Scottish Tourism Index – July 2020

Research, undertaken by 56 Degree Insight shows boost to tourism with over half of Scots planning a holiday in Scotland in 2020 though some concerns about the influx of visitors – especially in rural and island communities

Headline results:

Scots feelings about travel generally, July 2020:

• After discovering in June that 89% of Scots would be unlikely to travel overseas because of the need to self-quarantine on their return, the removal of this requirement for a number of markets is likely to only have a minimal impact: only 17% of them would reconsider taking a foreign holiday this summer
• This links directly to the clear and continued lack of desire or demand for air travel – around four in every five Scots stated they would be very unlikely to travel by air for a holiday or break in 2020 (78%), illustrating the problems facing the air industry.
• But there is also a very limited desire to travel elsewhere within the UK which is directly linked to some of the scenes and images of crowded beaches and seafronts in parts of England during May and June – this has resulted in 9 in 10 Scots being put off taking a holiday south of the border this summer (87%).

The desire for holidays and tourism

• There has been a general dampening in the immediate desire for tourism after higher levels of aspiration during lockdown. The cautious steps for many out of lockdown means that the immediate desire to travel on holiday has been put on

Physical Distancing on a Scottish holiday – the consumer perspective

• There is broad support among prospective Scots tourists for the reduction to 1 meter in certain situations, but only if the additional mitigations are in place and there is clear signage forewarning visitors.
• Greatest comfort for Scots tourists remains at 2 metres (90% comfortable) and 10-20% of tourists (especially older visitors) may decide not to visit tourism facilities where physical distancing is decreased to 1 metre – even with mitigations in place.

The size and nature of the Scots staycation market, 2020

• Over half of Scots are considering a staycation this year (53%) – this could equate to around 2.4 million Scots holidays in 2020.
• Over half of these holidays are planned by Scots who would not have taken a Scottish holiday were it not for the restrictions imposed by Coronavirus (52%).
• In early July, 16% of Scots had already planned or booked a Scottish holiday post-July 15, and a further 37% were thinking about a Scottish holiday this year.
• 44% of families planning a holiday wanted it to take place before the schools went back or during the October break (28%),
• For older Scots with no dependent children, late August and September are popular with 44% planning holidays then.
• And the good news for the industry is that many Scots are willing to take a break outside the peak season – 21% of trips are planned for September and almost a quarter will be later in October, November and December (23%).
• In terms of where these trips will be taken, the desire for rural locations is clear – especially the Highlands, with 44% planning to visit.
• In terms of accommodation, self-catering is the most popular choice for most – 50% of prospective Scots holiday makers want the safety and independence this provides.

Impact of tourism on communities

• In July we have tried to establish how Scots feel about the prospect of the re-opening of tourism and the potential influx of visitors to their communities.
• Across Scotland as a whole, 37% are comfortable and ready to welcome back visitors.  However a further 30% have more concerns and would only be comfortable with visitors from Scotland.  And 16% would wish to restrict access to more local visitors, while 18% would prefer no visitors to their areas at the moment.
• But the concerns are much greater in rural areas north and west of the central belt – almost four in ten would either prefer no visitors or only a small number of more local visitors (38%).
• And they are even more of an issue in our island communities where only 10% are comfortable with tourists returning, and 45% would prefer either none this year or very small numbers of local visitors.