News

The past two years have transformed how visitor attractions operate online forever. With the increased need for online bookings, additional revenue drivers, and a seamless on and offline experience, it’s more important than ever for attraction marketers to understand how their website is performing. But, knowing what good looks like is almost impossible until we uncouple attractions from the travel and tourism industry sector skewing the data. A new survey being conducted by ASVA member Rubber Cheese will do just that.

ASVA and ALVA, the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, are supporting Rubber Cheese in its efforts to encourage attractions all over the country to take part in this research exercise to help our vibrant sector grow. We’d urge you to complete the 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Survey, which is anonymous, as its findings will greatly benefit businesses and our sector as a whole. Taking part will enable you, as an attraction operator, to:

• Benchmark your website against national averages
• Deep-dive into specific attraction types in specific locations and compare website performance within those sectors
• Know ‘what great looks like’ and where you sit currently
• Build arguments for future investment in your website and digital channels
• Plan for the future and ongoing recovery of the sector

The survey just takes 15 minutes to complete and you will need access to your Google Analytics to do so. Everyone who takes part in the research will access to the 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report – and an invite to the launch event.

Please do participate and complete this highly relevant sectoral survey here.

The results of ASVA’s most recent survey of Scotland’s visitor attractions, published at the beginning of June, underlined the extent to which venues and sites of all types across the country continue to be affected by staffing challenges, and the significant impact these are having on operations and visitor services.

With the aim of helping alleviate these very considerable issues – which are not only limiting attractions’ performance but also their post-pandemic business recovery efforts – ASVA has produced a recruitment video to shine a spotlight on the outstanding career opportunities the dynamic visitor attractions sector offers.

The short film Why Choose A Career In Visitor Attractions? features footage from a range of ASVA member organisations and attractions –including Historic Environment Scotland, The National Trust for Scotland, The Real Mary King’s Close, Camera Obscura and World of Illusions, and Belhaven Brewery. The video features attractions staff speaking about what working in the sector is like, highlighting the wide and diverse range of roles and great variety it offers, the key skills that are most important to have – and what they love about their jobs. The video link is: https://youtu.be/UFWVIs8Un0o.

ASVA is encouraging its attraction members, and colleagues in the wider sector, to use the video to support their recruitment activities. The film is featured on the homepage of ASVA’s website – which includes our jobs page https://asva.co.uk/jobs/ promoting vacancies within the attractions sector – and has been shared with industry stakeholders including VisitScotland, Skills Development Scotland, and The Scottish Tourism Alliance.

ASVA is working with a number of partners to support recruitment in the attractions sector and encourage potential candidates to choose jobs and careers within it. The Association has, for example, been liaising closely with the Department For Work & Pensions (DWP) to raise awareness of the sector’s number and type of vacancies, and scope of career opportunities. These activities are designed to enable and encourage the DWP’s work coaches to share this information to jobseekers and inspire them to apply to attractions’ vacancies. The recruitment video will further support these efforts in the weeks and months ahead.

The video will also be shared with academic institutions to ensure visitor attraction career opportunities are highlighted to students and alumni, supporting and encouraging recruitment into the sector.

ASVA CEO Gordon Morrison said: “The sector-wide survey that we conducted in May highlighted that, of the 850-plus attractions operating in Scotland, more than 55% are experiencing challenges recruiting staff. Ours is a sector that provides more than 17,000 jobs to the people of Scotland, and there a huge range of exciting roles available in every corner of the country. A common misconception is that working in tourism is a job, not a career. We hope this video goes some way to dispelling this. The range of fantastic job opportunities within our sector is unparalleled and, for those who want it, there is a hugely enjoyable and fulfilling career to be had working in some of Scotland’s most iconic, awe-inspiring venues, locations, and world-class experiences.“

We are pleased to share the results our latest survey, which was designed to gather information on the current performance, prospects and confidence levels of Scotland’s visitor attractions sector. This was a particularly important ‘snapshot’ survey as it was the first opportunity for us to take a pulse-reading of our sector since the lifting of all major COVID restrictions in January.
 
Undertaken from 25 April to 13 May to capture early season and Easter performance, the survey was sent to 590 organisations, representing 882 attractions. A total of 165 respondents, representing 313 attractions, took part so that very positive response rate gave us really robust data.

The key findings from the survey include:

• Whilst the vast majority of the sector is fully open, a significant number of businesses are unable to operate at full capacity due to a combination of staffing and financial reasons.
• The majority of the sector (over 94%) is still operating with some form of COVID-mitigating measures in place. The enforcement of such measures is, however, very light.
• Visitor numbers and turnover figures are relatively encouraging in the first quarter of the year, with just under a quarter of respondents reporting numbers between 75% and 100% of those seen in 2019, and a further 1 in 10 reporting numbers above those seen in 2019. However, approximately 1 in 3 attractions reported numbers at 50% or under pre-pandemic levels.
• International visitors appear to be returning – from certain markets at least – with 39.4% of respondents reporting ‘as anticipated’ or ‘better than anticipated’ numbers from Northern Europe, and a further 32.2% reporting similarly with regards to North American visitors.
• Encouragingly, just under 60% of the sector believes their business is secure beyond the next 12 months, which compares favourably to the 16% who consider their business is insecure beyond a year.
• Investment is taking place within the sector, with 71.5% of respondents reporting that they are investing at, or above, pre-pandemic levels in staff development and training, and almost the same number (69.8%) investing the same or more in regular maintenance, infrastructure and facilities.
• Of concern, however, is the significant number of respondents who have reported that they are unable to take forward planned improvement and development works. Just over 29% of attractions reported less or no investment in new facilities and infrastructure in the 21/22 year, and a further 20.6% reported a significant reduction in investment in leadership development.
• Recruitment challenges are being faced right across the country with 55.7% of the sector currently experiencing challenges in recruiting front of house staff, for both seasonal and permanent roles.

ASVA CEO Gordon Morrison summarised the survey findings by saying: ‘’This is the first survey undertaken since the lifting of all major COVID restrictions in Scotland and, encouragingly, it points to the fact that the majority within the sector are slowly moving onto the road to recovery. We are however, not there yet, and it is perhaps more accurate to describe 2022/23 as a year of consolidation for the attractions sector in Scotland, rather than full blown recovery.

“Elements outwith the sector’s control, such as the rising costs of doing business and the ever-developing cost of living crisis, are also set to have a significant impact on our ability to recover fully. Unless steps are taken to help businesses with their rising costs, it is likely we’ll continue to see the developing pattern of less investment in new facilities and infrastructure and leadership development – the very areas where we will want to see investment if we are to achieve the longer-term ambitions of the tourism industry, as laid out in Outlook 2030. To help support the recovery and encourage investment, the Scottish & UK Governments must use whatever levers available to them to reduce the financial burden on businesses, many of whom are facing considerable COVID-related loan repayments on top of other costs.’’

You can view the summary report of the survey findings here. The full report is available to view in the Members Area of our website in the Surveys & Research section.

• ASVA charitable organisation members will benefit from exclusive transaction rate discount on GoodBox contactless devices

• To celebrate the new partnership, ten contactless donation boxes are available to members in a cut-price deal

ASVA is delighted to announce that it has partnered with GoodBox – the financial technology specialist that’s revolutionising contactless donations – to offer any of our charitable organisation members an exclusive incentive to help them take advantage of this income-generating innovation.

Statistics show that GoodBox contactless donations technology can increase donations income by up to 64% and ASVA is keen to help our members to capitalise on the huge potential for this technology to generate income to support business recovery.

As a result, ASVA has negotiated a special deal enabling our charitable members using GoodBox contactless technology to benefit from a lower transaction fee rate of 1.5%, compared to the standard rate of 2.5%. This is a commercial and Scottish first – the only other GoodBox client afforded this benefit is the Church of England.

ASVA CEO, Gordon Morrison, said: “As visitor attractions strive to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, there has never been a more important time for operators to develop new income streams and maximise revenue – and we are continually looking for ways of helping our members achieve this. We identified GoodBox as a perfect partner to support our sector due to the outstanding and impressive track record it has in enabling its clients, thanks to its award-winning contactless technology, to increase public donations and raise more funds.“

GoodBox Co-Founder & Managing Director, Francesca Hodgson, said: “The team at GoodBox are very excited to team up with ASVA and support Scotland’s visitor attractions sector. We’re very aware of how difficult the past couple of years has been for so many iconic attractions that play such an important part in enriching the lives of visitors and local communities. We know how much so many venues and sites depend on the generosity of the public to help them to raise much-needed funds to secure their future. Our contactless donations technology has proven to do just that so we do hope the special transaction rate we’re offering ASVA members will support them.”

GoodBox – which has just become ASVA’s newest trade member – provides a range of award-winning contactless technology and innovative digital tools to trigger spontaneous donations. Its clients include an extensive and diverse range of leading visitor attractions across all categories, from the Natural History Museum to The Lowry to London’s Royal Parks. 

Using technology for good, GoodBox also drives engagement with donors to encourage cashless fundraising for charities all over the UK, tackling disease, poverty, hunger and homelessness.

To further celebrate this new partnership, ASVA is pleased to offer members the opportunity to purchase a limited number of GBx Core contactless donation boxes at a vastly reduced rate. These boxes are normally priced at £375.00 (plus VAT) per unit, but ASVA has 10 boxes to offer for just £38.00 (plus VAT) each. These will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note any further service, artwork and security fees will be the responsibility of those purchasing the boxes. Members interested in taking advantage of this offer should email ASVA’s CEO Gordon Morrison at gordon@asva.co.uk to register their interest.

For details of ASVA exclusive pricing with GoodBox, please click here.

The ASVA Visitor Attractions Monitor 2021 End of Year Report, and additional annex, are both now available. These provide members with details of visitor figures for 2021, compared to both 2020 and 2019, as well as a wealth of additional information for the year including:

• Visitor profile information
• Adult and child visitation
• Average spend
• Web & social media activity
• Quarterly and monthly visitation patterns
• Regional breakdowns

The reports show that whilst 2021 was perhaps not quite as catastrophic a year for our industry as 2020 was – with overall visitor numbers to ASVA attractions improving by almost 50% on that year – it remained a hugely challenging year for virtually all types of attractions.

When we examine the 2021 figures against those of 2019, the last year without COVID disruptions, it very quickly becomes obvious that there was little to no actually recovery. Overall visitor numbers to ASVA attractions in 2021 were a colossal 62.2% down on those reported in 2019 (and for context the 2020 figures were down by 74.1% from 2019). Of course, this will be of no surprise to anyone in any way connected to our sector. 2021 was a year, in many ways, of even greater hardship than 2020, with significant restrictions in place right through the main season and yet fewer funding opportunities and rescue measures offered by both the Scottish and UK Governments. It is a testament to the remarkable resilience and adaptability of our sector that we did not see many of our members go to the wall – such was the enormity of challenges faced.

It is perhaps worth noting however, that whilst visitor numbers remained relatively low for the majority of attractions, visitors who did attend venues seemed very willing to put their hands in their pockets. Average visitor spend on retail in 2021 was £2.27 per visit, as opposed to £1.96 in 2019, and the average spend in catering was £2.23, up from a more modest £1.40 in 2019. Of course, this would have been due in part to pent-up demand, whereby after months of not being able to spend money, there was a bit of release from visitors when they could do so once again. The fact, however, that visitors have had more space when visiting attractions, more time to get immersed in their experiences and more interactions with the wonderful staff working at our venues, will undoubtedly have had an effect too. The more visitors enjoy their experience, the more likely it will be that they will be inclined to spend that bit more during their visit.

Both the end of year report and the annex can be viewed in the Statistics, Surveys & Research section of the Members Area of the ASVA website.

All businesses involved in Scotland’s tourism industry are being asked to take part in a comprehensive study of current economic conditions. Launched recently by the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), the in-depth survey of challenges and opportunities for all industry sectors aims to collate insights into the ongoing and future commercial viability of the country’s tourism businesses, viewed through the lens of the cost of living crisis and the impact of rising energy bills.

The research exercise, the most comprehensive ever undertaken by the STA, is targeted at every category and all sizes of organisation across Scottish tourism. The survey questions focus on challenges around staffing and recruitment, where businesses are on their journey towards Net Zero, what policies are helping or hindering recovery, current and future bookings from an international and domestic perspective, global competitiveness, and where businesses are in relation to their recovery.

The STA emphasises that the anonymous survey, the results of which will be used to inform its ongoing interactions with UK and Scottish Government Ministers, is vital in order to ‘glean an accurate picture of the industry to enable us to influence change and steer it on the right path to realising our tourism strategy vision’. Scotland’s Tourism Strategy, Scotland Outlook 2030, was launched in 2020, just a few weeks prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. Setting out a vision for Scotland to be ‘the leaders in 21st century tourism’, its ambition continues to propel industry activities and focus recovery efforts.

Comprising 40 questions, the survey should take around 20 minutes to complete, and it will remain open until 6 June at 12pm. Please complete the survey here.

The latest ASVA Visitor Attractions Barometer report, for March 2022, is now available to view in the Members Area of our website.

Comparing the March 2022 figures with those for the same month in 2021 is still largely irrelevant for the majority of attractions, or at least certainly those whose primary activity is indoors. Most of Scotland remained in Level 4 during March 2021 so virtually all indoor attractions across the country were closed for the entire month. A number of outdoor attractions were open and were trading well, but the overall picture was that the majority of the sector was unable to trade. Against that backdrop, reporting an increase in visitor numbers in March ‘22 of over 356% when compared to March ’21, does not provide us with an accurate picture of where the sector is at in terms of consolidation and recovery so far this year.

It is only when we analyse the 2022 figures against those of 2019 that we can get a more accurate picture. Comparing March ’22 with March ’19 overall across ASVA attractions, visitor numbers were 22.3% down for the month and 33.3% down for the year to date. These are actually the most encouraging set of figures that have been reported since the pandemic struck in March 2020, reflecting the cautious optimism that the sector has been feeling about the start of the main season so far this year. Of course, had there been no pandemic and had we been reporting visitor numbers down by a third for the year, this would be viewed as a crisis, rather than as something to be optimistic about! This shows that the ‘recovery’ – if we can call it that – is very fragile indeed and for many within the sector, 2022 will be a year of consolidation at best. Better than the dark days of restrictions and lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, but not yet coming near the high watermark of 2019.

It is also worth noting that sectoral performance is still patchy, with outdoor operators, such as Wildlife Attractions (up 43%) and Nature Attractions (up 56%), considerably outperforming other parts of the sector. Numbers have yet to bounce back by any significant margin in others, for example, Museums & Galleries (down by 45%) and Distilleries & Breweries (down by 52%).

The main take-away from the March data is that there is a long way to go before we can talk of a full recovery for the attractions sector in Scotland. In our ongoing dialogue with the Scottish Government and STERG, ASVA continues to highlight this and emphasise the challenges we face that are impacting recovery – including recruitment, rising costs of doing business and, of course, the ever-developing cost of living crisis.

The launch this week of a fund to drive sustainable travel in Scotland’s tourism industry aims to rev up the country’s network of electric vehicle (EV) charge points. The new Electric Vehicle Charge Point Tourism Recovery Fund will enable tourism businesses to apply for funding to support the installation of EV charge points on their premises, improving access across the country and encouraging responsible tourism practices.

The new £325k fund will support the installation of 100 charge points by providing businesses with up to 75% of installation costs. It is being administered by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of VisitScotland and the Scottish Government, and is open to all tourism businesses classed as SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).

The new fund is part of the Destination Net Zero programme, which aims to support businesses and destinations as they transition to a future of Net Zero emissions. The programme is being delivered on behalf of the Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group (STERG) by Scottish Enterprise (SE), VisitScotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), South of Scotland Enterprise (SoSE) and partners.

Electric vehicles, which are becoming increasingly popular due to their lower running costs, are a crucial step in decarbonising the transport system, improving air quality, and contributing to Scotland’s climate target of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2045. The number of new electric vehicles in the UK has increased significantly in recent years. As of March, 22.2% of new vehicles were electric, bringing the number of electric vehicles on the road to more than 700,000. While 72% of Scotland residents currently use petrol/diesel cars when taking breaks and holidays in this country, VisitScotland research revealed that 43% are interested in changing to electric/hybrid “within the next few years”. In addition to the vehicle prices, fears about insufficiency of charging points is the main obstacle to car-owners ‘going electric’ sooner. The UK currently has more than 50,000 EV charge points, in 18,000 locations, with 10% in Scotland which has the highest number of public charge points by population.

VisitScotland is keen to encourage businesses in areas where EV charge points are limited to apply to the Electric Vehicle Charge Point Tourism Recovery Fund, which will provide a one-off payment to tourism businesses towards the installation of an EV charge point. As limited funding is available, allocations will be made to applicants meeting the criteria on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications will close on 8 September (or sooner if all the funding is allocated before this date).

VisitScotland Director of Industry & Destination Development, and STERG Chair, Rob Dickson, said: “Tackling climate change is the biggest challenge facing Scottish tourism now and in the future, and we want to inspire future generations to say that Scottish tourism led the way and made a difference. This fund will enable businesses to position sustainability at the heart of their recovery and ensure their offering will make it easier for visitors to make environmentally-conscious travel decisions. By working together, we can help Scotland become a world-class destination, and the best destination for responsible tourism. Taking action on climate change will not only reduce costs and build resilience, but it will meet the increasing consumer demand for responsible and sustainably focused businesses.”

Details on the Electric Vehicle Charge Point Tourism Recovery Fund, including criteria guidance and details of how to apply, can be found here.

With both the Easter Holidays and legal covid restrictions now behind us, ASVA would like to take this opportunity to review where the sector currently finds itself, to establish confidence levels in the year ahead, how the beginning of the season has been and what members see as the main challenges ahead.

Working with our partners at the Moffat Centre for Travel & Tourism, we would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete our latest sector wide survey, the results of which will be summarised and shared across the membership, both in report format on the ASVA website and for discussion at our latest Members Meetup, taking place on Tuesday 31^st of May (details of this event to follow in due course). And, of course, the results will be used to help inform ASVA in our ongoing lobbying and advocacy work, both through STERG and directly with the Scottish and UK Governments.

Please complete the survey (which should take no longer than 10 minutes) at this link by no later than 5pm on Friday 13 May.

HIT Scotland is running a second phase of the highly successful Tourism and Hospitality Talent Development Programme. The programme offers four different standalone one-day modules, specifically designed for those working in Scotland’s tourism and hospitality industries, to improve leadership, performance and engagement. Applications for this excellent skills and personal development opportunity close on Sunday, 1 May at midnight.

Prospective applicants are advised to read all of the programme specifics carefully to ensure they are eligible, can provide the correct information required, and understand what the programme entails before they apply to take part in the programme. This will offer 380 places, with 20 groups of 19 people able to take part in one of the sessions. (The number of groups for each course will depend on demand.)
 
Individuals can only apply for, and take part in, one module, which are as follows:

• Extraordinary Leadership – Building Trust & Developing Resilience
• Extraordinary Leadership – Conflict Resolution
• Extraordinary Performance – Getting Things Done
• Extraordinary Engagement – Developing a Coaching Culture

A number of dates from 25 May through to 15 June are available for the courses, and prospective applicants need to note all that they would be able to attend on their application form so they can be assigned one of the dates if their application is successful.

You can find full details of the Tourism and Hospitality Talent Development Programme, and information on how to apply by 1 May, here.

The latest ASVA Visitor Attractions Barometer report, for February 2022, is now available to view in the Members Area of our website.

As noted when the first Barometer report of the year was published last month, due to the covid disruptions of the last 2 years, ASVA has decided to produce two reports per month to give you the best possible insights available. This report will compare 2022 figures for February with those of February last year, a year when covid disruption was still very much the norm. As a result, a second report has also been produced, comparing figures from 2022 with those of 2019, the last ‘normal’ year of trading for the sector.

Comparing February 2022 figures to those of February 2021, is virtually meaningless for the majority of attractions, or at least certainly for indoor attractions. For the month of February 2021, most of Scotland remained in Level 4 and therefore virtually all indoor attractions across the country were closed for the entire month. A number of outdoor attrarctions were open, and unsurprisingly, were trading well considering the lack of alternatives venues to attend, but the overall picture was one of ongoing closure and frustration for the sector. Therefore, the fact that visitor numbers in February ‘22 are up by 645% when compared to those of Feb ’21, by no means at all provides us with any indication of the ‘recovery’ of the attractions sector. 

It is only when we analyse the 2022 figures against those of 2019, that we can clearly see to what stage the recovery has started, or indeed if it has truly started at all. Looking at the numbers for February ’22, when compared to those of February ’19, it is immediately obvious that, overall, the sector has some way to go before we can say that we have genuinely entered into a recovery phase.  Overall, across ASVA attractions, visitor figures were down by 37.2% for the month and down 39% for the year to date. This was, of course, a month where omicron nervousness amongst the general public was still relatively and the Scottish Government messaging was still very cautionary when it came to advising the public about going out and undertaking activities, particularly if those activities were indoors. A considerable number of attractions were also maintaining their own covid measures, some of which limited the number of visitors at various sites, and this too undoubtedly is reflected in some of the figures that can be seen in the report.

What can clearly be surmised from the February figures is that we are, at very best, in the very early, very fragile, stages of recovery. In our ongoing dialogue with the Scottish Government and STERG, ASVA will continue to highlight the fragile state the sector is in, as well as the challenging conditions we face impacting on the recovery, including the ever-rising costs of doing business. 

We would encourage all ASVA members to participate in the monthly and annual data collection exercises to ensure we build up as complete a picture as possible of industry performance. If you wish, you can submit your data requesting that your numbers remain confidential. Through our colleagues at Glasgow Caledonian University’s Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Development we are currently collecting data from members for the Annual Report and we would urge all members to complete this exercise, as the information you provide greatly strengthens ASVA’s ability to advocate on the sector’s behalf.

For more information, and to ensure that your attraction is included in both the monthly and annual reports, please get in touch with The Moffat Centre’s Hugh Sheridan at hugh.sheridan@gcu.ac.uk or on 0141 273 1611.

The Scottish Thistle Awards are making a welcome return for 2022/23 to shine a spotlight on Scottish tourism’s outstanding businesses and all those who work in them. We hope that as many ASVA attraction members as possible will enter the Best Visitor Attraction Experience category, or be nominated in it, so they can be celebrated appropriately!

Being involved in the prestigious Scottish Thistle Awards presents attractions throughout the country with a great opportunity to raise their profile and recognise the outstanding efforts of their teams – which is especially important in these challenging times for our sector.

Regional winners of the Best Visitor Attraction Experience category will be announced at five regional awards ceremonies. They will then be in the running for the Great Days Out Award – whose winner will be voted for by readers of The Scottish Sun and declared at the national finals of the Scottish Thistle Awards in February 2023. The special readers’ award has been created as a result of a media partnership between VisitScotland and leading media business News Scotland. The national tourism organisation established the partnership with the business – which publishes The Scottish Sun, The Times and Sunday Times Scotland – to drive public awareness of the Scottish Thistle Awards 2022/23. News Scotland is supporting two awards: the visitor attraction experiences’ Great Days Out Award and The Best Luxury Experience Award.

Attractions can either enter themselves in the Best Visitor Attraction Experience category, or be nominated by someone. You can find details of how to enter or submit a nomination here.