Tourism Business Monitor 2017 Wave 2 Post-Easter holidays
Contents Background Key Findings Business Dashboards Visitor Profile Business Performance Workforce - Accommodation Workforce Attractions Business Confidence 2
Background, objectives and research method Tourism Business Monitor designed to measure, monitor and understand tourism business performance and confidence and the factors which influence them. Telephone survey conducted 4-5 times per year immediately following key tourism periods among: c. 500 accommodation establishments (c. 250 serviced / c. 250 non-serviced), including mix by region, establishment size and hotels / guest houses / B&B / self-catering / caravan and campsites. c. 300 visitor attractions including mix by region, attraction type, size (measured by annual visitor admissions) and free / paid admission. Questions on hot topics included on a periodic basis. Fieldwork dates: 2017: 24-2 May, reviewing the Easter period 2017 2017: 3-11 2016, reviewing the Christmas and New Year period 2016 Jul 2016: 18-25 Jul 2016, reviewing period after the Easter holidays up until mid-july 2016: 18-24 2016, reviewing the Easter period 2016 2016: 5-11 2016, reviewing the Christmas and New Year period 20 20: 2-8 20, reviewing mid-september until the the October Sept 20: 3-10 Sept 20, reviewing the period from May until the the school summer holidays June 20: 1-5 June 20, reviewing the period from Easter up until the May 20: 5-9 20, reviewing the Christmas and New Year period 20 20: 3-9 20, reviewing mid-september until the the October Sept 20: 8- Sept 20, reviewing the period from mid-july up until the the summer holidays 20: 24-1 May 20, reviewing the Easter period 20 20: 6-12 uary 20, reviewing the Christmas and New Year period 2013 2013: 4-10 2013, reviewing mid-september until the October Sept 2013: 9- Sept 2013, reviewing the period from mid-july up until the the summer holidays 3
Key Findings Accommodation businesses report steady growth, consistent with at the start of the year. Attractions have seen an acceleration in their growth with nearly two thirds reporting an increase in visitors and less than a fifth reporting a decline. This is the most positive net result for attractions recorded since September 20. Net growth of the domestic market continues, particularly in the attractions sector. The rate of growth has slowed amongst accommodation businesses and is now the same as the level seen in Easter 2016. The overseas market has also grown for, but on a smaller scale, for both business types. Hotels and campsites fared well over the Easter period, while performance of guest houses and self-catering accommodation remained fairly consistent with the previous year. All attraction types are showing growth so far this year, with a particularly buoyant period over Easter for larger attractions (with over 20k visitors) and attractions with an outdoor offer, reflecting the clement weather. Accommodation advance bookings are at a slightly higher level then in Easter 2016, but confidence up until early summer remains consistent, with a little over half expecting 2017 to be a better year than 2016. As we might expect, outdoor attractions are the most confident about their prospects in the run up to the summer holidays. Other types of attraction are more cautious than they were last Easter. However, they are much more bullish about 2017 as a whole, with nearly three-quarters expecting to improve their business performance. The majority of accommodation sites have kept a consistent workforce compared to the previous year, and will continue to do so going forward. However, almost 1 in 5 are expecting to increase staffing levels before the the year. Reflecting the positive performance over the year to date, a quarter of attractions have increased their workforce, and 17% expect to do so before the 2017. Perhaps unsurprisingly, attractions are more open to recruiting unpaid volunteers; 28% had increased this part of their staffing since last year, and nearly a third will look to increase their volunteers by the end of the year. 4
Business Dashboards
Business Performance Dashboard Both types of business saw growth during the Easter period, with the attractions market performing particularly strongly. Satisfaction levels are also strong, with 51% of accommodation and 47% of attractions reporting that they were very satisfied with business performance. ACCOMMODATION Visitor numbers (%) 20 39 30 26 Versus same period previous year Down Same Up ATTRACTIONS Visitor numbers (%) 19 18 18 22 41 44 63 60 17 YTD 2017 2017 YTD 2017 Satisfaction (%) 9 37 51 Satisfied with business performance Not at all Not very Quite Very 3 49 47 17 17 Q3/4. Q7/8 PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE il 2017: Easter period 2017 6
Business Confidence Dashboard: Confidence for next period Looking ahead, an overwhelming majority of all sites (91% of accommodation and 98% of attractions) felt confident about their prospective performance up until early summer. ACCOMMODATION Very confident Fairly confident 81 83 90 91 92 87 86 94 93 94 89 92 96 89 91 52 54 52 43 42 45 54 43 41 41 51 47 31 57 46 29 29 38 48 49 42 32 51 51 52 39 46 65 32 46 13 Jul Sept June Sept 16 16 Jul 16 17 17 ATTRACTIONS 91 89 98 93 97 92 95 97 96 95 95 96 98 97 98 56 63 64 58 54 55 51 56 53 54 57 50 51 60 58 36 26 34 35 42 37 45 41 43 41 38 46 46 37 40 13 Jul Sept June Sept 16 16 Jul 16 17 17 the year Easter early Summer school summe r holiday s October the year Easter end of the school summer holidays October the year Easter early Summe r end of school summer holidays end of Easter early summer Q13 7
Visitor Profile
Changing Visitor Profile (year-to-date vs. previous year): Accommodation Net growth of domestic guests continued over the Easter period, but the rate of growth has slowed and is now the same as the level seen in Easter 2016. The overseas market has also grown, albeit to a lesser extent. Up Down NET: Up - Down 43 36 34 30 36 38 46 32 37 39 41 29 28 39 31 +10 Domestic visitors 17 13 13 19 19 Jul 19 12 11 9 Sept June 12 Sept 19 21 17 7 10 11 16 16 Jul 16 17 17 Overseas visitors 34 29 24 13 20 23 25 31 19 Jul 38 Sept 30 18 39 27 27 8 June 37 18 Sept 33 37 12 19 22 23 28 31 16 26 20 16 16 Jul 16 17 17 +6 Q12 PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE il 2017: The Easter period 9
Changing Visitor Profile (year-to-date vs. previous year): Attractions The domestic market continues to see strong growth, with just 9% of attractions reporting a drop in UK visitors. The overseas market has also seen growth, albeit on a smaller scale. Up Down NET: Up - Down 43 44 36 37 43 43 54 42 11 12 11 10 11 10 11 10 37 6 44 47 39 11 7 29 12 41 46 7 9 +37 Domestic visitors 13 Jul Sept June Sept 16 16 Jul 16 17 17 43 30 29 35 36 35 31 31 31 33 34 24 21 27 25 +12 Overseas visitors 9 13 20 9 Jul Sept 10 12 11 June Sept 17 8 10 13 16 16 Jul 16 17 17 Q12 PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE il 2017: Easter period 2017 10
Business Performance
Visitor Numbers: Year-on-year changes (up /down) Accommodation businesses report steady growth, consistent with at the start of the year. Attractions have seen a acceleration in their growth with nearly two thirds reporting an increase in visitors and less than a fifth reporting a decline. This is the most positive net result recorded since September 20. % ACCOMMODATION % ATTRACTIONS il 2017 30 11 39 3 17 Up Slightly up il 2017 56 7 18 6 13 Exactly same YTD 2017 38 5 26 4 27 Slightly down Down YTD 2017 50 9 22 3 52 38 43 44 55 61 50 48 49 56 48 30 41 42 41 Up 55 41 59 52 64 61 62 60 56 50 57 50 49 56 63 Down -16-17 -22-22 -28-25 -21-18 -20-24 -19-20 -29-36 -35 13 Jul Sep Jun Sep 16 16 Jul 16 17 17-26 -31-18 -21-22 -18-23 -18-23 -28-17 -32-25 - -19 PERIODS ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE : Christmas and New Year period / : Easter period / June: Easter up until the May / Jul: After Easter holidays up until mid-july/ Sept: Mid-July/End of May (Sept 20) up until the the summer holidays / : Mid-September until the October 13 Jul Sept June Sept 16 16 Jul 16 17 17 Q3/4 & Q7/8 12
Changing business performance: By business type Hotels and campsites fared well over the Easter period, while performance of guest houses and self-catering accommodation remained fairly consistent with the previous year. All attraction types are showing growth so far this year, with a particularly buoyant period over Easter for larger attractions (with over 20k visitors) and attractions with an outdoor offer, reflecting the clement weather. ACCOMMODATION - BY TYPE Up Slightly up Exactly same Slightly down Down Hotels Guest house / B&B Self catering Caravan / camping 8 3 25 18 12 26 7 31 17 41 49 7 10 46 10 50 24 16 ATTRACTIONS BY TYPE Less than 20k Over 20k Indoor Outdoor Mixed 12 7 5 13 23 6 8 64 47 21 6 20 40 5 8 12 7 17 16 4 3 66 62 Q3/4 PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE il 2017: The Easter period 2017 13
Changing business performance: By business type (trends) The boost in visitor numbers at caravan/campsites over the Easter period has led to an all-time high satisfaction score (with 70% stating they were very satisfied ). Similarly, the strong performance of hotels has also had a knock-on effect on satisfaction levels. Indoor attractions reported the lowest levels of growth for the Easter period, with satisfaction also falling as a result. ACCOMMODATION BY TYPE % Visitors up on last year Hotels % Very Satisfied 70 63 57 33 26 Guest house/ B&B Self catering Caravan/ camping 52 48 47 ATTRACTIONS BY TYPE % Visitors up on last year % Very Satisfied 71 70 66 55 53 Less than 20k Over 20k Indoor 54 54 52 40 36 Outdoor Mixed Q3/4, Q6 PERIOD ASKED ABOUT FOR PAST BUSINESS PERFORMANCE il 2017: The Easter period 2017
Workforce
Accommodation employment changes: Paid employees The majority of sites have kept a consistent workforce compared to the previous year, and will continue to do so going forward. However, almost 1 in 5 are expecting to increase staffing levels before the the year. VS. PREVIOUS YEAR 6 74 4 Decreased Stayed the same Increased DK/can't say (13) (87) LOOKING FORWARD TO THE REST OF 2017 (EXPECTED) 3 67 19 11 Decrease Stay the same Increase Too early to say Q16a, Q16c 16
Attractions employment changes: Paid employees Reflecting the positive performance this year, a quarter of attractions have increased their workforce, and 17% expect to do so before the the year. VS. PREVIOUS YEAR 6 64 25 5 Decreased Stayed the same Increased DK/can't say (13) (87) LOOKING FORWARD TO THE REST OF 2017 (EXPECTED) 3 74 17 6 Decrease Stay the same Increase Too early to say Q16a, Q16c 17
Attractions employment changes: Unpaid volunteers Perhaps unsurprisingly, attractions have been more open to recruiting unpaid volunteers. 28% had increased this part of their staffing since last year, and nearly a third will look to increase their volunteers by the the year. VS. PREVIOUS YEAR 5 48 28 19 Decreased Stayed the same Increased DK/can't say (13) (87) LOOKING FORWARD TO THE REST OF 2017 (EXPECTED) 1 51 32 16 Decrease Stay the same Increase Too early to say Q16b, Q16d 18
Business Confidence
Advance booking levels: Accommodation Advance bookings are at a slightly higher level then in Easter 2016, with 44% of sites describing them as good and 30% as very good. % Very poor Poor Just OK Good Very good 6 6 3 1 5 3 6 4 2 2 4 3 6 6 6 6 4 1 21 2 4 1 10 8 9 11 10 13 13 20 19 19 22 19 22 24 24 33 31 30 27 35 32 35 35 35 39 41 44 45 39 38 32 34 37 37 33 34 47 39 37 33 24 28 21 26 29 30 12 16 18 16 Survey conducted: 2013 20 20 Jul Jul 20 Sept Sep 20 20 20 June Jun 20 Sept 20 20 16 2016 2016 Jul Jul 16 17 2016 2017 2017 Period asked about: the year the Easter late Spring/ early Summer school summer holidays October the year Easter the the school summer holidays October the year Easter late Spring/ early Summer the the school summer holidays Easter late Spring/ early Summer Q 20
Confidence in performance for forthcoming period: By business type This increase in advance booking levels has had a positive impact on business confidence across all types of accommodation. As we might expect, outdoor attractions are the most confident about their prospects over the summer period. Other types of attraction are more cautious than they were last Easter. ACCOMMODATION BY TYPE % very confident 61 47 44 32 Hotels Guest house / B&B Self catering Caravan / camping 13 Jul Sept June Sept 16 16 Jul 16 17 17 ATTRACTIONS BY TYPE % very confident 48 40 40 38 34 Less than 20k Over 20k Indoor Outdoor 13 July Sept June Sept 16 16 Jul 16 17 17 Mixed 2013 the year 20 Easter 20 late Spring/ early Summer July 20 school summer holidays Sept 20 October 20 the year 20 Easter June 20 school summer holidays Sept 20 the October 20 the year 2016 Easter 2016 July 2016 late Spring/ school early summer Summer holidays 2017 Easter 2017 late Spring/ early Summer Q13 21
Q Business optimism for 2017 Business confidence amongst accommodation sites remains at a similar level to Easter 2016, with over half expecting 2017 to be a better year than 2016. Attractions are much more bullish, with nearly three-quarters expecting to improve their business performance. ACCOMMODATION ATTRACTIONS 2 1 3 3 3 1 1 7 7 4 2 2 1 2 4 11 8 9 9 10 2 21 1 21 6 3 1 1 8 11 7 8 4 4 31 35 31 31 35 40 33 41 43 34 Much worse Slightly worse 24 28 24 26 27 26 29 41 38 24 Same 38 44 34 39 38 39 37 34 36 39 A little better Much better 45 47 50 46 40 50 49 38 40 51 22 16 22 19 20 16 19 16 20 21 19 16 22 21 18 17 22 20 20 June 20 Sept 20 20 2016 2016 Jul 2016 2017 2017 20 20 Jun 20 Sept 20 20 2016 2016 Jul 2016 2017 2017 22
Positive verbatim comments on business optimism for 2017: Accommodation We re increasing our capacity Because of the level of forward bookings we have at this stage is higher than last year We're already up on what we were doing last year and we re booked solidly until the July Plans for new restaurant to open Getting busier by the day Qb 23
Positive verbatim comments on business optimism for 2017: Attractions As we re making a sustained effort with digital marketing, I'm confident that more people will visit People prefer to spend holidays here rather than abroad with the exchange rate We continue to offer a more diverse range of things to do Based on latest trends there has always an increase every year so hoping to keep up the trend Qb 24
Quality Standards and Other Details BDRC Continental comply with ISO 20252, the recognised international quality standards for market research, thus the project has been carried out in accordance with these standards. Adherence to the standard is independently audited once per year. Where subcontractors are used by BDRC Continental, they are briefed to ensure any outsourced parts of the research are conducted in adherence to ISO 20252. Full methodological details relevant to the project, are available upon request. 26