different types of accommodation. Compared with competitor rural destinations, the South West region achieves a lower proportion of trips using serviced accommodation than either Scotland or Cumbria, although it performs better than Wales in this sector. Self-catering accommodation, camping and caravanning are relatively important to the region. The South West is relatively less dependent on VFR accommodation than its competitor destinations. TABLE 7.8 Accommodation used by UK residents, 2001, % trips

Hot

el/M

/G

B&B/

Farm

Ren

ted

hous

e

Hos

tel

Frie

nds/

Seco

nd

hom

e

Cam

ping

Tow

ed

cara

van

Stat

ic

cara

van

Oth

er

UK 26 6 6 1 47 1 2 2 11 England 26 6 6 1 48 1 2 2 10 Scotland 33 9 6 2 42 1 1 3 8 Wales 19 7 7 1 38 2 4 4 9 12 SW 28 7 12 33 0 16 1 Cumbria 29 11 14 1 28 2 5 4 11

If visits by overseas residents are considered, the relatively poor showing of hotels within the serviced accommodation sector is marked.


TABLE 7.9 Accommodation used by overseas residents, 2001, % trips

% visits Hotel etc B&B

Camping/mobile home Hostel

Holiday village

Rented house

Paying guest

Free guest

Own home Other

UK 45 5 1 4 0 3 3 38 2 6 England 46 4 1 4 0 3 4 38 2 5 Scotland 48 16 3 7 0 3 1 29 2 3 Wales 33 13 4 6 1 2 1 35 2 6 SW 29 20 3 4 * 4 38 Cumbria 45 17 3 2 0 3 0 23 2 5

Transport used

Table 7.10 shows the mode of transport used for the longest part of the journey to reach the destination area. The pattern for Scotland is quite distinct, with an unusual reliance on forms of transport other than the car. Of the remaining three rural destinations, the South West region depends a little less on the car than either Wales or Cumbria. The train, regular bus or coach and organised coaches each contribute more visits. TABLE 7.10 Transport used by UK residents, 2001

% of trips Car

Trai

n

Reg

ular

bu

s/co

ach

Org

anis

ed

coac

h

Mot

oris

ed

cara

van

Mot

or

cycl

e

Bicy

cle

Plan

e

Boat

/shi

p

Oth

er

UK 73 12 4 2 1 * * 4 1 3

England 74 13 4 2 3 4

Scotland 66 10 6 3 9 6

Wales 81 8 4 2 2 4

SW 79 9 5 3 2 2

Cumbria 85 7 2 2 * * * 1 4

Trends in tourism visits

Table 7.11 shows the change over time of the market share for the South West by trip type. These trend figures are available only for the former tourist board region. While the share of all holiday trips has remained relatively static, a rise in short breaks has compensated for a decline in longer 4+ night holidays. VFR trips have gained over the same period while, despite a small mid-term rise, there has been little change in business trips. The South West share of the overseas market has seen a small decline.


TABLE 7.11 South West* trips by type, as share of all such UK trips, 1996-2001 Short holiday Long holiday All holiday VFR Business Overseas 1996 9.1 21.0 14.2 6.2 7.6 6.8 1997 10.3 21.4 14.9 6.1 9.2 6.7 1998 12.0 22.7 16.3 6.5 8.5 6.6 1999 11.9 23.0 16.2 6.3 9.2 6.3 2000 10.0 16.5 12.4 7.1 8.4 6.4 2001 11.1 19.3 14.1 9.9 7.9 6.1

* NB Former SW Tourist Board Region Figure 7.9 shows the change in tourism trips by UK residents in a range of different destinations, over the period 1996-2001, and taking 1996 as a base. The South West has seen a growth in trip numbers over the period and, despite a dip in 2000, has fared better than other destinations. NB The trend line data for the South West shown in Figures 7.9 to 7.12 is for the former South West Tourist Board region and excludes Gloucestershire and eastern Dorset.

Fig 7.9 Change in tourism trips by UK residents, 1996-2001

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

UKEnglandScotlandWalesSouthwest

Figure 7.10 presents similar information for tourism nights, and shows a slightly different picture. Tourism nights have fallen over the period in all three competitor rural destinations: however, overall the South West has fared better than either Scotland or Wales.


Figure 7.10 Change in tourism nights by UK residents, 1996-2001

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001


Figure 7.11 shows the change in short holidays trips of 1-3 nights during the period 1996-2001. Growth in the South West region has been stronger than in any other destination.

Fig 7.11 Change in short (1-3 night) holiday trips, 1996-2001

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

1.80

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001


Conversely, longer, 4+ night, holiday trips to the South West have declined more sharply than for other destinations.


Fig 7.12 Change in long (4+) night holiday trips, 1996-2001

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001


7.2 Comparison of tourism enterprises

Accommodation stock and quality

It has proved difficult to identify exactly comparable information about accommodation stock in the competitor destinations. In practice, the most reliable information relates to accommodation that is within the various quality assurance schemes. Information about known stock varies from destination to destination. There is no unified quality assurance scheme that operates across all the destinations. In consequence, there is variation in the definitions of the descriptors that are used. We have made reasonable assumptions in order to produce the following comparable information. Table 7.12 shows the number of accommodation enterprises in each destination area participating in their national quality assurance scheme, by accommodation sector. This information can only be provided for the former South West region. TABLE 7.12 Numbers participating in quality scheme, by accommodation sector, 2003

England Cumbria South West

(old region) Wales Scotland* Ireland**

Hotels 1559 108 279 555 1134 849 GA 9552 465 1753 1144 3184 4404 Self-Catering (Establishments) 9615 1300 2751 1114 2868 1802 C Parks 1032 62 312 0 287 132 Hostels 218 35 28 0 116 206 *The penetration rate of the quality assurance scheme in Scotland is substantially higher than elsewhere **Figures for Ireland are for known stock


To obtain a better picture of the accommodation types that are of particular significance in the South West region, Table 7.13 shows the percentage of all England accommodation in the National Inspection Scheme, for each sector. Almost one third of quality rated self-catering establishments and of caravan and camping parks in England are to be found in the South West region. TABLE 7.13 Proportion of all England accommodation in region, by sector, 2003 % Cumbria South West

(old region) Hotels 6.9 17.9 GA 4.9 18.4 Self-Catering (Establishments) 13.5 28.6 C Parks 6.0 30.2 Hostels 16.1 12.8

Accommodation quality

Hotels

Table 7.14 shows, for a range of destinations, the percentage of hotels within each quality grade. A mean grade has been calculated for each. Scotland performs well in this sector, already almost reaching their target to achieve an average quality assurance scheme score of 3 by 2006. Wales follows close behind them. TABLE 7.14 Quality ratings, % in category – Hotels, 2003 Hotels 1S 2S 3S 4S 5S Mean England 3 44 44 8 1 2.6 Cumbria 4 60 35 1 0 2.33 South West (old region) 5 53 36 6 0 2.43 Wales 4 35 45 14 3 2.8 Scotland 3 25 48 22 2 2.95

Guest accommodation

Table 7.15 shows, for a range of destinations, the percentage of guest accommodation (including B&Bs, guesthouses and inns) within each quality grade. A mean grade has been calculated for each. Scotland and Wales perform less well here, and the South West region performs strongly. TABLE 7.15 Quality ratings, % in category – Guest accommodation, 2003 Guest Accommodation 1D 2D 3D 4D 5D Mean England 0 6 45 45 4 3.47 Cumbria 0 2 40 54 4 3.6 South West (old region) 0 4 41 49 6 3.57 Wales 4 27 55 13 2 2.85 Scotland 3 21 52 22 1 2.94


Self catering

Table 7.16 shows, for a range of destinations, the percentage of self-catering accommodation enterprises within each quality grade. A mean grade has been calculated for each. Self-catering accommodation in the quality assurance scheme in Wales is of an especially high quality, while Scotland appears weak in this area. TABLE 7.16 Quality ratings, % in category – Self catering, 2003 Self-Catering 1S 2S 3S 4S 5S Mean England 2 10 45 38 5 3.34 Cumbria 0 4 42 45 9 3.59 South West (old region) 1 9 47 38 5 3.37 Wales 0 5 22 55 20 3.96 Scotland 6 25 46 23 0 2.86

Caravan and camping parks

Table 7.17 shows, for a range of destinations, the percentage of caravan and camping parks within each quality grade. A mean grade has been calculated for each. The quality of caravan and camping parks in Cumbria appears to be high. No information is available for Wales for this sector. TABLE 7.17 Quality ratings, % in category – Caravan and camping parks, 2003 Caravan and Camping Parks 1S 2S 3S 4S 5S Mean England 0 5 25 48 22 3.87 Cumbria 0 2 15 43 40 4.21 South West (old region) 0 3 20 61 16 3.9 Scotland 0 6 24 53 17 3.81

Hostels

Table 7.18 shows, for a range of destinations, the percentage of hostels within each quality grade. A mean grade has been calculated for each. This is another sector where Scotland scores well, while the South West is lagging behind. TABLE 7.18 Quality ratings, % in category – Hostels, 2003 Hostels 1S 2S 3S 4S 5S Mean England 37 21 32 10 0 2.15 Cumbria 32 21 38 9 0 2.24 South West (old region) 38 34 28 0 0 1.9 Scotland 20 34 26 19 2 2.52

Summary

The picture is summarised in Figure 7.13 from which it can be seen that, overall, the quality rating of accommodation stock in the South West region generally at best matches or often lags behind that of their competitor destinations. No one destination dominates the field in all accommodation sectors: each has strengths and


weaknesses. Guest accommodation is the sector where the South West stands up best against the competition.

Fig 7.13 Mean quality rating by accommodation type, 2003

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Hotels GA Self catering C Parks Hostels

EnglandCumbriaSouth WestWalesScotland

NB Old South West region

Visitor attractions

Data about UK visitor attractions is collected through an annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions. This data is available only for the former South West region. Comparison between areas is hampered by variations in the completeness of the underlying database, and the response rate to the survey, shown in Table 7.19. TABLE 7.19 Numbers of visitor attractions, 2001 UK England Scotland Wales SW (old) Cumbria Ireland Attractions surveyed 6415 4789 974 474 Attractions providing data 3387 2416 651 176 318 79 158 Effective response rate % 53 50 67 37

Source: Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions, 2001 It is possible, however, to build some picture of how the attractions sector in the South West region compares with its competitor destinations. Table 7.20 shows the size structure of the attractions sector for each destination. The range of attractions in the South West mirrors very closely the picture for England, there being a higher proportion of the largest attractions than in competitor rural destinations. TABLE 7.20 Visitor attractions by number of visits, 2001 UK England Scotland Wales SW (old) Cumbria Ireland % 200,001+ 8 9 6 2 9 5 ** % 101,001-200,00 7 8 4 9 8 11 14 % 50,001-100,00 11 11 9 15 11 11 10 % 20,001-50,000 17 17 17 20 16 19 22 % 20,000 or less 56 54 63 53 56 54 54


The average adult standard charge is slightly higher in the South West (£3.76) than in England (£3.69) and higher than Scotland or Wales (£3.22, £3.21 respectively). 55 visitor attractions in the new South West region have joined the Visitor Attractions Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS), an apparently similar proportion to other English rural destinations. In Scotland, over 90% of attractions are involved in their quality grading scheme for attractions. Despite a more even seasonal spread of visitors, the South West has a relatively low proportion of year round attractions, with both Cumbria and Wales coming closer to the UK average. The South West shares with Scotland an exact reverse of the split in England between year round and seasonal attractions. TABLE 7.21 Season of visitor attractions’ opening, 2001 UK England Scotland Wales SW (old) Cumbria Open all year 52 54 46 52 46 49 Seasonal 48 46 54 48 54 51 A higher proportion of visitor attractions in the South West have on site catering facilities than elsewhere: 51% compared with 33% in Scotland. Attractions with retail facilities lag very slightly behind most other destinations: Cumbria appears to have an unusually high number. TABLE 7.22 Facilities available at visitor attractions, 2001 UK England Scotland Wales SW (old) Cumbria Retail 82 83 82 82 81 92 Catering 43 46 33 40 51 49

Performance

Attractions business appears to be holding up relatively well in the South West. Visits to attractions in the South West rose by 2% between 2000 and 2001, falling by 3% in Cumbria in the same period. During the same period, gross revenue rose by 4% in the South West, falling by 9% in Cumbria. Table 7.23 shows that visitor attractions in the South West perform well on revenue and time spent per visit. Average dwell time is significantly higher than elsewhere, and revenue per visit falls just short of the average revenue for all England attractions. TABLE 7.23 Performance measures of visits to attractions, 2001 UK England Scotland Wales SW (old) Cumbria Average revenue per visit (£) 5.75 6.09 4.46 4.65 6.04 5.32 Average dwell time (minutes) 146 155 93 118 171 101 Attractions in the South West region are not achieving the national market share of overseas visitors. While they fare better than either Cumbria or Wales, they fall well short of Scotland’s impressive 23%.


TABLE 7.24 Origin of visitors to attractions, 2001 UK England Scotland Wales SW (old) Cumbria Overseas residents, % 15 13 23 8 10 5 UK residents, % 86 86 78 92 90 95

7.3 Comparison of market perceptions

As part of the original research for the Tourism Intelligence Study, nine discussion groups were held. Information on the research process is given in the Introduction to this report and the main findings for the South West are presented in Chapter 3. At the beginning of each session, destinations chosen for holiday and breaks were discussed in general. At the end of the session, group perceptions of the region were compared with five pre-prompted competitor destinations.

The span of competitor destinations

A review of participants’ recent holiday taking activity provides a snapshot picture of the type of competition faced by the South West. Key findings are as follows. • In terms of short breaks taken, the South West compares well with other parts of

the UK. People have been to a large number of different areas of the UK for breaks and no one destination stands out as a major competitor. The UK and Ireland break experience has included cities, such as Edinburgh and Dublin, as well as rural and coastal breaks.

• Partly enabled by cheap flights, there has been a strong trend towards taking

breaks abroad (apart from amongst the family groups), including breaks to sunshine destinations and most especially city breaks in Europe and the USA. Again, no clear competitor emerges.

• Overseas destinations are generally preferred for longer holidays. The vast

majority of holiday taking has been to sunshine destinations in the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and the Caribbean.

• Participants (especially family groups) did however have recent experience of

long holidays in the UK. Destinations in the South West were those most frequently mentioned. Places in which people had taken holidays elsewhere in the British Isles were Wales, Ireland, Scotland, the Lake District and the south coast.

Relative position of the South West

Participants were asked to rank the South West, ‘abroad’ in general and the five pre-prompted competitor areas in terms of their appeal for holidays and for short breaks. The South West fared very well against the competition. The only exception was that for holidays, as distinct from breaks, all the groups ranked holidays abroad first, over and above all the mentioned competitors. However, all but one of the groups ranked the South West in second place for holidays, and so it stood out clearly from


the other mentioned competitors. Brittany came third for holidays, followed by Ireland, Scotland, the Lake District, and Wales in that order. The ranking of breaks was slightly less clear cut. The South West came out top, being voted first by half the groups and never less than third. In second place were breaks taken ‘abroad’, but the discussion suggested that this referred mainly to the taking of city breaks. Ireland came third, mainly due to positive interest in Dublin for a short break, followed by Wales, the Lakes, Scotland and Brittany in that order. The South West was frequently referred to as the best place in the UK for holidays and breaks.

Reaction to other destinations

‘Abroad’

People like going abroad, for the weather, for experiencing different cultures, and partly because it is perceived as being cheaper than the UK. This applies to all lifecycle segments. Young people like the nightlife in cities and Mediterranean coastal resorts. Families would basically prefer to take holidays abroad but will stay in the UK for reasons of practicality and familiarity. Older people enjoy different cultural experiences. Overseas destinations are now competing strongly for breaks, partly owing to the availability of cheap flights. City breaks were very popular amongst the participants.

Brittany

Brittany was considered quite positively as a destination for a long holiday, especially amongst the post-family lifecycle groups. This appears to be primarily because it is ‘abroad’ and still relatively easy to get to. However, for some this was perceived as being ‘cold France’; having gone abroad they would prefer to head for the sun. People responded positively to perceptions of better food and drink and lower prices than in the South West. These are challenges that the South West should seek to address when competing for the post-family market. Brittany is not rated highly as a competitor short break destination.

Ireland

Ireland is seen an interesting and appealing destination for holidays and short breaks. Images are positive, centred on friendly people and culture. Dublin comes over very strongly as a short break destination and this appears to be having a positive knock-on effect on the image of the rest of Ireland as a place for an extended break or holiday. Potential for good value travel and packages, including fly-drive, was a positive factor.


Scotland

People were quite interested in Scotland as a destination for a holiday or break, but appeared not to be very knowledgeable about it. In general there was seen to be less variety and fewer places to visit than in the South West. People are put off by drive times to Scotland and would be more likely to consider flying. It is seen as too far from South East and Midlands markets for short breaks, with the exception of Edinburgh which has a strong image as a short break city destination, which people can fly to easily.

Wales

Wales suffers from a relatively negative image, fed by prejudice against the people and the country. It was the least preferred destination for a long holiday. Images of poor quality and outdated resorts (Rhyl was mentioned) put people off, and it is considered to offer far less by way of places to visit and things to do than the South West. The exception to this poor showing was amongst short break takers in the Midlands who scored Wales quite highly. This was because of its relative proximity (people can drive there in not much more than an hour) and familiarity. Interestingly, a number of people were aware of the high profile destination advertising for Wales on the TV and in other media, showing fine scenery, beaches and places of interest. This had gone down well and did appear to have a chance of changing perceptions.

The Lake District

The Lake District suffers from being seen as a single theme destination. A frequent comment was that it is just mountains and lakes with not much else to do. It is seen as a relatively wet place with a lack of wet-weather attractions. However, it did score highly amongst people interested in walking and outdoor activities on breaks or short holidays, being seen as offering more than the South West for this type of visitor.

Some conclusions about perceptions of the competition

The following conclusions can be drawn from the holiday taking patterns and perceptions outlined above: • The main competition for the South West may be from overseas destinations with

attributes that it cannot easily match - guaranteed fine weather and major city experiences.

• A further important factor pushing people abroad, which can be influenced to

some extent and may change owing to external circumstances, is cost (perceived and real). Lifestyle benefits of overseas destinations, such as food and drink, could be addressed in the South West.


• The South West appears to be beating most domestic competition in terms of

current perceptions. Its main strength is that it combines inland and coastal scenery, beaches, heritage, lots of places to visit, and warmer weather than other parts of the UK. Other places fell down on at least one of these attributes.

• The region cannot rest on its laurels. Other areas are competing strongly in

terms of city destinations, niche market appeal, images of warmth and friendliness and the impact of advertising.

• The ease, cost and time of travel are major factors in determining reaction to

potential short break destinations. This will affect different parts of the South West to varying degrees, but should be addressed as a major strategic issue. Cheap flights to destinations both overseas and within the UK are creating significant competition.

7.4 Comparison of promotional material

As part of this study, we have undertaken a systematic analysis of the promotional material used by the South West and the five competitor destinations. The purpose was to compare the relative strengths of the material, messages and product they contain. The study concentrated on two types of material: • The brochures sent out by the tourist boards in response to a general enquiry by

a mystery shopper seeking to visit the region. • The tourist boards’ websites covering each region. The full reports on this exercise can be found in Appendix 3. The main findings are summarised below.

Promotional print

South West Tourism behaves differently to the other destinations in the material it sends out to general enquirers. Whereas all five of the other areas have full colour A4 main guides for the region as a whole, SWT sends out a series of A5 colour booklets or foldout broadsheets, covering accommodation and attractions. These contain some introductory descriptive copy, photographs and advertisements – for example in the Bed and Breakfast guide this amounts to 10 pages. In terms of the images and products projected by the publications, all the destinations make a strong play on scenery in both photographs and text. Beyond this: • The South West material is relatively clinical, with the focus being on facility

information. • The Wales print creatively uses celebrities to vouch for the quality of the place

and to describe their own personal experiences and reaction. The print is strong on activities and events.

• The Brittany guide cleverly uses the ‘Year of the Painter 2003’ to combine cultural and landscape strengths and is strong on themes.

• Scotland emphasises dramatic scenery, architecture and wildlife. • Ireland, by contrast, puts more of an emphasis on people and a warm welcome.


We analysed the print in terms of portrayal and coverage of geographical as against thematic brands. It is important to appreciate that whereas only 7 pages in the South West guide was given over to any form of brand promotion, competitors devoted between 24 (Ireland) and 58 (Scotland) pages to this. Within these pages, the proportion of space devoted to geographical as against thematic brands varies from 97% thematic in Wales to 79% geographical in Scotland. The number of geographical brands (or sub-regions) featured varied from 5 in Brittany to 12 in Wales. The number and type of separately identified thematic brands varied between the destinations as shown in Table 7.25 TABLE 7.25 Thematic brands used in main brochures

Her

itage

/His

tory

Food

Activ

ity B

reak

s

Fam

ily

Even

ts

Scen

ery

Farm

Tou

rism

Cul

ture

Peop

le /

Hos

pita

lity

Wild

life

Wat

erw

ays

Shop

ping

Arts

/ C

rafts

Citi

es

South West1 a a a

Lake District

a a a a a a

Scotland a a a a Ireland a a a a a Wales a a a a a a a Brittany a a a a a a a a a

1 Scenery covers two themes in the South West brochure – coastline and countryside

The most commonly featured themes are activity breaks, food and culture. It can also be seen how some destinations are distinguishing themselves through emphasis on more particular themes such as wildlife in Scotland. Addressing seasonality is an important strategic issue for all the destinations, yet this has been little addressed in the print. Exceptions are Wales, where in fact the main print is itself seasonal (we assessed the spring print) and emphasises events activity in that period, and Brittany where specific encouragement is given to visits out of season when the place is quieter. As the main pieces of print mailed out to answer a general enquiry about the region, the guides we analysed should seek to play a gateway role to further information. The South West guide(s) promote SWT’s website, Holiday Information Line, and a special Watersports website; list TICs’ phone numbers; and contain some sporadic advertisements from sub-regions which carry their websites. However, there is no systematic promotion of county or district contacts. By contrast, the Wales and Brittany guides provide information coupons or cards with the ability for readers to order sub-regional or thematic print centrally.


Websites

Websites provide a more level playing field for comparison between the destinations. Each has a broadly equivalent promotional website managed by the tourist board. These were assessed to see what main messages and themes come across to potential visitors. Analysis of the home pages provides an idea of priority approaches and themes. The main differences identified were as follows: • The Scotland site places an emphasis on breaks, including short breaks based

around accommodation deals, thematic breaks and golfing breaks. There is a searchable map for attractions and events, and links are given to more detailed product information based on themes (see below).

• The Ireland home page emphasises the personal nature of the destination, delivering personal messages to the enquirer and stressing Irish warmth. A Quick Information Guide links to pages on regions, attractions, and transport etc. The site also emphasises specific activities.

• The Cumbria site is thematic, with promotional copy covering favourite places, gardens, etc. and more specific information on accommodation and transport. It makes great play of an associated Lake District Outdoors site.

• In Wales the heavily segmented approach to their site comes across from the beginning; enquirers are invited to select information based on who they are and their interest. Segmentation and the site structure is both demographic (eg information for families), product based (eg activity holidays) and thematic (eg culture – inspirational Wales).

• The Brittany home page leads into sections that are both practical (eg accommodation) and thematic (e.g food).

The South West Tourism site, in contrast to the others, provides more straightforward information, which is well ordered and easy to use. The home page, helpfully if prosaically, lists the geographical areas covered and invites a selection between accommodation, things to do, ‘about the region’ and features. The features section links to details of product within specific themes, as indicated below. The site is particularly strong on the provision of searchable information that would aid the planning of a holiday. All the sites provide detailed information on accommodation, attractions and events. We also compared the sites according to the kinds of product for which more detailed information was specifically made available. The results are shown in Table 7.26. This gives a clue as to the specific product strengths which the destinations are pushing and to the segments they may be targeting.


TABLE 7.26 Thematic areas about which detailed information is provided

South West Lake

District Scotland Wales Ireland Brittany • Food &

drink • Walking • Gardens • Film/TV

locations • Watersports

• Walking • Cycling • Group

visits

• Extreme sports

• Walking • Cycling • Golf • Genealogy

• Family holidays

• Youth market

• Activities • Cycling • Walking • Golf • Farm

holidays • Adventure

• Golf • Cycling • Angling • Equestrian • Genealogy • Horse

drawn caravans

• Golf • Waterways • Seawater

therapy

The Wales and, especially, the Scotland sites are particularly strong with respect to detailed information on themes, with information not only on relevant operators but also infrastructure and locations, for example opportunities to search for routes for specific types of cycling. The strategic issue of seasonality is better addressed by the websites than by the print. This comes across very strongly on the Scotland site, with its emphasis on special breaks, but also in the Lake District (e.g. themes linked to Wordsworth and daffodils for spring breaks), and Wales (Easter ideas).

Some conclusions about the comparative presentation of the South West

We draw the following main conclusions on how the South West presents itself, compared with its competitors, through its print and website: • The overriding impression is that the South West is focussed more on providing

information through its print and website than on selling the destination through themes and ideas. Its material is very well presented for holiday planning. The information quality is good; the sparkle is lacking.

• One reason for this may be that the region is looking more to its constituent sub-

regions to promote themselves, yet the material it produces does not very obviously serve a gateway function.

• Other regions come over more strongly in terms of describing the region and in

presenting reasons for making a visit. For example, Wales and Ireland both use a more emotional appeal to potential tourists, inviting a personal engagement with the destination.

• Scotland, Wales and Ireland all appear to have been more advanced in

developing and promoting the activity holiday product. The work done by South West Tourism on the sailing and watersports sector, however, is striking and might be translated into other activities.

• Compared with some other sites and print, the region fails to get over seasonal

messages strongly.


7.5 Comparison of strategies

We have carried out a broad comparison between the most recent tourism strategies for the South West and the five competitor destinations. This looked at overall missions and objectives rather than the detail of the strategies or their implementation.

Mission and vision

Each strategy contains some form of mission or vision statement. All see growth in tourism as the mission. The South West, Wales and Scotland are seeking to become leading or ‘must visit’ destinations. The Scottish mission is most visitor -focussed (visitors’ needs come first). Quality is referred to or implied by most. All mention economic benefits and improvements and most refer to sustainability (including environmental sustainability) explicitly or implicitly. The Cumbria and Brittany missions are slightly different, the former referring to a geographical management issue and the latter being more of a role statement for the Tourism Committee. Mission or vision statements Wales A mature, confident and prosperous industry which is making a vital and increasing contribution to the economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being of Wales by achieving sustainable growth through effective co-ordination and collaboration at all levels in the industry. Scotland A must-visit destination where visitors’ needs come first, and tourism makes a vital contribution to economic growth. Ireland A high quality tourism destination characterised by the warm welcome extended to visitors and the ease of interaction with the vibrancy and spontaneity of Irish life. The big attractions for visitors will be the beautiful scenic landscape, the distinctive cultural heritage, the unspoilt natural environment and the opportunities for relaxation and peace and quiet. Cumbria To strengthen the quality and viability of the established tourism product in the central area of the Lake District, and capitalise on new opportunities for market and product development in the outlying areas of the county. Brittany To be the leading participant in regional tourism policy, principally in the fields of promotion and the provision of technical marketing assistance, but also in supporting tourism management education and vocational training. South West By 2020, the South West will have established itself as one of the leading tourism destinations in Europe. A strong and prosperous tourism industry will: • Deliver a high quality experience for the visitor to the Region • Provide sustainable economic and community benefits for the residents of the

South West • Contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of a superb natural and built

environment


The vision statement for the South West is clearer than the others and manages to combine references to the industry, the visitor, the regional economy and community, and the environment.

Strategic objectives

All the strategies contain a set of strategic objectives. Hardly surprisingly, there is great similarity between these objectives. Slight differences in emphasis occur in that the Cumbria and Ireland strategies place more weight on visitor management while the South West’s objectives are mainly related to economic benefit. The objectives for Brittany are quite refreshing as they are expressed more in term of seizing practical opportunities such as the internet. We set out below a set of objectives covered by the combined set of strategies, with some interesting nuances expressed by some destinations: • Extending the season towards year round businesses. Ireland spells out the

need to develop products and target segments in this regard. Cumbria identifies the need for this in terms of creating more permanent jobs.

• Improving environmental quality and management, and supporting conservation though tourism. Ireland has an objective of actively discouraging development and marketing where this will exceed carrying capacity, and for improving visitor management in established centres.

• Dispersing the benefits of tourism. Cumbria calls for more development outside the Lake District, and Brittany for more inland tourism and links inland from the coast. Ireland has a specific objective of developing growth centres for tourism in less visited areas.

• Improving links between tourism and other sectors. This is an objective in the South West and is specifically related to support for farming and rural activities in Cumbria.

• Improving access to and within the region. Mentioned only in Scotland and Cumbria.

• Improving income levels (rewards) for those in the industry. A specific objective in the South West.

• Increasing spend per visitor per day. Again, a specific South West Objective. • Raising quality in order to meet visitor needs. A key area of the Wales strategy.

Cumbria stresses value for money and use of accurate descriptions. • Improving the impact of marketing. As well as raising awareness (most

strategies), Scotland refers to improving conversion rates and Brittany to the use of i.t. and to ensuring that all stakeholders understand and support marketing campaigns.

• Improving structures for working together – the Brittany objective translates as ‘One big family!’

• Involving local communities. Specifically referred to in Wales. • Raising the profile and status of tourism. • Improving professionalism, innovation and training. An objective in all areas. • Improving research, so better informing the industry in future. A specific objective

in Brittany.


8 KNOWLEDGE COORDINATION AND ACCESS

For the purposes of maximising access to and benefits from current and future tourism research and intelligence activity, we propose two related initiatives – a tourism knowledge base and a tourism intelligence system. These are outlined below.

8.1 The SW Tourism Knowledge Base

The objective

To enable SWT, its members and its partners to have ready access to research and intelligence relevant to their strategic and operational requirements, with the ability to search for and present information according to their requirements and to manipulate data through forecasting and impact models.

The proposition

That SWT should provide a searchable online repository of research information relating to the South West, for access by SWT staff and its members and by developers, consultants, students, etc. on a free or chargeable basis (as appropriate) The wide range of material gathered for this study will provide excellent content to establish such a system. On a continuing basis, SWT and SWERDA should develop and implement systems to ensure that their future research and intelligence output is designed for user-friendly access through the repository. In addition, the repository should provide access to all relevant research and intelligence reports produced by ETC/BTA (including BTA’s overseas market profile data), the European Travel Commission, World Tourism Organisation, etc, subject to whatever limits of confidentiality and cost are required. Standardised arrangements for such access should be worked out at the national level. In some cases, external parties may not wish to provide copies of their reports for the repository, in which case links to the relevant Web sites or e-mail addresses would be provided. There should be a reasonably sophisticated search engine, using appropriate tagging of content. The search engine would enable users to identify sources relevant to their requirements and the tools that are available to extract and present the data. The terms for accessing the data would then be shown. Much of the research and intelligence output from this and future studies will be in the form of written reports and pre-formatted tables of data. In addition, the repository should also provide the facility for users to specify their own analyses of market and product data records, most importantly:

• Secondary analysis of market survey data relating to the South West, where this

is possible. IPS and UKTS are examples of national sources where this may be


possible. This would require access to the raw data from completed questionnaires (without personal identifiers) and online tools (such as SPSS or SNAP) for cross-tabulation (using all the variables of the survey in question), graphical presentation and statistical analysis of such data.

Future quantitative survey research commissioned locally or regionally should be made available automatically on this basis. The facility to analyse market survey data to meet specific needs (e.g. detailed analysis of specific market segments) would potentially be a powerful service to offer to members on a preferential basis.

• Analysis of the future EnglandNet product database for the South West in aggregate (i.e. not individual business details). This facility could provide, for example: - Data for reports on specific aspects of tourism products and services (e.g.

trends in levels of participation and awards granted in QA schemes; amount and type of provision for disabled people; businesses with their own Web sites). Such data could be analysed for any geographical area.

- Information required by potential investors and developers – e.g. the facility to map supply of specific types of products and their relationship to, for example, public transport infrastructure or visitor attractions.

• Analysis of data from the tourism industry survey undertaken as part of this project and any future surveys of tourism businesses that may be undertaken for SWT or SWERDA.

• Analysis of aggregate data from the tourism intelligence system – see below. Access might be given also to the tourism forecasting model prepared for this study (or an adapted version of it), to enable users to prepare forecasts based on their own assumptions. This model is in the form of an Excel spreadsheet, which could be adapted for use online with relative ease. Similarly, it might be possible for simple models for impact analysis, whether for particular developments or events, or for geographical areas, to be developed for use online. Development of such a model has not been part of this study but the work undertaken separately for SWT on economic impact using the Cambridge model may lend itself for development in this way.

8.2 A tourism industry intelligence system

The objective

• To provide SWT and its partner organisations with up-to-the minute information about the performance of the industry, regionally and sub-regionally – essentially, daily or weekly sales figures, forward bookings and measures of change, together with a means of assessing business confidence and obtaining views on specific issues relating to the industry

• To provide monthly and annual performance information for strategic review of the performance of the South West tourism industry – replacing the current occupancy and business barometer projects


• To provide tourism businesses with timely information to benchmark their own performance

• To provide short to medium term forecasts for use by SWT and the industry.

The proposition

The development and implementation of Internet based systems to enable tourism businesses to record their basic sales information online on a regular, preferably daily, basis. Individual businesses would then be able to obtain sales reports for their own business at any time, and make comparisons with the mean performance of similar businesses. There should be the facility for businesses to share some data, by mutual agreement. The data would be analysed in aggregate to meet SWT requirements, whether short or longer term. E-mails would be sent to the participating businesses regularly to remind them to update their performance data and to ask for additional information, as and when required, to assess business confidence and obtain views on specific issues. The members would be asked to provide the information online or by e-mail response. Further e-mails would be sent when the businesses have not submitted their data as agreed. The scheme would need to be well promoted and explained to SWT members, who would sign up and agree a reporting period for performance data – daily or weekly. Once time series data are available over (say) a two year period, an econometric model could be produced to provide forecasts of sales on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, subject to various assumptions. This would be a valuable area for inter-regional co-operation. It may be possible to link such forecasting to the macro forecasting model prepared for this study (Chapter 2). In the first instance, when participation is still limited, the value will be primarily for the individual businesses, by giving them access to useful sales report and benchmark comparisons. Once they are aware of the benefits, other businesses should join in and numbers will build to the point where the sample of participants starts to become representative of the industry – or at least, specific segments of it. When sufficiently representative samples of each product sector are participating, then the outputs from the system can replace the current occupancy and business barometer surveys. At this point, the facility to analyse the data in aggregate could become part of the Knowledge Base service. However, the policy decision might be taken to restrict wider access to preformatted tables of summary results. For this proposition to succeed, the industry must be involved and take ownership of the concept. We suggest that, for each of the main sectors, a group of members should be invited to assist in designing both the data input and the various forms of analytical output for that sector.


9 KEY IMPLICATIONS FOR THE 10 YEAR TOURISM PLAN

Information about the performance of tourism in the region contained in this report will be used as an input to the process of drawing up the Ten Year Plan for tourism in the South West. A number of headline points emerging from the evidence and analysis, which should help to guide the plan, are set out below.

Spread recognition of the importance of tourism

Tourism is a sector of primary importance for the South West. The volume of staying and day visitor spending (£8,300 million) and the number of jobs supported (307,000) are considerable. Clearly, the relative economic impact is greater in the west (29% of employment in Cornwall), but is still significant even in Gloucestershire, Avon and Wiltshire (6-8%). In some communities, such as resorts and certain rural communities, the relative importance will be far higher. It is also important to appreciate the reach of tourism spending within the regional economy, with 31% on food and drink and 27% on shopping, often going directly to enterprises which might be considered outside the more obvious tourism sector. Looked at the other way, the South West region is a major player in tourism in the UK, receiving more domestic visitors than Scotland, Wales and any other region of England, and being only overtaken by London if overseas visitors are taken into account. One objective of the strategy should be to use the evidence from this study to raise awareness of the importance of tourism at the national, regional and local level, so that support for the sector is maximised.

Build on past success and future confidence

Tourism in the region has been a success story. Over the last decade or so the region has captured a growing market share of national short break and business tourism markets and has held on to its share of the long holiday market. In actual volume terms there has also been growth. This is reflected in reports from businesses as well as in global surveys, and most business (60%) expect to see further growth in the next few years. The forecasts undertaken for this study, which envisage a growth by 2011 of 39% in domestic trips (20% in spending), 32% in overseas trips (14% in spending), and 20% in day visits (20% in spending), should be taken into account in future planning. This points to significant, if not dramatic, opportunities for expanding the sector. At the same time, short term fluctuations in the performance of markets must be expected. The strong popular vote in favour of the South West recorded by our focus groups is also very encouraging, especially with respect to its relative overall appeal in comparison with competitor destinations in the UK.


Be more aware of enterprise need

Despite these relatively favourable demand side forecasts, this report has revealed the small scale and sometimes precarious nature of many tourism enterprises. The fact that 16% of businesses in our survey said that more business was essential to achieve viability, and that a further 26% felt that this was necessary if reasonable profits are to be achieved, is concerning. Sixty-five percent of the tourism businesses responding to our enterprise survey had turnovers of less than £50,000, mainly small self-catering establishments and guesthouses. These family businesses, often with low overheads and capital investment, can be more economically robust than larger businesses, and fewer of them expressed the concerns about viability and profitability identified above. However, these very small businesses employ few people and cannot be relied on for employment growth. It is the medium to larger sized enterprises - hotels, attractions and holiday parks, which appear to be more in need of more business, but also in turn may be best placed to grow. Nevertheless, need is expressed across all sectors and sizes of business. Seasonality continues to be a major factor to be addressed. The study showed some differences between types of enterprise in the times when they particularly need more business.

Recognise sub-regional differences

The South West is a very large region. It spans two of Europe’s economic and cultural zones, from the edge of the Silicon Valley in the business heartlands, to the Celtic Atlantic seaboard. The tourism opportunities of Swindon are rather different to those of Zennor, in terms of environment, product and distance from markets. The dominance of Cornwall and Devon, accounting for over half the region’s visitor spending and tourism enterprises, is clear. Eastern parts receive considerably few visitors but exhibit less seasonality and a wider spread of markets. It is particularly significant that consumers strongly equate the South West to Devon and Cornwall, with far lower awareness of the eastern counties and recognition of them as holiday destinations. This has strong implications for regional and sub-regional branding and awareness-raising strategies.

Hold on to the leading position for holidays and breaks

The region as a whole is critically dependent on both long holidays and shorter breaks. The strategy must recognise the needs and opportunities of both. However, a particular opportunity may now rest with the middle ground – extended breaks of more than a weekend and up to one week, often taken as additional trips beyond the main ‘holiday’, which now make up a significant proportion of holidays of over 3 nights.


A broad functional segmentation of pre-family, family and post-family appears to provide a useful way of differentiating the market, upon which more precise segments can be built. The post-family segment provides the main opportunity for short and extended breaks, throughout the region. The family segment is critically important for longer holidays. The South West must build its position as the destination of choice for UK families, of all levels of affluence, who opt to take a long holiday in the UK. The pre-family segment is less significant for the region than the other two, but can be more susceptible to themed and niche marketing, relating to activities and entertainment.

Address rural, coastal and urban needs and opportunities

As well as dividing geographically, the region varies according to the nature and function of different types of destination. Although coastal images may dominate, significant amounts of tourism take place in the region’s fine countryside and urban locations. The particular needs and opportunities of the six separate types of destination described and analysed in this study - coastal resorts, rural coast, larger towns/cities, smaller towns/cities, protected areas and other inland countryside – should be reflected in the strategy.

Be more like ‘abroad’ while retaining local distinctiveness

In many respects the region appears to be performing as well, or better, than its competitors within the British Isles. This is confirmed by consumer images and response. In the forthcoming years, greatest competition may come from overseas destinations, for holidays and for breaks, whose product is often viewed as preferable in terms of style, quality and price, and to some extent with respect to bookability and transport options. A challenge for resorts, cities and rural destinations will be to raise their image and their product quality so that they are regarded as equivalent or better than overseas destinations.

Market more creatively

There is a danger that the South West will rest on its laurels. Comparison of regional marketing in other parts of the UK, Ireland and Brittany, revealed more attention to evocative messages, theming, special offers and niche products. There also appears to be more awareness of advertising from these competitor areas. The South West should seek to match this. The breaks market, for example, is strong in the South West, but competitors are aggressively seeking to cut away at the region’s market share. The importance placed by enterprises on raising awareness of both local areas and of the region as a whole has been strongly demonstrated. However, enterprises in turn should be encouraged to address the level of resources they put into marketing.

Champion a quality environment

Various evidence from the study points to the importance of maintaining an attractive environment for the future well being of tourism in the region. This applies equally to coastal, rural and urban areas. It is a precious resource for tourism. Enterprises


placed this at the highest level, on a par with awareness raising. It was also very apparent from the focus groups. This has implications for destination management, but also for individual enterprises themselves. The level of interest shown in sustainability issues and environmental management by enterprises surveyed is encouraging and should be further pursued.

Address transport issues

Transport is an important topic for the South West region, owing to its shape, distance from markets, current road network and physical make up of many settlements. It is seen as an important issue by tourism businesses, who rate it as one of the inhibitors to future growth. Road congestion and travel times are also held up as negative images by consumers, who are responding positively to cheap flights to Scotland, Ireland and overseas destinations. The strategy will need to consider both transport to the region and traffic management within the region.

Continue to encourage new investment in quality

The extremely high proportion of enterprises surveyed who had recently invested in improvements (90%) is impressive. This needs to be maintained. Enterprises with higher quality grades were more likely to report recent and expected future market growth. Most market segments suggest an ongoing trend towards higher expectations, but also concern for value for money. The degree of local competition is a concern for some businesses. Despite probable future market growth, it is important to be cautious about capacity increases, which must be appropriate in terms of local circumstances and market demand.

Address business support and human resource issues

Evidence from the business survey suggests that the nature and balance of business support and training services in the tourism sector needs to be looked at carefully and to be well focussed. Human resource issues are important and may be more structural and less to do with training. Labour supply issues are much more important in some sectors than others. There are a variety of factors influencing this, including the image of tourism as a career.

Foster good visitor attractions

Visitor attractions are extremely important in generating and sustaining visitor interest, and have a role to play throughout the region. The strategy may need to pay particular attention to them. The importance of certain icon attractions was apparent from the focus groups, and has been well proven by the Eden Project in Cornwall. The business survey revealed that this sector has particular needs, including financial support in some cases.


Ensure excellent information delivery for all

Successful tourism relies on good levels of knowledge and effective information flows between visitors, destinations and enterprises. Information technology can help here - the study revealed significant and growing levels of connectivity amongst tourism enterprises. However, it also showed the importance placed still on traditional media including publications and personal service through Tourist Information Centres. Much more can be done to make product and market knowledge, and its exchange, more streamlined across the region and between national, regional and local sources.

i

SEGMENT PROFILES

• General business tourism • Discretionary business tourism • VFR • Holiday/breaks pre-family • Holiday/breaks family • Holiday/breaks post family • Short holidays/breaks • Long holidays • Activity holidays • Group holidays • USA • Australia • France • Germany • Ireland • Independent day visits • Group day visits

A note on sources

To avoid repetition the statistics quoted in the following profiles are not all referenced. In general, information on the volume and value of markets has been sourced from UKTS, UKDVS and IPS. Qualitative information on market characteristics comes from the focus group research carried out for this study and the findings of which are available in a technical appendix. We have also drawn on other research studies where appropriate. Information on trends and forecasts is taken from the forecasting model developed for this study. The segment profiles are not definitive or comprehensive. They should be seen as a bank of information that can be refined and extended over time as new information becomes available.

ii

A1 GENERAL BUSINESS TOURISM (UK)

Market definition UK residents staying overnight for reasons connected with work and business. Includes general business meetings, sales calls etc but excludes attendance at conferences and exhibitions. (Note the figures quoted refer to all business tourism including MICE sectors) Market size and value 23m business trips (involving an overnight stay) took place in the UK in 2001 (includes conferences and exhibitions) with a total associated spend of £5670m. Three quarters of UK business trips take place in the Midlands and southern England. There are countless more day trips. Importance to SW In 2001 there were 2.3m overnight business trips in the SW accounting for 6.7m nights and a spend of £485m. (2.1m trips if exclude conf/exhibs) The SW region has a market share of 10% of UK business trips and 8.5% of spend. The North West, London and Heart of England regions have a higher market share. Business tourism is an important strand of tourism in the region accounting for 9% of all domestic tourism trips and 13% of domestic tourism spend in the SW. Areas and sectors which benefit Occurs throughout the SW region but particularly important in urban areas and where there are concentrations of economic activity. Almost a third (30%) of business trips take place in Devon with the remainder being evenly distributed amongst the other counties. Business tourism is very important for supporting and maintaining an infrastructure of quality hotels and has significant spin-offs for transport services and restaurants. Market characteristics/profile Business trips are higher spending than average. (£73 per night) but tend to be of short duration (2.9 nights) They are primarily car-borne (72%) although a significant proportion arrive by train and plane (15%). They are big users of hotels (59%) Half of all business trips are concentrated in large towns/cities, the rest are evenly spread. Business tourism is counter-seasonal with troughs in school holidays. Compared to all visitors, business visitors are more likely to be: • Male (78%) • Middle aged 35-54 (48%) • Up market - ABC1 (72%) • Travel from further afield (52% come from outside SW/SE/L) • Be better-off (37% have household income > £40K)

iii

Trends and prospects General business tourism is driven by the overall state of the economy and tends to follow the economic cycle. Nationally, business tourism has shown some modest growth over the past 6 years although there have been fluctuations from year to year. The region has followed a similar pattern. Forecasts carried out for this study suggest that business tourism will grow by 39% in the period 2001-2011. Nights are expected to grow by the same amount and spend by significantly less (16% in real terms). These projections assume SW retains its 2001 market share although in the past decade SW has increased its market share of business tourism. What the market wants Good and efficient transport links by road, rail and air, although this is a double edged sword as the better the links the easier it is to complete business without an overnight stay. Good quality, convenient and well priced hotel accommodation offering office facilities and support eg (meeting rooms, desks and telephone points in bedrooms, copying/xerox/fax/ e-mail etc). Awareness of the needs of the business visitor (eg early breakfast/speedy check-out) Late/easy booking and availability. Ability to locate suitable/conveniently placed accommodation. Corporate discounts Branded hotels Places to eat and entertain How to reach and influence the market The volume of business tourism is largely determined by the nature of the local business sector which is the main generator (which is why this market is generally termed non-discretionary). Although the absence of suitable accommodation may constrain the development of business tourism. The main opportunity lies with extending length of stay, and encouraging people to return as leisure visitors. Corporate rates, loyalty schemes and special offers can be a useful tool to encourage this and promote repeat visits. A special area of the destination web-site devoted to business visitor needs may prove a useful short-cut to servicing business visitors' needs. How the SW measures up Difficult to assess as no research on what business visitors think. SW is probably less well provided for than some other regions such as London, NW and HoE where business tourism is more significant. Key competitors There is no real competition because this is largely non-discretionary tourism - in other words business visitors have to make the business trip to see a particular customer. Having said this, if the constraints and costs of travel become too high then that will erode the Region's ability to attract inward investment and retain businesses. Business facilities are thus an essential part of the economic infrastructure of the region. Where to find out more Visit Britain Insights has a number of articles on the business tourism market Business Tourism Leads the Way – Business Tourism Forum 1999 Business Tourism Partnership c/o Visit Britain Business Travel Press

iv

Business Visitor Survey Somerset County Council 1997 Business Tourism Profiles – Visit Britain

v

A2 DISCRETIONARY BUSINESS TOURISM (MICE)

Market definition UK residents staying away from home in the course of attending a conference, exhibition or as part of an incentive trip. Market size and value UK residents made 2.0m trips for conferences and exhibitions in 2001 comprising some 4.9m nights away from home and an associated spend of £420m. Conference and exhibition trips accounted for 10% of all business trips although the line between a conference and an informal meeting is blurred and these figures may underestimate the true impact of the MICE sector. Importance to SW Conferences and exhibitions (2001) accounted for an estimated 0.2m trips, 0.6m nights and a spend of £33m. (These figures need to be treated with caution because of the small sample size). The SW has a market share of around 10% of UK conference and exhibition tourism. Conferences and exhibitions account for around 10% of all business tourism taking place in the Region, broadly in line with the national average. Areas and sectors which benefit Larger towns with municipal, university and hotel facilities capable of hosting major conferences and exhibitions. Smaller meetings far outnumber larger meetings and primarily take place in hotels but attractions and sports facilities also benefit. Areas which are readily accessible and close to major population and business centres will tend to do better although more remote areas can sometimes tap into team building and management training courses. Market characteristics/profile There is no hard information currently available to describe the market at the regional level and national level statistics are also quite limited in their scope. In general, this market is one of the highest spending segments of tourism and although small, is much sought after because it is relatively footloose. It tends to be seasonally spread with peaks in autumn and spring. The market is usually split into the following sub-sectors - Meetings, incentive travel, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) - each of which have their own distinct characteristics. • It is estimated that some 1.4m conferences took place in the UK in 2001

generating a total revenue of £7.3bn. However, most of these are day meetings and most are quite small (average size c50). The number of large events is quite limited. The vast majority of conference delegates are from the UK. Conferences are commonly segmented by type of organisation – national and international associations, corporate and public sector – which exhibit different characteristics and requirements.

vi

• The exhibition sector is less well documented than conferences and is more constrained by the availability of facilities. The Exhibition Venues Association recorded 817 exhibitions (2000m2+) in 1999. Just over half were trade events and most (60%) were relatively modest in size (<5000m2). Exhibition visitors are high spenders and a significant spend is also generated by the exhibitors themselves.

• The incentive travel market is small in terms of volume but the highest yielding

of all the MICE segments. The UK incentive market is equally split between Europe and the USA and consist of groups of employees or individuals associated with a company and generally accompanied by partners. There is frequently an associated conference.

Trends and prospects Most analysts expect these segments to show further growth in the near future although this is not well substantiated. These activities are largely determined by the strength of the economy and general level of business activity. In recent years there has been a general trend for businesses to cut costs and seek better value for money. This is reflected in the move to shorter and more intensive conferences, smaller more specialised exhibitions and a greater tendency to introduce a work element into incentive trips. In all these sectors there is a growing demand for better quality experiences and intense competition from new destinations and venues both within the UK and abroad. Traditional destinations like resorts are losing out to purpose-built facilities in cities and universities. A reasonable assumption is that the discretionary business tourism sector will grow in line with business tourism as a whole although this is partly dependent on the extent to which the region develops and maintains the necessary infrastructure and can increase its market share. Forecasts carried out for this study project a growth in all business tourism trips of 39% 2001-2011 with a growth in real spend of 16%. What the market wants Location and accessibility are key to both the conference and exhibition sectors and good transport infrastructure is a must. Larger conferences are seeking comfortable, modern meeting spaces with associated exhibition space, breakout rooms and catering provision. Smaller meetings have less sophisticated demands but still require adequate support in terms of equipment and catering. Both the exhibition and conference sector need sufficient hotel accommodation close at hand and ideally a range of accommodation as delegate requirements vary. Nightlife, entertainment and restaurants add to the attraction of a conference/exhibition destination. The incentive market is looking for unusual and special experiences in top quality, exclusive facilities. Influencing and reaching the market This market is discretionary and footloose within limits so it can be influenced with the right package and right message. The key decision makers are not the people who attend the conference or exhibition but the people who organise the event. Marketing largely revolves around identifying and reaching these people through a variety of media such as direct mail, trade shows, web-sites, trade press and sales calls.

vii

How the SW measures up The SW has a number of resorts and cities which are active in this sector and for which it forms an important strand of tourism . These include places such as Bournemouth, Bristol, Bath, Cheltenham, Torquay, Plymouth. In general the east of the region is better placed to capitalise on this market due to its accessibility to the population and business. However, hotels across most of the region will benefit to some extent from small local meetings. The SW has some interesting and quality experiences which could be packaged for the incentive market. This is best done with some advice from specialists in this field and working through BTA. Key competitors Larger conference and exhibition venues in cities and resort towns throughout the UK. In terms of more locally generated business or regionally focused events then the SW is in direct competition with the surrounding regions of South Wales, Heart of England and South East. For incentive trips the region is in competition with facilities all over the UK. Where to find out more Visit Britain Insights has various articles on the MICE sector British Conference Market Trends Survey UK Conference market Survey - Meetings Industry Association UK Exhibition Facts - Exhibition Venues Association International Meetings Market - ICCA

viii

B VISITING FRIENDS AND RELATIVES

Market definition Residents of the UK staying overnight where their prime reason for visiting is to spend time with friends and relatives (VFR). (Note that many holiday trips also involve a visit to friends and relatives but these are traditionally counted as holidays) Market size and value This is a very large market. In 2001, there were 36m VFR trips in the UK, involving some 89m nights away from home and a spend of £3000m. A report by ETC argues that this underestimates the true size and importance of the sector because it takes no account of holiday trips involving VFR, the survey may undercount VFR trips, and it takes no account of host expenditure incurred during the visit which could double the spend. Importance to SW In 2001 there were 4.5m VFR trips, 10.8m VFR nights and an associated spend of £362m in the SW. The SW region has a market share of 12% of all VFR trips in the UK and the same proportion of spend. The SW attracts more VFR trips per head of population than any other region bar Cumbria. 75% of adults in the SW region had friends/family to stay in the past 12 months (higher than the England average) with the average number of times being 12. (ETC research) Within the region, VFR trips are an important sector of tourism accounting for 19% of all tourism trips but only 9% of all tourism spend because of the relatively low spend on accommodation. (see comments on ETC research above) Areas and sectors which benefit The whole of the region benefits from this although it is not evenly distributed. Cornwall and Devon attract the most VFR trips (44%) whilst Wiltshire and Gloucestershire attract the least. Surprisingly, there is very little correlation between the size of the resident population in the county and the number of VFR trips. VFR tourism generates significant benefits for attractions, shops, and restaurants. Although spend on accommodation is low, 1/3 of VFR visitors to the SW sometimes make use of commercial accommodation, primarily hotels and B+Bs. Market characteristics/profile Based on UKTS figures for the region • Low spend per night • Primarily short duration, 85% 1-3 nights • Uneven pattern not particularly related to resident population with high levels of

VFR tourism in Cornwall and Devon, low in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire • High use of car, accounting for 79% of trips • Most stay with friends and relatives but some use commercial accommodation • 2/3 stay with relatives, 1/3 with friends • Most visits are general but 13% are for family event such as wedding/funeral,

14% combined with holiday

ix

• Even distribution of trips throughout the year with peak at Christmas • Trips self-arranged and not pre-booked • A third of trips made by people travelling alone • Even spread across destination type, 56% take place in urban areas

The VFR tourist

• Two thirds are female • Fairly evenly spread across the age groups but higher propensity for younger age

groups to travel • 58% are ABC1 • Half come from SW and SE regions. • 58% have household income of less than £40k probably reflecting the young age

profile Trends and prospects VFR visits to the SW increased (28% 1996-2000) with a further rise in 2001 in line with national trends. It is not clear to what extent this is a real increase or due to changes in survey methodology. The increase is thought to be due to: • Increased migration around country (0.25m people moved in and out of SW in

2000) • Young people leaving home for higher education • More people living alone and in single person households • More leisure time and flexible working These factors are likely to continue to fuel growth in this sector in the future. Forecasts carried out for this study suggest a growth of 71% in trips 2001-2011 with a smaller increase in nights and an increase in real spend of 24%. This assumes the SW continues to hold its 2001 market share What the market wants The prime driver is the desire to visit friends and family. The hosts, however, generally feel obliged to entertain (and sometimes impress) their guests and are on the look-out for interesting places to visit, places to eat, things to do. The visit will often provide the stimulus for an outing or meal out (58%). ETC research suggests that the host will often search out less congested areas and places off the normal tourist trail to give an 'insiders' view of the destination. How to reach and influence the market The host (ie local resident) is the key decision-maker for this market. The key to attracting this sector is to make local people aware of what is available in their area. Loyalty schemes, special promotions, two for one offers etc can be useful marketing tools. How the SW measures up The region is very well placed to capitalise on this market as the nature of its population means that it already has a high propensity to attract VFR trips. The range and diversity of the region, particularly the coast, also makes it a highly attractive destination with the opportunity to add on holidays to a VFR visit. Key competitors No real competition because by its nature the VFR trip is determined by where the hosts live.

x

Where to find out more ‘Visits to Friends and Relatives’ English Tourism Council 2002 Visit Britain Insights articles July 1997, July 2002

xi

C1 PRE-FAMILY HOLIDAYS AND BREAKS

Market definition UK residents staying overnight on holidays and breaks aged 15-34 with no children. Market size and value In 2001 this segment of the population took some 19m holiday trips and breaks in the UK, comprising 55m nights away from home and an associated spend of £3574m. This group makes up 18% of the UK adult population and accounts for a similar proportion of UK holiday trips. Importance to SW In 2001 this segment accounted for 2.6m holiday trips, 7.9m nights and a spend of £450m in the SW region. The SW has a market share of 14% of all holiday trips undertaken by the pre-family group in the UK. Overall, this segment accounted for 15% of holidaytaking in the SW but it is much more important for short breaks where it accounts for 22% of trips as opposed to long holidays (4+ nights) where it only accounts for 6%. Areas and sectors which benefit The potential for the SW lies primarily with breaks (less than a week) which suggests that Cornwall will benefit less than the other counties because of the distance to travel. Most short breaks are taken within 2 hours travel time of where people live. Lively resorts such as Weymouth, Bournemouth have strong appeal as do cities such as Bath, Bristol. There appears to be a high awareness of Newquay as a surf centre with youth appeal. The Cotswolds are seen as place for romantic weekends for couples and older people. A range of accommodation providers will benefit. Pubs, restaurants, clubs and shops Market characteristics Younger age groups, singles and couples, holidaying by themselves or with groups of friends. This group is quite broad but has a relatively high disposable income, a high propensity to take holidays (although not necessarily in the UK) and is not constrained by responsibilities of children. The group can be further subdivided into young singles aged 18-25 and older people who are more likely to be in stable long term relationships and have more money but are also entering home building phase. Feedback from the focus groups suggest that for this group, holidays means destinations abroad although they will take several breaks a year in the UK. Holidays are about the sun and exotic places which the UK is not able to supply. Knowledge and awareness of the UK and SW product is very limited and quite hazy. Devon and Cornwall is much better known than the rest of the region. Breaks are taken as couples or often as groups of friends. UKTS figures for the region indicate that for pre-family holidays: • 50% women

xii

• 50% aged 15-24 • 92% have access to a car • 77% are working • 66% are married • Three quarters are ABC1, 27% AB • 76% are short (1-3 night) holidays, only 12% are for 7+ nights • 60% take place in large town/seaside • 70% come from London, SW, SE and West Midlands • 23% of trips take place in JA, 65% April to October • Half stay with friends and relatives • Main holiday for 15%, secondary holiday for 73% Trends and prospects Forecasts undertaken for this study expect holiday trips in the SW to increase by 32% in the period 2001-2011with almost all the growth taking place in short holidays. The pre-family groups primarily takes short breaks in the UK. In terms of size the pre-family age group (15-34) is forecast to remain the same up to 2010 with a growth in the younger age groups (15-25) offset by a decline in the 25-34 group. Our view is that holidaytaking by this segment will grow broadly in line with holidaytaking as a whole. What the market wants Breaks are seen as an opportunity to chill out and wind down. There is a short lead time and trips may be quite spontaneous. Destination often determined by group decision. Key requirements are lively places with nightlife, shopping, restaurants, bars. Older couples may also seek quite romantic or pampering weekends. Focus on cities, towns and resorts. This group wants to be amongst other young people with the same tastes, not families or old people. Scenery is appreciated but not a prime draw. Accommodation is not the key issue and people are willing to put up with lower quality accommodation for a weekend with their mates. This is less important for a break than a holiday. Older pre-families and more affluent become more discerning. How to reach and influence the market Knowledge and awareness of English regions is limited; they are much more aware of destinations abroad and marketing for outbound tourism. This makes it difficult to sell destinations. Better to hang marketing on special offers, events, shopping and youth culture. Internet is important medium for this group and also media which deal with youth culture. Very receptive to cheap deals, special offers which often trigger trip. Also receptive to offers from ‘brand names’ which they have heard of. How the SW measures up The Region score quite highly as a destination for UK breaks, ahead of other regions for people in the focus groups. Prime locations are the cities and resorts. However, it is not seen as a destination for holidays as it lacks sun, and the appeal of abroad. Lack of awareness is a problem. Key competitors For breaks - European cities, high awareness of Dublin. For holidays – all destinations abroad, short and long haul.

xiii

Where to find out more Focus group research undertaken for this study (see technical appendix) Visit Britain Insights - large number of articles on the UK holiday market Variety of visitor surveys undertaken by local authorities in SW - see appendix

xiv

C2 FAMILY HOLIDAYS AND BREAKS

Market definition UK families with dependent children aged under 16, taking family breaks and holidays in the UK. Market size and value Adults with dependent children under 16 show a greater propensity to holiday in the UK than average as they account for 31% of the UK adult population and 37% of all UK holiday trips. This equates to 37m holiday trips, 137m nights and an associated spend of £5450m. The size of the ‘family holiday market’ is somewhat less than this as some of these trips will be taken without children. UKTS indicates that older families (ie adults aged 34-54, with children) account for 60% of family holidays and also show a greater propensity to take UK holidays than younger families (adults aged 16-34, with children) Importance to SW In 2001, adults in the family segments accounted for some 6.2 holidays in the SW, 28m nights and a spend of £1bn. The SW has a market share of 17% of all UK family holidays, a higher market share than for the pre-family group but less than the post family group. The family segment accounts for 37% of all holiday trips to the region. Older families account for just over half of these (56%). Areas and sectors which benefit Strong focus on the coast and countryside. Very important for Devon, Cornwall and to a lesser extent Somerset and Dorset. Major resorts and quieter areas benefit. Self catering accommodation of all sorts, visitor attractions, pubs, shops etc. Market characteristics/profile The family market is quite broad but holiday patterns are strongly influenced by the presence of children. The age of children is an important factor, so the market can be further subdivided into those with pre-school children (portable and not constrained by school holidays), those with children of primary school age, and those with teenagers who are more independent and demanding. Complicated by the fact that any particular family may contain children of several ages. Feedback from the focus groups suggests that this market is receptive to taking both holidays and breaks in the UK. This group is the backbone of the long holioday market in the SW. However, abroad is the preferred main holiday destination for most for the weather, but also because it is different , more exotic, and seen as cheaper/better value. The more affluent will take a main holiday abroad plus additional weeks in the UK, whilst the less affluent may take their main holiday in the UK. The SW is seen as having better weather than the UK in general. The wife is often the main decision-maker and organiser although the children (particularly older children) will also have a say. UKTS figures for the region indicate that for family holidays: • 55% are female • 95% have access to a car

xv

• 72% are working • 80% are married • 56% ABC1, 32% AB • 53% are long holidays (4+) nights, and 31% are 7 nights or more. • 48% take place at the seaside, 30% in countryside • 70% come from SW, L, SE, WM • 33% stay with friends and relatives, half in self catering accom. • 80% come April-Oct, 39% in Jul-Aug. • Main holiday for 27%, secondary holiday for 71% Trends and prospects Forecasts undertaken for this study expect holiday trips in the SW to increase by 32% in the period 2001-2011, with almost all the growth taking place in short holidays. The family group takes both short and long holidays in the UK. In terms of size, the family age group (25-54) is forecast to remain the same up to 2010 with a decline in the 25-34 age group offset by an increase in the 45-54 age group. Children under 15 are forecast to fall in numbers by 6% in this period, suggesting smaller family size or a decline in the number of families with children. In the light of these factors our view is that holidaytaking by this segment will grow less fast than holidaytaking as a whole. What the market wants Most breaks are taken in the UK. Can be opportunity to get away from the children or to do things with the children (working parent guilt!). Short lead time but children make planning more complicated. Travel time of 2-3 hours max. Holidays planned in advance and constrained by school holidays. Tendency to take (several) shorter holidays in the UK to minimise the risk of bad weather. Holidays are an opportunity to relax but keeping the children entertained and amused is key priority and consideration. Plenty to see and do is important, as is wet weather entertainment and children’s clubs, activity programmes: Centreparcs and Butlins are attractive. Also the presence of free activities such as the beach and playgrounds is welcomed even by affluent parents as the cost of visiting an attraction can be significant. Accommodation is important element and must be clean and comfortable and meet home standards. Scenery and coast are important elements. Travel with children can be a chore so unwilling to travel for more than 5hours. Self catering is preferred accommodation for its flexibility and makes it easier to control cost. Looking for ‘child friendly’ facilities. If the children are happy, the parents are happy. How to reach and influence the market Better market knowledge than pre-family group but claim to see little publicity for the SW. Devon and Cornwall much better known than the rest of the Region. Special offers are important stimulus for breaks. Family holidays should emphasise range of activities, nostalgic appeal of past childhood holidays, ease of access, value for money, distinctive setting of coast and character. More emphasis needs to be placed on reinforcing message through TV, magazines to rekindle enthusiasm. How the SW measures up In the focus groups there was generally a very positive reaction to the SW. It scored highly for breaks and was the most preferred destination. For holidays, abroad was

xvi

the preferred destination but the region scored ahead of other UK destinations. The non visitors were marginally less positive. Key competitors For breaks – City breaks abroad, Wales, the Lake District, Ireland and Scotland For holidays – sun destinations abroad, Brittany, Ireland Where to find out more Focus group research undertaken for this study (see technical appendix) Visit Britain Insights - large number of articles on the UK holiday market. Family holidays July 1993. Variety of visitor surveys undertaken by local authorities in SW – see appendix

xvii

C3 POST FAMILY HOLIDAYS

Market definition UK residents aged 55+ staying overnight on holidays and breaks Market size and value In 2001, this segment of the population took 28m holiday trips and breaks in the UK, comprising 125m nights away from home with an associated spend of £5274m. This group makes up 32% of the UK adult population and accounted for 28% of all UK holiday trips in 2001. Importance to SW In 2001 this group took 5.6m holidays in the SW, comprising 26m nights and a spend of £1bn. The SW has a market share of 20% of all over 55 holidays in the UK, a much higher market share than for the pre-family and family groups. Overall this segment accounts for 33% of holiday trips in the SW. Areas and sectors which benefit Most areas within SW have appeal for this market for either breaks or holidays. Serviced accommodation sector is particularly sought after. Visitor attractions such as gardens, historic houses are popular. Also shopping, pubs, restaurants. Market characteristics/profile This group consist of couples and singles holidaying without children. It is a broad group which can be further subdivided by age/lifecycle/activity levels into: • Empty nesters (55-65) - couples without dependent children who are still in work,

are healthy and active, have relatively high disposable incomes and freedom from family constraints.

• Newly retired (65-75) - those with occupational pensions have the time, inclination and resources to travel

• Over 75s – health considerations and the loss of partners begin to take their toll after the mid 70s and people take less holidays and stick closer to home.

Feedback from focus groups suggests that this group takes a lot of holidays, with a tendency to take a number of breaks and 1-2 longer holidays, depending on affluence and age. This market is very knowledgeable about the UK and has an interest in visiting both new places and revisiting places they have been before. They tend to go away with partner or sometimes other couples. Some take extended family holidays with children and grandchildren. The UK is still the top destination for breaks although city breaks and cheap flights are also luring people abroad. Breaks can be 2-3 days or 4-5 days. They are strongly driven by offers and promotions and these will often determine the destination. There is a pride attached to getting a good deal which is more than just about saving money. People are also very receptive to loyalty schemes and are strong supporters of brands they can trust.

xviii

Prepared to drive 2-3 hours for a 2 day break but longer for 4-5 day break. Little pre-planning for breaks. UKTS figures for the SW indicate for post family holidays: • 52% are women • 59% are over 65s • 82% have access to a car • 3% are with children • 78% are not working • 73% are married • 61% are ABC1, 32% AB • 57% are 4+ night holidays, but only 27% are 7 nights or more • 46% take place at the seaside27% in the countryside • 62% come from L, SW. SE, WM • 16% are on an inclusive trip • 50% stay with friends and relatives, 43% stay in serviced accom, • 73% come April-Oct, 25% Jul/Aug • 16% on main holiday, 73% secondary holiday Trends and prospects Forecasts undertaken for this study expect holiday trips in the SW to increase by 32% in the period 2001-2011, with almost all the growth taking place in short holidays. The post-family group takes both short and long holidays in the UK. In terms of size, the over 55s age group is forecast to increase by 12% up to 2010 with the biggest increase in the 55-64 age group. In the light of these factors, it is our view that holidaytaking by this segment will grow faster than holidaytaking as a whole. What the market wants Accommodation quality is very important to this group, which is looking for good quality serviced accommodation. Stars and brands are used to reduce risk. They are looking to take holidays and breaks outside the school holidays and don’t want to be with families and children. They want active breaks with plenty of things to do and see – attractive scenery, walking, places of interest to explore, gardens, historic properties, towns and villages, good food. Holidays are seen more as a time to relax although people still want things to do, they are not so keen to just lie on the beach. Abroad is preferred destination although people are receptive to shorter holidays of a week or less in the UK. Some prefer UK because they are less interested in sun, and staying at home is less hassle and safer. Older people may have health concerns and be less confident about travelling independently. This explains part of the appeal of cruising and coach holidays. Opportunities for social interaction and meeting other like-minded people can be important, especially as many older people are single. How to reach and influence the market Both partners are involved in decision-making. Strongly driven by offers, special promotions and value for money. Older people don’t see themselves as ‘old’ and react badly to being pigeon-holed as such. Marketing needs to emphasise value, ease of access, scenic beauty and interest. More exposure in traditional media needed to rekindle interest.

xix

How the SW measures up SW is strongly favoured for breaks and has a positive and enduring appeal to this group. It is less favoured for holidays, with abroad being the generally preferred destination, although is still considered for additional holidays. SW scores more highly for less affluent and older groups. The SW has a lot to offer this group. Key competitors Breaks- Brittany, city breaks abroad, Wales Holidays- destinations abroad, Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Lake District Where to find out more Focus group research undertaken for this study (see technical appendix) Visit Britain Insights - large number of articles on the UK holiday market. Older people on holiday July 2001. Variety of visitor surveys undertaken by local authorities in SW – see appendix

xx

C4 BREAKS (1-6 nights)

Market definition UK residents staying away from home on holidays and breaks of 1-6 nights. (This definition is based on the focus group research, which showed that people generally classed any holiday of less than a week as a break) Market size and value In 2001, this segment accounted for 84m (holiday) trips, comprising 221m nights away from home and an associated spend of £12bn. This segment accounts for 83% of all UK holiday trips but a lower proportion of UK holiday nights (60%) and spend (71%). Importance to SW In 2001, this segment comprise 12.8m trips, 37m nights and a spend of £1.9bn in the SW region. The SW has a market share of 15% of all UK breaks. Overall, breaks (1-6 nights holidays) account for 76% of all holiday trips in the region, but a lower proportion of nights (52%) and spend (63%). Areas and sectors which benefit Potential for all parts of the Region to benefit. Relatively more important in Avon. Wiltshire and Gloucestershire than other parts and less so in Cornwall. All types of location - urban, rural and coast - can benefit. Shorter breaks marginally more likely to take place in urban areas. Hotels, guesthouses and B+Bs tend to be most favoured but significant use also made of self catering. Market characteristics/profile A very large segment comprising weekend breaks and longer mid-week and extended weekends. Now the mainstay of English leisure tourism and tourism in the SW. Breaks in the SW appeal to all lifecycle groups although different groups are looking for different things. UKTS figures for the Region show the following: • Low spend per trip but higher spend per night than average • Average length of stay 2.9 nights • 52% women • 40% aged 25-44. 32% aged 55+. Higher propensity to attract younger people

than holidays • 64% married • 90% have car in hh • Two thirds don’t have children • 60% are in work • 62% are ABC1, 31% AB. Slightly more upmarket than holidays. • 41% take place at seaside, 33% in urban areas, 26% countryside. Less emphasis

on seaside than holidays. • 25% originate from within SW, 45% from L , WM and SE. More restricted

catchment than holidays. • 31% holiday

xxi

• 55% are holidaying with other adults, 15% alone. More adult orientated than holidays.

• 66% come April-Oct, 24% JA. Less seasonal than holidays. Trends and prospects This segment has shown significant growth in the past and is likely to continue to do so in the future. The forecasts undertaken for this study suggest that 1-3 night holidays will grow by 58% in the period 2001-2006 with a 53% growth in real spend. 4-6 night holidays are also expected to increase in volume and value, although not at such a high rate. City breaks abroad are growing in popularity fuelled by developments such as the Channel Tunnel and the increasing availability of cheap flights. Despite this threat we think the potential for growth in this segment is very good. This assumes the SW continues to hold its 2001 market share What the market wants Breaks are booked with short lead times and are often spontaneous. The offer and experience is often more important than the destination. People will take more risks with breaks because there is less to lose if it goes wrong or weather is bad. Serviced accommodation is generally preferred although there is increasing scope for self catering. Travel time is limited to 2/3 hours. Pre-families are looking for lively places with nightlife, entertainment and style. Shopping, clubs and pubs, the opportunity to be with other people of the same age, are important. The focus is on resorts and urban places. Some couples are interested in romantic or pampering weekends. Families are interested in things to amuse the children. Breaks are seen as an opportunity to escape the children or an opportunity for working parents to catch up on family bonding. Post-families are interested in inclusive breaks, primarily in good quality hotel accommodation. Want to avoid children and families. Interested in food, gardens, walking, places to visit, shopping and general activity. How to reach and influence the market All groups are strongly motivated by cheap deals, bargains and special promotions. Getting a good deal is more important than the destination and many breaks are interchangeable. Internet is of growing importance in this area as is promotion of special offers to previous customers. Brands have strong influence. How the SW measures up Good range of places to visit and wide choice, although Cornwall is less likely to capitalise in this area, particularly for short 2/3 night breaks. Key competitors Cheap flights and city breaks abroad - why go to Bath when you can go to Barcelona? Other Regions adjoining the SW such as London, Wales, Eastern. Where to find out more Focus group research undertaken for this study (see technical appendix) Visit Britain Insights - large number of articles on the UK holiday market. Short holidays May 1999, additional holidays Jan 1999. Variety of visitor surveys undertaken by local authorities in SW – see appendix

xxii

C5 LONG HOLIDAYS (7+ nights)

Market definition UK residents staying away from home on holidays of 7 nights or more. (There was a strong consensus in the focus groups that a holiday was a week or more away and anything less was a break). Market size and value In 2001, this segment accounted for 17m holiday trips, comprising 158m nights away from home and an associated spend of £4935m. This segment accounts for 17% of all UK holidays but a rather higher proportion of nights (40%) and spend (29%). Importance to SW In 2001, this segment accounted for 4.1m holiday trips in the SW, involving 35m nights and a spend of £1.1bn. The SW has a market share of 24% of UK long holiday trips. Overall, this segment accounts for 24% of all holiday trips in the SW, but is more important in terms of nights (48%) and spend (37%) Areas and sectors which benefit Cornwall and Devon are biggest beneficiaries of this segment, followed by Somerset and Dorset. It is far less important in Avon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. Seaside resort and rural coast is the most popular location, followed by the countryside. Caravan and camp sites, holiday parks, holiday cottages and flats. Shops, pubs and restaurants and visitor attractions in the above areas. Market characteristics/profile Long holidays of a week or more are a shrinking market. For many people abroad is now the preferred destination, with the SW seen as only suitable for additional or secondary holidays. Pre-family segment are unreceptive to SW as a holiday destination. It has most appeal to families and to post family segments. Level of affluence in family segment determines whether SW holiday is taken as main holiday or secondary holiday, the latter more likely in the shoulder period. UKTS figures for the region show the following: • High spend per trip but lower than average spend per night • Average length of stay 8.4nights • 59% women • 66% aged 25-44, 39% aged 55+, Higher propensity for older people and family

groups than breaks • 56% with children • 90% have car in hh • 49% in work • 78% married • 54% ABC1, 26% AB. Slightly more downmarket than breaks. • 56% take place at seaside, 29% in countryside

xxiii

• 12% generated within SW, 44% from L, WM, SE. Much wider distribution than breaks

• 48% travelling with children, much higher than breaks • 51% take place in JA, much more seasonal than breaks Trends and prospects The long holiday market is in decline and continues to suffer from the competition posed by holidays abroad. This is now the norm for many people and as people move into the older age cohorts they are taking their behaviour patterns with them. Between 1992 and 1999, 7+ holiday trips in the UK decreased by 13% although UK holidays as a whole increased by 26% in this period. Forecasts carried out for this study suggest that holidays of 4+nights will show a modest increase of 4% by 2006, but that real spend will remain static. Trip length will decline. However, any growth is likely to be confined to 4-6 night holidays and so we predict that 7+ holidays will continue to decline both in numbers of trips and real spend over the next 5 years. This assumes the SW continues to hold its 2001 market share. The groups that show the highest propensity to take long holidays are families and older people. The growth in the size of the latter is likely to be offset by a decrease in the former. What the market wants Accommodation quality is important for all groups and generally seen as risky and not as good value as abroad. One advantage SW has for both groups is that it is more accessible and less bother than going abroad. SW also seen as having marginally better weather than rest of UK. Families driven by children’s needs which will vary according to the age spread and tend to be concentrated in school holidays. They are looking for a range of activities and interesting things to see and do and some insurance for wet weather. Self catering accommodation is preferred. Post families will steer clear of school holidays. Scenery, soft activities, interesting places. Less driven by sitting on the beach. More likely to be interested in serviced accommodation than families. How to reach and influence the market Holidays are planned more in advance than breaks and given more consideration. Destination is more important than simply getting a good deal although people are value conscious. Older age groups have good knowledge and awareness of Region. There is an opportunity to refresh and tap into the memories of both groups. The far SW is seen to have a distinctive feel and be different from other places. How the SW measures up Whilst many would choose to go abroad, the SW scores well against other UK regions with a positive image. Accommodation quality is seen to be patchy but people are positive about the quality of scenery, range of things to see and do etc. Key competitors Sun destinations abroad. Ireland, Wales, Brittany, Scotland, Lake District. Where to find out more Focus group research undertaken for this study (see technical appendix) Visit Britain Insights - large number of articles on the UK holiday market Variety of visitor surveys undertaken by local authorities in SW – see appendix

xxiv

C6 ACTIVITY AND SPECIAL INTEREST HOLIDAYS

Market definition UK residents taking holidays and breaks where an activity or special interest forms the main motivation and purpose of the holiday. Market size and value In 2001, 18% of UK holidays were driven by an activity or special interest covering a diverse range of pursuits, from walking to painting holidays. Just over half of these holidays involved outdoor active pursuits as opposed to more passive pursuits. In the UK as a whole, activity holidays (where an activity formed the prime motivation for the trip) accounted for 18m trips, 63m nights and a spend of £2200m in 2001. However, the impact of activities is much wider than this as they form an integral part of the experience in almost all holidays. Importance to SW In the SW, activity holidays (main purpose) accounted for 16% of holidays in 2001, equivalent to 2.3m trips and 8.0m nights and a spend of £281m. This suggests that activity holidays are no more prevalent in the region as a whole than in the UK, although it disguises sub-regional variations. The SW market share equates to 13% of all activity holidays in the UK. Areas and sectors which benefit The activity holiday sector is highly fragmented and is largely served by small independent operators with a few larger activity operators such as PGL. The diversity of the market means that there is potential for quite a wide cross-section of the industry to benefit. Key beneficiaries include: • The accommodation sector which provides special interest holidays and breaks

(eg golf breaks), but also provides accommodation for people on self-organised holidays. The holiday cottage market is important here.

• Activity centres and activity operators that specialise in providing a range of activities, sometimes providing their own accommodation and sometimes buying it in.

• Sailing and riding schools and other specialist operators offering activity programmes.

• Schools and colleges that provide activity programmes in holiday periods. Because the range of activities and special interests is enormous, most areas within the region have an opportunity to capitalise on this. However, previous research (1) suggests that Devon, Cornwall and Dorset have a much higher profile amongst consumers than the other counties. Market characteristics/profile Activity holidays are much more likely to be seen as additional holidays (1) rather than main holidays and are more likely to be taken in the shoulder periods. They can help extend the season. In general, activity holidaytakers tend to be younger and more likely to be drawn from the AB groups than holidaytakers as a whole. However it can be dangerous to see this market as homogeneous because individual activities bring their own profile. For example nature study and sailing have an appeal to older age groups, fishing has a

xxv

strong following from the C2DE groups, riding attracts many more women, whilst surfing is a young person’s sport. Age and gender are quite important influences on the type of activity holiday sought. Overseas visits tend to be under-represented in the activity market reflecting the difficulty of reaching overseas markets. Whilst there is a lot of interest in activity holidays, the market for individual activities is tiny. The most popular activity is walking. Other popular active pursuits in order of popularity are watersports, fishing, golf and cycling. In terms of more passive pursuits heritage interests score quite highly as does wildlife. Previous research (1) suggests that the market can be split into ‘enthusiasts’ and ‘dabblers’. The former are interested in pursuing a particular hobby or sport, well informed and tend to make their own arrangements. The latter are more interested in the idea of an active break and looking for something interesting and new to try. There is also a significant cross-over between activities and some people are ‘activity enthusiasts’ and receptive to trying more than one activity. The market for organised activity holidays can be segmented as follows: • Adult independents, comprising singles, couples and small groups, and probably

accounting for about half the market. • Adult groups: a small market, often work or club based. Management training and

team building is a subsection of this market particularly important to activity centres.

• Family groups: a small and undeveloped section of the market with some growth potential.

• School groups: some operators specialise in the education market and school parties can be an important source of business for small guesthouses in key locations such as Swanage, Lyme Regis etc

• Unaccompanied children: dominated by the larger operators such as PGL which specialise in multi-activities, but sailing and riding are also popular.

Trends and prospects All the evidence suggests that there is a growing interest in health, fitness, self- development and improvement. People are fitter, healthier, better educated and live longer than ever before. This should translate into a growing demand for activity and special interest holidays. However, there is not much hard evidence to support any recent expansion in this market. Whilst there does seem to have been a growth in activity holidays abroad, an analysis of activity holidaytaking in the UK over the past decade (UKTS 1991-99) shows no discernible long term trend in this market. In the light of any other evidence we think it is reasonable to assume that activity holidays will grow more or less in line with our forecasts for the growth in holiday tourism as a whole ie a 32% increase in trips 2001-2011. This assumes the SW continues to hold its 2001 market share What the market wants The DIY sector is the biggest. Most activity holidays are arranged by the participants. It is estimated that only around 1 in 3 activity holidays are bought as inclusive packages. Making it easy for people to arrange their own activities may be as important as marketing packages. Quality accommodation. Activity holidays aren’t all about bunk barns and spartan living. People want to be active but they expect the same quality of food and accommodation as on other holidays.

xxvi

Meeting people and social interaction is an important part of the activity holiday experience. It can also be an important opportunity for parents to interact with their children. Learning a new skill, self fulfilment and a sense of achievement are important pluses for activity holidays. Safety issues and security are important considerations for the more adventurous pastimes. Quality assurance is therefore important. When asked why they wanted to take an activity holiday (1), responses were: 56% ‘try something different’, 52% ‘enjoy an established interest’, 39% ‘to be with other people’, 38% ‘to learn a new skill’, 33% ‘something to do when on holiday’. Whilst there may not be a huge growth in activity centred holidays there appears to be an increasing interest in being active on holiday, whether it is hiring a bike for a day or going windsurfing. How to reach and influence the market This market is relatively footloose and subject to influence. Many activity holiday takers put the activity first and the destination second. 55% of consumers (1) said that the presence of an activity holiday would make it more likely they would visit the SW. Feedback from operators (1) suggest that the most effective way of reaching people is direct mail to previous customers, direct mail to clubs/organisations and advertising in specialist magazines. Half of activity holidaytakers are members of special interest clubs /societies or subscribe to specialist magazines. How the SW measures up The SW (particularly Devon, Cornwall and Dorset) has a positive outdoors image for activities and probably a head start, although overall the region doesn’t appear to have an above average market share in this sector. The region could accommodate most activities although watersports are clearly a major strength, as is walking. Key competitors As activities are to an extent footloose, the region is in competition with many other places around the UK - South Coast for sailing, Scotland for golf, Wales for riding holidays etc. Where to find out more (1) Holiday Active – A study of activity holidays in the West Country. The Tourism Company 1993 Visit Britain Insights – articles on activity tourism - May 1999, Nov 1996, Mar 2003 and numerous articles on specific activities such as walking, cycling, golf, riding, boating etc.

xxvii

C7 DOMESTIC GROUP HOLIDAYS

Market definition UK holiday makers travelling in organised groups, primarily by coach. Market size and value There are no figures for the size of the group holiday market as such in the UK, but if we assume that most group holidays in the UK take place by coach then this gives the following picture. In 2001, there were 3m coach holidays in the UK, involving 12.5m nights and a spend of £740m. This amounts to 3% of all holiday tourism in the UK. A survey by MINTEL2 in 1999 found that 10% of UK adults had been on an inclusive coach holiday in the UK in the past three years. Importance to SW In 2001, there were an estimated 0.72m coach holidays in the SW, involving some 3.2m nights away from home and a spend of £170m. Coach holidays are a fairly small proportion of all holidays in the SW accounting for around 4% of all holiday trips. The SW has a market share of 23% of UK coach holidays, and has a higher market share of the coach market than it does of holidays (17%) as a whole. Areas and sectors which benefit Seaside resorts are still popular, but historic towns and rural locations where there is suitable hotel accommodation can benefit. Coach holidays are looking for good quality, large hotels of 3 and 4 star standard. The large visitor attractions and other destinations that are set up to receive coaches will benefit from day excursions as part of the holiday package. Market characteristics/profile Coach holidays fall into two main groups: • Inclusive tours and programmes offered by tour operators and coach companies.

The market leaders in the UK are Shearings and Wallace Arnold, but most companies are small operations with a local or regional base.

• Holidays organised through clubs, work organisations and retirement clubs for the benefit of their members.

The majority of coach holidays are centred holidays as opposed to touring holidays (true tours only account for around 10% of the market). The following picture is based on an analysis of UK data as regional data are not available. The regional picture may vary. Coach holidays are: • Longer than the average holiday. Two thirds are classed as 4+ nights. Typically,

coach holidays are 4/5 day or 7/8 day duration, • Less seasonal than holidays as a whole and more likely to be taken in the

shoulder periods than the summer peak. Coach holidays are on offer all year round.

• More likely to be bought as a package and involve tour operators or travel agents than holidays as a whole.

2 Coach holidays 1999. Mintel

xxviii

• Higher spend per trip and night than all holidays, because people are staying in hotels and there is no use of VFR.

• More likely to have a theme or focus than general holidays. • The seaside accounts for over half of all coach holidays. Coach holiday takers: • Dominated by older people, with the over 55s showing a very much higher

propensity to take coach holidays than other groups. Nearly half the market is aged 65+.

• Have a high proportion of DE groups which account for over a third of respondents.

• Very loyal with a high level of repeat business. It is not uncommon for coach enthusiasts to take several coach holidays a year.

Trends and prospects An analysis of UKTS suggests that coach holidays have grown over the 1990s in line with domestic holidays as a whole and appear to be maintaining their market share. A 20% increase in the core market of the 55-69 age group forecast over the next decade should help maintain volumes, although a key issue is the extent to which the upcoming generation will show the same enthusiasm for coach holidays as shown by their predecessors. The nature of the coach holiday market has been changing in line with general holiday trends: • A growth in shorter 4/5 day breaks at the expense of 7/8 day and 14 day

holidays. • A move away from traditional seaside resorts to inland destinations. • A growth in themed and special interest tours. • A demand for better quality accommodation and more luxurious coaches. • A growing interest and demand for coach holidays abroad, particularly long haul

and more exotic locations via fly/coach holidays. We have assumed that coach holidays will maintain their market share of UK holidays and grow in line with our forecasts for holidays as a whole ie 32% increase in trips 2001-2011. This assumes the SW continues to hold its 2001 market share What the market wants • Value for money; this is a price sensitive market but quite discerning. • To be treated as valued guests not singled out as a coach party and second class

citizens. • An opportunity to socialise and meet other people. Coach holidays commonly

include evening entertainment. • A sense of security, someone to look after the details and sort the luggage etc.

But coach holiday takers don’t want to be regimented and constrained. • Good quality serviced accommodation, generally larger 3 or 4 star hotels, able to

offer competitive rates. Ensuite rooms are a must. • Interesting days out and excursions from the holiday base. How to reach and influence the market This market can be reached relatively easily and cost effectively through intermediaries such as tour operators, coach companies and group travel organisers. These are the decision makers who decide on programmes, destinations, itineraries

xxix

etc although they are clearly influenced by an awareness of what their customers /members are looking for. Useful routes to these people are via trade shows such as Excursions and BTTF, direct mail to databases and via specialist magazine such as Group Travel Organiser and Coach Monthly. The internet is also becoming increasingly important. How the SW measures up The SW has long been a favourite for coach holidays along with Scotland, Wales and the Lake District. It has an attractive mix of coast and countryside with plenty to interest the coach visitor. Icon attractions such as Eden help to put the region on the map and make it easier to sell the destination. A survey of coach operators in 1997 (National Group Travel Report) found that the West Country was the region in the UK most likely to be promoted in their brochures. Key competitors Other traditional and picturesque destinations in the UK such as Wales, Scotland, Lakes and Yorkshire. Increasingly, this market is interested in destinations abroad, both in Europe and further afield with the advent of fly/coach holidays. The cruise market is also providing competition for this sector, especially as the cost of cruises comes down. Where to find out more National Group Travel Report 2002. Questions Answered Visit Britain Insights- articles on coach and group travel eg Fifty over Fifty – Coach Tourism in the UK, Nov 2000 plus others.. Trade press eg Group Travel Organiser, Coach Monthly

xxx

D1 OVERSEAS VISITORS - USA

Market definition Overseas visitors from the USA staying overnight in the South West for any trip purpose. Market size and value The population of the USA is 280m although only 18% of adults have passports. This is a large and important market for the UK. In 2001, there were 3.6m visits by Americans to the UK with a total spend of £660m, although this is a significant downturn on previous years due to the impact of FMD and September 11. First time visitors are most likely to concentrate their visit in London but repeat visitors will venture elsewhere whilst business/VFR visits are destination driven. American visitors have a higher than average spend than overseas visitors as a whole. Importance to SW The USA is the single biggest overseas market for the SW and accounted for 17% of all overseas visits in 2001 (c.320,000 trips) American visitors stayed on average for 5 days in the Region and spent an average of £265 per trip. (average 1999-2001). The SW region has a market share of 9% of American visitors to the UK Areas and sectors which benefit Business, VFR and educational visitors (which account for at least half of overseas visitors) will be driven by the location of their business meeting or where their friends and relatives live and could turn up anywhere. Holiday visitors are likely to have a limited knowledge of the region and head for the honeypots of Bath, Cotswolds and other historic sites. Areas to the east are probably more accessible to visitors who might be on a UK tour. Good serviced quality accommodation ranging from B+Bs/GH to country house hotels and branded hotels depending on the segment. Market characteristics/profile (These following comments relate to all American visitors to the UK, as figures for SW are too small to be broken down) • Only 18% of American adults hold passports and average paid holiday

entitlement is only 13 days. Around half of US travellers to Britain are over 45. • The main segments are boomers/seniors aged 55+ (who have the time and

money to travel), college students and affluent singles/couples with no kids. • The major metropolitan areas, particularly in the east of the country, are the main

source of visitors. • The average length of stay in the UK is 8 days, which suggests Americans are

combining a visit to the SW with a tour of the UK. • About half are on holiday with the rest being split between VFR and business. • 62% come in the summer 6 months. • Most enter via London airports.

xxxi

Trends and prospects The American market can be quite volatile and Americans are nervous travellers. Visitors to the UK and the SW fell significantly in 2001 and uncertainties around the Irag War and its aftermath are likely to depress the market further. This is exacerbated by the economic recession in the USA and fall in the stock market, which further depresses the propensity for long haul travel. In the medium to long term, however, prospects are good as the UK has a strong and lasting appeal. Forecasts undertaken for this study indicate a growth of 33% in visits 2001-2011 although this growth is likely to take place after 2006 due to the current circumstances. Nights are forecast to increase by 8% and real spend by 21% over this period. The bulk of the increase will be down to business, VFR and study trips rather than holidays. These figures assume the SW retains its 2001 market share. What the market wants Americans know relatively little about the UK and even less about the South West, so they need information and guidance about what to see, where to go etc The main attraction of Britain lies in its history, heritage, arts and culture. Old buildings, historic sites and associations, quaint villages are popular. Americans are demanding and expect a high quality of service and value for money as Britain is perceived to be expensive. They are used to larger bedrooms and expect ensuite accommodation. Accommodation requirements vary by nature of segment. Students looking for B+B/GH; older and more affluent groups seeking quality B+Bs, 3 star hotels, inns. The British people are perceived to be friendly and slightly eccentric and the opportunity to engage with local people is often welcomed. The negatives are bad weather, poor food and lack of comfort. There is also some concern about driving on the left. Interest in touring holidays and city based holidays. How to reach and influence the market Guidebooks are an important source of information and increasingly the internet (used by 80% of Britain’s best prospects). Travel agents in USA and the BTA overseas offices are important conduits. Itineraries and themed tours may help provide a useful hook to attract Americans into the region. How the SW measures up The South West has a lot to offer the American visitor, but is most likely to appeal to the repeat visitor and then as only part of a longer itinerary through the UK. The main barrier is that most parts of Region are very little known. Key competitors Other regions in the UK and continental Europe Where to find out more BTA Market profiles and PROFIT database for details on segments.

xxxii

D2 OVERSEAS VISITORS LONG HAUL – AUSTRALIA

Market definition Overseas visitors from Australia staying overnight in the South West for any trip purpose. Market size and value The population of Australia is 20m. Australians made 3.5m trips abroad in 2000 of which 700,000 trips were to the UK, with an associated spend of £541m. Australia is the 9th most important overseas market for the UK in terms of volume. Australian visitors have a much higher length of stay than the overseas average and although spend per day is low, overall value is high. Importance to SW In 2001 Australians accounted for around 7% of overseas visits to the region (ie 130,000 trips). Average spend per trip in the region by Australians was £300 per trip and average length of stay just under 9 days (1999-2001 average). The SW region thus accounts for around 20% of all Australian visits to the UK. Areas and sectors which benefit All parts of the Region. All accommodation types especially those offering good value for value for money. Range of attractions and facilities. Market characteristics/profile (Detailed profile for Australian visitors to the SW is not available: the following statistics are drawn from UK visitors) • Key leisure segments for the UK are young people on extended /working

holidays, empty nesters and seniors. • The majority of visitors to the UK are over 50 but the youth market is also

important. • Australians have a positive attitude to Britain. Many have family links. • Australian visitors to the SW are visiting SW as part of wider UK trip. • 40% are on holiday and a similar proportion are visiting friends and relatives,

which is an important motivation reflecting historic ties. • Two thirds come in the summer 6 months. • 60% aged 25-54. Trends and prospects There was a significant fall in 2001 but numbers were still higher than 1996/97. Forecasts undertaken for this study indicate that overseas tourism trips as whole to the SW will increase by 32% (2001-2011) and that tourism from outside Europe and the USA will increase slightly faster than this. Nights and spend will increase less than visits. These figures assume that the SW maintains its 2001 market share. What the market wants Good value for money, travelling on a budget. Interested in touring holidays including Britain and Ireland.

xxxiii

Australians are used to large rooms, cleanliness and a relatively high level of service. Expect power showers. Youth market looking for budget accommodation from B+Bs to youth hostels. Up for more adventurous and active holidays, nightlife, etc. Older market interested in B+Bs, moderately priced inns, hotels. Heritage and cultural interest and general sightseeing. Friendly and informal service. How to reach and influence the market Internet and via BTA offices and general publications. Some interest in packaged tours for the senior market. How the SW measures up Reasonable breadth of product to satisfy the market but lack of awareness may constrain interest. Key competitors Other Regions of the UK, Ireland and Europe. Where to find out more BTA market profiles and PROFIT database for details on segments.

xxxiv

D3 OVERSEAS EUROPEAN VISITORS – GERMANY

Market definition Overseas visitors from Germany staying overnight in the South West for any trip purpose. Market size and value The population of Germany is 83m. The Germans are prolific travellers and 71% of holidays and breaks are taken abroad. The most popular destination (after Germany) is Spain, with Britain coming some way down the league (8th position after the Netherlands). In 2001 the UK hosted 2.3m visits from Germany. Only about 10% of the population has ever been to Britain on holiday but those that do are frequent visitors. Length of stay is slightly shorter than average but spend per day is higher than average. Importance to SW In 2001, Germany accounted for 12% of the Region’s overseas visitors (ie 230,000 trips). Average stay in the SW was just under 8 days and average spend £275. (average 1999-2001) The SW thus has a 10% market share of UK visits from Germany. Forecasts undertaken for this study indicate that overseas visits from Europe will increase by 29% in the period 2001-2011, although up till 2006 the increase will only be 10%. Nights are projected to grow by only 2% (2001-2011) and spend by 4%, reflecting a drop in length of stay. Business tourism will grow twice as fast as holiday tourism. These figures assume that the SW maintains its 2001 market share. Areas and sectors which benefit Historic towns, cities and countryside. Good quality serviced accommodation from B+Bs to hotels. Gardens, heritage attractions, cultural facilities. Most of Region. Market characteristics/profile Length of stay in SW is higher than average for German visitors to the UK, which suggests that the Region is a destination in its own right rather than an add-on to a UK tour. (The following comments refer to all German visitors to the UK) BTA target segments are: youth (group and city breaks), young urban professionals, older couples with no children, affluent older couples, and conference/incentive travellers. • A third of German visitors are on holiday, a third on business and a quarter are

VFR. • Half are aged 25-44. • 61% come in the summer 6 months • Majority of holiday visitors are travelling independently, although about a third are

on inclusive tours. • Bulk of the market for Britain is better educated and middle class. • British humour is seen as positive asset. • Two thirds come by air.

xxxv

• Demanding and direct. • Good knowledge of English. Trends and prospects Although Germany has traditionally been an affluent country with strong history of economic growth, reunification has taken its toll and there is now high unemployment and low growth. This, coupled with the continuing strength of the £ relative to the Euro, FMD and Sep 11, has caused a significant drop in German visitors to the UK. Holiday visits to the UK fell by half 1996-2001, although visits for other purposes have been less affected. German visitors to the SW have also fallen over the past three years with a decline of 30% (1999-2001). Forecasts undertaken for this study indicate that overseas visits from Europe will increase by 29% in the period 2001-2011, although up till 2006 the increase will only be 10%. Nights are projected to grow by only 4% (2001-2011) and spend by 12% in real term, reflecting a drop in length of stay. Business tourism will grow twice as fast as holiday tourism. These figures assume that the SW maintains its 2001 market share. What the market wants Value for money. The strength of the £ has made UK an expensive destination. Shopping. Reasonable language skills but less so from the former E Germany. Some German proficiency will generate positive reaction. Cleanliness is very important. Information hungry and keen on pre-planning. Britain is considered to be a stylish destination with stunning landscape and rich culture. Generally have main meal at lunchtimes and lighter meal in the evening. Range of accommodation from good quality budget accom and B+Bs to smart hotels, depending on segment. Green issues are important for this market. How to reach and influence the market Main sources of information used for holidays are (in order of importance) word of mouth recommendation, travel agents and internet. Half used travel agents to book, although this would be less for UK. Low cost carriers have become an important influence in stimulating trips. Value for money and special promotions. Via travel trade and exhibitions such as ITB. BTA overseas offices. Via carriers and tour operators and usual range of guidebooks and travel media. Website and internet growing in importance, especially for younger segments and for special interests. How the SW measures up Good range of accommodation and places to visit. Good scenery and striking landscape. Access dependent on airports. Key competitors Germany, Spain, Italy, France etc. Other UK regions. Where to find out more BTA market profiles and PROFIT database for specific segments.

xxxvi

D4 OVERSEAS EUROPEAN MARKETS - FRANCE

Market definition Overseas visitors from France staying overnight in the South West for any trip purpose Market size and value The population of France is 58m. Spain is the most popular overseas destination for the French, followed by Britain which received 2.9m visits in 2001 with a spend of 3240m. French employees have a minimum holiday entitlement of 5 weeks and a 35 hour week, so there is significant potential for holiday taking, However, there is strong loyalty to France and only 7% of summer holidays are taken outside France. Those most likely to travel abroad are the under 30s, the professional classes and Parisians. 62% of visits to UK are from nearby northern regions of Nord Pas de Calais, and Ile de France. French visitors to the UK tend to have a short length of stay and a below average spend. Importance to SW The French accounted for 15% of overseas visits to the SW in 2001 (ie 280,000 trips). On average French visitors to the SW stay for just over 8 days and spend £264. The SW attracts 10% of all French visits to the UK. Areas and sectors which benefit Most of Region Cities, historic towns and countryside. Language schools for some resorts. All forms of serviced accommodation Market characteristics/profile Length of stay in the SW is longer than average for all French visitors to the UK suggesting that the SW is a destination in its own right, not an add-on. (These following characteristics refer to all French visitors to the UK) Key markets targeted by BTA are youth market, pre-family groups, empty nesters, recent retirees and conferences. Language schools are also important sector. • Average length of stay is just under 6 days. • 30% of visitors are on holiday, 40% on business and a quarter visiting friends and

relatives. • Half of visitors are aged 35-44. • Relatively even spread throughout the year • Activity orientated with interested in sport and outdoor activities on holiday. • Keen on cultural activities, visiting heritage sites, museums , historic houses etc. • Prefer independent trips • Take long holidays (primarily in France) but shorter breaks throughout the year • Interest in green tourism, arts and culture • Majority are couples or small groups of adults • Knowledge of English is poor to moderate. Trends and prospects UK has lost market share in recent years due to a drop in holiday visits, although business tourism has increased. 2001 visits to UK are 25% down on 1996 totals.

xxxvii

The strength of the £ relative to the Euro is a key factor in this, making the UK an expensive destination for the French (whilst making France cheaper for the British). Having said this, the SW region seems quite resilient and the number of French visitors to the SW has remained fairly constant 1999-2001. There is a tendency for the French to take more short breaks to the UK and to be prepared to travel. Opportunity for the UK as nearby destination with good travel links, but which is sufficiently different. The expanding network of budget airlines links offers an opportunity. Forecasts undertaken for this study indicate that overseas visits from Europe will increase by 29% in the period 2001-2011, although up till 2006 the increase will only be 10%. Nights are projected to grow by only 4% (2001-2011) and spend by 12%, in real terms, reflecting a drop in length of stay. Business tourism will grow twice as fast as holiday tourism. These figures assume that the SW maintains its 2001 market share. What the market wants French are attracted by the British and the British way of life, and Britain is perceived as more exotic than other European countries. Growing interest in short breaks. Younger groups are looking for fun and trendy activities. Older groups looking for soft adventure, activities, culture and heritage. Interest in countryside and touring. Reluctant English speakers. French language capability can help break the ice and shows willing. Discriminating about food. Used to good service and hard to please. Expect clean bedroom with ensuite bathroom. Hotel prices in France are lower than UK. Used to good and efficient public transport. High level of smokers. How to reach and influence the market Via carriers and tour operators. Low cost airlines are becoming important for short break traffic via regional airports. BTA overseas offices and usual range of guidebooks and travel media. Website and internet growing in importance especially for younger segments and for special interests. How the SW measures up Better placed than many UK regions because of proximity of ports of entry and ferry services, though London and South East are better placed. Strong product of attractive unspoiled countryside and coast, heritage interest and small towns and villages. Key competitors France, Spain, Italy and other UK regions. Where to find out more BTA market profiles and PROFIT database for specific segments

xxxviii

D5 OVERSEAS EUROPEAN VISITORS – IRELAND

Market definition Overseas visitors from the Republic of Ireland staying overnight in the South West for any trip purpose. Market size and value Small country with total population of 3.9m but strong historic and social links to the UK. Trips abroad amounted to 4.2m in 2001 of which 2m were visits to the UK. Most of the rest was to continental Europe where Spain is the most popular destination, followed by France and Italy. Irish visitors have a shorter than average length of stay but a higher than average spend compared to overseas visitors as a whole. Importance to SW Ireland accounted for 8% of overseas visits to the SW in 2001 (ie 150,000 trips). On this basis the SW attracts around 8% of Irish visitors to the UK. Average spend per head is £265 and length of stay is 5 days, not dissimilar to that in the UK as a whole. Areas and sectors which benefit Most parts of the region Primarily serviced accommodation of all types. Countryside and coast. Cities for short breaks Gardens, heritage sites and support facilities. Market characteristics/profile The SW is probably a destination in its own right for the Irish. (The following comments relate to Irish Visitors to the UK as a whole) There is very strong VFR element accounting for a third of all trips. Holiday and business both account for a quarter. There is a fairly even spread throughout the year but a peak in the summer 3 months. BTA target segments are: youth market 18-25, dual income households with no children, families, empty nesters and conference/incentive visitors. Despite a lot of contact with UK and strong family links, detailed geographic knowledge of UK and what it has to offer can be quite limited. Trends and prospects Ireland showed rapid economic growth in the 1990s but this has since slowed. The strength of the economy has encouraged a growth in outbound travel for holidays and breaks. 2001 showed an 11% increase over 2000. The continuing strength of sterling against the Euro, however, makes Britain relatively expensive compared to other European destinations. Visitor numbers to the UK have remained fairly steady over the past three years and increased in 2002. Similarly with visitors to the SW. There is a trend to more frequent and shorter holidays. Forecasts undertaken for this study indicate that overseas visits from Europe will increase by 29% in the period 2001-2011, although up till 2006 the increase will only be 10%. Nights are projected to grow by only 4% (2001-2011) and spend by 12% in

xxxix

real terms, reflecting a drop in length of stay. Business tourism will grow twice as fast as holiday tourism. These figures assume that the SW maintains its 2001 market share. What the market wants Young people are looking for nightlife, sport and outdoor activities and general sightseeing. DINKS are looking for cultural activities and city breaks, nightlife and shopping. Families are looking for budget accommodation and self catering. Empty nesters are touring through the countryside on motor holidays looking for cultural events, art galleries, museums and gardens etc. High standard of accommodation Informal and looking for friendly atmosphere, home from home. How to reach and influence the market BTA overseas offices, tour operators and carriers. Low cost airlines are becoming more important for short breaks/VFR traffic. Usual range of tourist guides and media. How the SW measures up Good range of accommodation, plenty to see and do. Good scenery and attractive towns and villages. Sea links to Ireland are quite poor. Key competitors Ireland, other European countries, Wales, Scotland and other UK regions. Where to find out more BTA market profiles and PROFIT database for individual segment details

xl

E1 INDEPENDENT LEISURE DAY VISITS

Market definition Leisure day visits from home. Market size and value A huge and diverse market that is quite difficult to define. The only source of data is the UK Day Visit Survey, which has been carried out at intervals since 1992/3. A survey is being carried out in 2002/03, but the figures currently available relate to 1998. In 1998 it is estimated there were some 6bn leisure day trips made from home in the UK with an associated spend of £71bn. Tourism day trips (defined more tightly as day trips lasting for 3 hours or more and not taken on a regular basis) amounted to 1.2bn trips and a spend of £31bn in 1998. Importance to SW Calculations undertaken for this study, based on 1998 figures, estimate that in 2001 the SW region received 148m day trips, with an associated spend of £3.7bn. This suggests that the SW has a market share of 13% of UK tourism day trips. Note that day visitors outnumber staying visitors by a factor of 6 to 1 and that day visitor spend is similar to than for domestic staying visitors as a whole. Areas and sectors which benefit This market is hugely important for visitor attractions. A half of all visits to tourist attractions in SW are made by day visitors or locals (Sightseeing 2001). It is also important for all sorts of destinations as well as shops, pubs, restaurants etc. Day visitors help underpin much of the tourism infrastructure used by staying visitors and locals. Market characteristics/profile It is not possible to analyse day visit characteristics by region from the 1998 UKDVS data. The following analysis relates to the UK as a whole and the regional picture may well differ. The 2002/03 survey may provide a SW picture. • The majority of trips (71%) are to urban areas. Countryside accounts for 22% and

seaside for 6%. • Eating out and drinking is the most popular activity (22%) followed by shopping

916%) and entertainment (12%). • Visiting friends and relatives accounts for 15% of day trips. • Active pursuits such as walking (4%), cycling (1%) and playing sport (1%)

account for a minority of trips. • Visiting attractions account for only 6% of trips. • The average duration of a trip is 5.4 hours and the average distance travelled 37

miles. • The car is the main form of transport (71%). Public transport is only used by 12%. • Nearly two thirds of trips (64%) consist of a couple or group of adults. Adults with

children account for 22% of trips. • Average party size was 4.8 people. • 51% of trips are made at the weekend, Friday is the busiest weekday.

xli

Day visitors: • Are more likely to be female (53%) • Are more likely to be ABC1 (68%) • Are less likely to come from the older age groups. The 65+ age group accounts

for 11% of trips. The rest are fairly evenly spread amongst the age bands. • 74% have access to a car or van. • 58% of day visitors are in work. • Two thirds have no children under 16 in the household. Day trips are very weather dependent and quite seasonal. Trends and prospects There was an increase of 8% in tourism day trips between 1996 and 1998. Day trips are subject to fashion and whim and are quite volatile. The growth of garden centres, out of town shopping centres, factory outlets centres, Sunday trading etc have had major impacts on the patterns of day visits, if not on total volumes. Forecasts undertaken for this study suggest that the rate of growth of day trips in the next decade will be slower, and constrained by congestion and only modest increases in leisure time. It is estimated that, in the SW region, the number of tourism day trips will increase by 20% (2000-2011) and that real spend will also rise by 20%. What the market wants • Interesting days out, reasonably close to home (75% of trips have a round trip

distance of 75 miles or less) although people are prepared to travel further for ‘must see’ and high profile attractions.

• Access by car is the preferred mode of travel but traffic congestion may increasingly act as a deterrent to certain types of trip.

• Many day trip activities are ‘free’ and can be rather aimless involving general sightseeing, window shopping, walking, picnicking, visits to the seaside etc. However this still has an economic impact in terms of spend on petrol, parking, meals etc.

How to reach and influence the market A difficult market to reach because of its diversity. Word of mouth is very important and advertising in local press and radio can have significant impact. Leaflet distribution is also important. Events and festivals can act as a hook to attract people. How the SW measures up The region has a good range of attractions and places of scenic beauty and interest to visit. The coast is also a significant attraction. However, Cornwall, much of Devon and parts of Somerset and Dorset are too remote and too far from centres of population to do well from the day visitor market. Key competitors Surrounding regions of Heart of England, London, South East and south Wales. Where to find out more Leisure Day Visits. UK Day Visits Survey 1998. Visit Britain Insights – articles relating to day trip market as a whole plus visit patterns to specific types of attraction. Sightseeing in the UK - national tourist boards

xlii

E2 LEISURE DAY TRIPS – GROUP MARKET

Market definition Day trips made by organised groups, generally by coach. School visits are a segment within this group. Market size and value There are no figures for the size of the organised day trip market in the UK. However if we assume that the vast majority of these take place by coach then in 1998 there were an estimated 36m day visits by coach with an associated spend of £844m in the UK (UKDVS 1998). (Surveys suggest that around 90% of organised group travel takes place by coach). Coach trips, however, account for only a small proportion (1-2%) of the vast day visit market. Importance to SW There are no figures to substantiate the size of this market in the SW. However, if the Region follows the national pattern then this would imply 4m trips and a spend of £90m. Areas and sectors which benefit Resorts, historic towns, picturesque villages and areas of scenic beauty are all important destinations for coach day trips. Visitor attractions of all shapes and sizes benefit from coach parties and school groups. On average 10% of visitors to attractions arrive by coach although there are huge variations. Coach trips are generally more significant for entertainment and fun attractions than for museums. Theatre trips and shopping are also important generators of trips. Coach excursions are made from holiday bases as well as from home and so accessibility from population centres is not a major requirement. Market characteristics/profile The coach trip market can be further segmented into: • Excursions organised by coach operators and sold to the general public or

offered as part of a holiday package. • Trips arranged by social clubs, retirement associations and work groups. These

involve the private hire of coaches via coach operators. • Educational visits organised by schools. Language schools and youth groups are

also significant generators of visits. Key characteristics of the adult coach market: • Quite conservative: traditional venues such as seaside, theatre, shopping, scenic

tours and theme parks still predominate. • Very price sensitive and expect discounts. • Dominated by older age groups and geared towards those without cars • Dominated by C2DE groups although retired and work groups show a broader

profile • Average length of stay of 3-4 hours (based on average at various destinations) • 4 hours is about the maximum travel time with an average of 2 hours. 92% of

GTOs were looking for travel less than 200 miles, 60% less than 100 miles. (2) • Busiest months are May /June/July and September.

xliii

Key characteristics of school visits: (2) • Average number of visits per school is 23 • Primary schools generate the most visits • Primary schools tend to travel up to an hour from the school, secondary schools

travel up to 1.5 hrs. • Group size varies from 30-50+ • Most popular time for visits is April-July. Trends and prospects It is hard to predict to what extent this market is likely to grow in the coming years. Demographic changes will boost the number aged 55+, an important section of the market. Budgetary constraints on schools, however, may constrain school visits. In the light of any other evidence we have assumed that group travel will grow at the same rate as leisure day trips as a whole ie 20% in the period 2001-2011. What the market wants • Quite traditional but operators are always on the lookout for new ideas and

options. • Places and destinations people have heard of: Dartmoor, Cotswolds, Cheddar

Gorge etc. TV themes are popular and provide a strong marketing hook. • GTOs are often looking for the unusual or special interest to give added value. • Entertainment is more saleable than education for the adult market; theme parks

and zoos are more popular than museums. • Price is important consideration. Discounts on admission price are expected and

free elements such as a scenic tour, or visit to a picturesque town/village add value but not cost.

• A welcome to coaches. Lack of coach parking, convenient drop-off points, parking charges etc are a significant bone of contention for operators and may act as a deterrent.

Key factors for schools are (in order of importance) educational value, success of previous visit and cost. Facilities on site and teacher support appear to be of secondary interest although may enhance the educational value. How to reach and influence the market Relatively easy and cost effective to influence this market via the intermediaries of coach operators, group travel organisers and school teachers. These are the decision makers who decide on programmes, destinations, itineraries etc, although they are clearly influenced by an awareness of what their customers /members are looking for. Useful routes to these people are via trade shows such as Excursions and BTTF, direct mail to databases and via specialist magazines such as Group Travel Organiser and Coach Monthly. Lead times are quite short, typically up to 6 months for a GTO and 2-3 months for a coach operator. Teachers need reassurance and personal recommendations from colleagues and previous contact is the strongest motivator. Familiarisation trips are useful tools, and building a long term relationship is key.

xliv

How the SW measures up SW is a popular region for coach travel although travel distance from major centres of population are likely to constrain coach visits to the less accessible parts of the region. Key competitors Surrounding regions of Heart of England, South East, London and South Wales. Where to find out more National Group Travel Report 2002. Questions Answered Visit Britain Insights- articles on coach and group travel eg Fifty over Fifty – Coach Tourism in the UK, Nov 2000 plus others. Trade press eg Group Travel Organiser, Coach Monthly

state of tourism south west - west of england€¦ · the south west covering domestic visitors by...

Documents