77% of visitors to Aberdeen City & Shire spend one or more nights in the area

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1 SCOTLAND VISITOR SURVEY 2012 REGIONAL RESULTS: Aberdeen City & Shire Market overview 2011 Aberdeenshire and Grampian attracted 1.62 million visitors in 2011, spending 359 million. of visitors are from overseas. Overseas Other UK 34% Scotland The 2012 Scotland Visitor Survey was conducted for VisitScotland by TNS with fieldwork from July to October. Over this period 1,427 overnight leisure visitors to Scotland were surveyed including 440 visitors to Aberdeen City & Shire. Further factsheets containing results for the other areas included in the 2012 and 2011 surveys are available at The national tourism volume surveys (GB Tourism Survey and International Passenger Survey) recorded 1.62 million tourists visiting Aberdeenshire and Grampian in This equates to around of all visits taken to Scotland. of visitors are from overseas with the largest proportions from Norway and USA. Note: Data in this box and the first bullet point below is sourced from the 2011 GB Tourism Survey and International Passenger Survey and relate to Aberdeenshire and Grampian. All other results in the factsheet are from the Scotland Visitor Survey and relate to Aberdeen City and Shire. Touring around the country A visit based in a countryside location Visit type 33% The following information relates to summer visitors to Aberdeen City & Shire staying overnight in Scotland. The age profile of visitors to Aberdeen City & Shire was 1 aged under 35, between 35 and 54 and 39% aged 55 and over. Most visitors to Aberdeen City & Shire describe their trip as being part of a wider visit touring Scotland (33%) or a visit based in a countryside location (). Stayed with friends or family Stayed in a city and visited countryside Stayed in a city and visited city attractions 1 9% 7 of visitors to Aberdeen City & Shire spend one or more nights in the area. Amongst these visitors the average length of stay is 4.64 nights. of those who spend any nights in the area stay 1 or 2 nights, 14% stay 3 nights and 39% stay for longer. Average length of stay (summer only) of visitors are on their first ever visit to Scotland 7 of visitors to Aberdeen City & Shire spend one or more nights in the area Aberdeen City & Shire 4.64 nights

2 The Visitor Experience? Dreaming Top reasons for choosing to visit Aberdeen City and Shire include the scenery/ landscape () and having family in the area (21%). A large number also visited either because they had an interest in the area s history (20%) or they have been before (). 1 visited for a particular attraction. Particular interest in scenery/landscape Family in area Particular interest in history of area Area I know wellbeen before Visit a particular attraction 21% 20% 1 11% More than 6 While 31% of visitors start to plan their visit 3 to 6 in advance, start planning less than a fortnight beforehand. of visitors made no bookings before travelling. 31% 3 to 6 Booking 21% Lead Time 1 or 2 Average planning time: 16 wks Average booking time: 12 wks 13% 2 to 4 weeks Less than 2 Did not book weeks City Connections to Scotland 72% of Aberdeen and Shire visitors had connections with Scotland, the same proportion as the Scotland average. Connections were most likely to be through friends or friends living in Scotland, or ancestors who had lived in Scotland. Any connection with Scotland (NET) Friends live here Family live here Ancestors lived here Lived here previously University/ school here Done business here No connections but visited many times No connections 13% 31% (Ex. Scottish residents) 72% Travel Overall of visitors to Aberdeen City and Shire who live outside of Scotland came by car to Scotland, flew and 9% travelled by rail. Just 2% travelled by sea. Car own or hired UK residents International visitors All visitors 66% 32% plane 11% train 4% 9% boat 1% 3% 2% Accommodation Hotel Friends / family B&B / Guest House Self catering Caravanning Around of visitors to Aberdeen City and Shire stayed in a hotel while in the area ( 4 or 5 star, 3 star, 4% 1 or 2 star). of visitors chose to stay 11% with friends or family, with UK residents particularly likely to do so (). A smaller proportion ( ) stayed in a B&B or Guest House. The most popular Activities activities on visits to Aberdeen City and Shire were visiting historic venues () and short walks or strolls (). Overseas visitors were more likely to visit cities (49%). Visited a historic venue Short walk/ stroll Shopping Sightseeing Visited a museum/art gallery Trying local food Visited a beach Visited a country Visited cities Centre based walking 4 39% 35%! Sharing 3 of visitors to Aberdeen City and Shire shared their experiences online after they returned home with uploading photos (e.g. to flickr) and updating their Facebook status regarding their trip. 9% left reviews on a website such as Tripadvisor. 9% Most visitors to Aberdeen City Eating out and Shire ate out in pubs and bars or cafes during their time in Scotland. 49% ate in hotels while ate in good quality restaurants (52% of overseas visitors compared to of visitors from the UK). Cafes/tea shops Pubs/bars Hotel/s Good quality restaurants Friends / Relatives home Budget restaurants 65% 49% 32%

3 Quality of Experience Aspects of the Aberdeen City and Shire visitor experience most likely to receive a very satisfied rating include VisitScotland Information Centres, friendly service in accommodation and information on places to visit. Less satisfied ratings were recorded for convenient sea routes and the cost of travel. Mean Score Satisfaction with different aspects of experience in Aberdeen City & Shire Neither/less satisfied satisfied Very satisfied 4.45 Useful online information 8% 54% 4.29 Useful offline information 14% Travel 3.98 Convenient air routes 26% Convenient sea routes 3.58 Cost of travel 41% 3.88 Public transport Accommodation Availability of low cost accommodation Availability of good quality accommodation Value for money 34% 4.30 Friendly and efficient service 4 Activities 4.22 Information locally on places to visit 40% Value for money of attractions Opportunities to attend local events/festivals 52% 49% 33% Eating out Value for money Availability of local produce 20% Local people 4.07 Opportunities to interact with locals VisitScotland Information Centres 48% 4.38 Overall satisfaction 4% 4.29 Ease of finding 8% 4.45 Welcoming feel 5% 4.46 Friendly & efficient service 5% 4.39 Availability of useful information 40% Internet/mobile reception 3.88 Availability of mobile phone reception 3.71 Availability of Wi-FI and broadband access 32% 24% Note: All 440 visitors to Aberdeen City & Shire were asked the above questions but data excludes those who provided no responses for aspects they had not experienced. The neither/less satisfied scores includes neither satisfied/dissatisfied, fairly dissatisfied and very dissatisfied scores.

4 Quality of Experience 91% of visitors were satisfied and 91% will definitely/probably recommend Aberdeen City and Shire based on their experiences. While 66% of all visitors will definitely/probably revisit Aberdeen City and Shire in the next 5 years, this proportion varies from 71% of UK residents to 48% of international visitors. Neither/less satisfied satisfied 64% 91% very/fairly satisfied Very satisfied Overall satisfaction with Aberdeen City & Shire 64% of visitors were very satisfied with their overall experience in Aberdeen City and Shire while were quite satisfied. Those aged were most likely to be very satisfied (72%), followed by UK visitors (6) and repeat visitors (66%). The neither/less satisfied scores includes neither satisfied/dissatisfied, fairly dissatisfied and very dissatisfied scores. Probably likely 24% 6% 2% Probably/ definitely not 6 Definitely Recommending Aberdeen City & Shire Two-thirds of visitors would definitely recommend Aberdeen City and Shire as a destination to others (6). Domestic visitors (71%) were more likely to state this than those visiting from overseas (58%). 91% definitely/ probably Probably/ definitely not likely Definitely 48% 18% Probably 66% definitely/ probably Returning to Aberdeen City & Shire in the next 5 years 48% of visitors to Aberdeen City and Shire stated that they will definitely return in the next 5 years (52% of UK residents compared to 32% from overseas). Those on a repeat visit to Scotland were more likely to say they will definitely return to Aberdeen City and Shire (56%). Most enjoyed aspects Below are examples of some highlights mentioned by visitors in Aberdeen was fun and it had great food and better shopping, the people were very friendly and so helpful Made numerous trips to Aberdeenshire and have so far not been disappointed invited family along to experience the beauty of the countryside and beaches I liked the whole setting of the city close to the port and with a beach. What could be improved? Below are examples of some improvements suggested by visitors in Better train service with higher frequency into Aberdeen Aberdeen isn't the most tourist friendly city - lots of pubs but not many friendly cafes The 2012 Scotland Visitor Survey was conducted for VisitScotland by TNS. For further information please contact: VisitScotland, Ocean Point One, 94 Ocean Drive, Edinburgh, EH6 6JH research@visitscotland.com Disclaimer: VisitScotland has published this report in good faith to update stakeholders on its activity. VisitScotland has taken all reasonable steps to confirm the information contained in the publication is correct. However, VisitScotland does not warrant or assume any legal liability for the accuracy of any information disclosed and accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions.

5 Appendix - Using & Interpreting the Scotland Visitor Survey Please use the following as guidance notes when interpreting the Scotland Visitor Survey: The Scotland Visitor Survey was carried out in 2011 and 2012 to gather information from holidaymakers in Scotland on their experiences of Scotland. The survey captured the views of leisure overnight visitors only (this could include Scots spending an overnight trip away from their normal place of residence, as well as UK and overseas visitors). People on a day trip from home, visitors whose main purpose was a business trip and cruise ship visitors were excluded. The Scotland Visitor Survey is a summer only survey, and due to the scale of the project it is not carried out for the full year. As such the results reflect the views of the main holiday season visitors who were in Scotland during June-September. Holidaymakers were recruited at locations in 14 different regions of Scotland (7 included in 2011 and 7 included in The islands groups of Orkney, Shetland & Outer Hebrides were excluded due to a separate visitor survey being undertaken for 2012/13). Between 5-10 locations per region were included to gain a spread of recruitment locations. Those recruited completed an online survey on their return home to allow respondents to provide details of their full holiday experience in Scotland. The main aim of the survey was to gather views on a wide range of topics to supplement data on tourism in Scotland which is gathered by the annual statistical surveys undertaken at a national level (The Great Britain Tourism Survey, which provides volume and value estimates of domestic tourism from within Scotland and the rest of Great Britain and The Office of National Statistics' International Passenger Survey, which provides details of tourism from abroad). The factsheets produced for the Scotland Visitor Survey report on 2 years data for the international markets (2011 and 2012) and one year s data for the regional fact sheets, dependent on the region covered in the fieldwork each year. The Visitor Survey does not gather information on volume or value of tourists to each region. For information on trips, nights and spend to Scotland or to regions of Scotland, please read the Tourism in Scotland fact sheet and regional fact sheets available on the Research & Statistics section of the corporate website The Visitor Survey is not intended to include visitors who are participating in specific activities as their main purpose of the trip (e.g. visitors in Scotland on specific golfing break who may not be found in the general recruitment locations). Further details of the methodology behind the survey are available within the main presentation slides made available on the Research & Statistics section of the corporate website The Scotland Visitor Survey was conducted for VisitScotland by TNS. For further information please contact: VisitScotland, Ocean Point One, 94 Ocean Drive, Edinburgh, EH6 6JH research@visitscotland.com Disclaimer: VisitScotland has published this report in good faith to update stakeholders on its activity. VisitScotland has taken all reasonable steps to confirm the information contained in the publication is correct. However, VisitScotland does not warrant or assume any legal liability for the accuracy of any information disclosed and accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions.