News

Following the announcement made by the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, on Tuesday 21^st December regarding the re-introduction of additional mandatory restrictions to combat the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The Scottish Governmnet has today(23^rd December) published updated guidance for the tourism & hospitality sector.

The guidance includes information about the latest measures which are being introduced post-Christmas, including the re-introduction of 1 metre physical distancing within indoor hospitality & leisure venues, including indoor visitor attractions, which will take effect for a period of up to 3 weeks from Monday 27 December.

The guidance also provides further details regarding the re-introduction of table service in hospitality settings on 27^th December,  but only for venues serving alcohol for consumption on the premises.

The updated guidance can be found at this link.

Of interest to some members will also be the updated guidance for cultural performances and events, which includes details of the new limits on numbers attending live events, which comes into force on Sunday 26 December. This guidance can be found here.  

Today (21^st December) in a statement to the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced that, due to the ongoing spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Scottish Government will be introducing additional mandatory restrictions which will impact on certain sectors, including some visitor attractions.

The first new restriction will be introduced on Sunday 26 December, whereby, for a period of three weeks, limits will be placed on the size of live public events that can take place.

For indoor standing events the limit will be 100; for indoor seated events it will be 200; and for outdoor events 500 seated or standing.

On top of this, 1 metre physical distancing will be required at events that go ahead within these limits.

The second new restriction, which will be introduced on Monday 27 December for a period of up to three weeks, will see the re-introduction of 1 metre physical distancing within indoor hospitality & leisure venues, including indoor visitor attractions. It should be noted that 1 metre distancing will not be required within groups of people attending together, only between different groups (we would remind members that the current government advice on groups is that there should be no more than three households represented in any group).

The First Minister also advised that a requirement for table service will be introduced in hospitality settings from 27^th December, but only for venues serving alcohol for consumption on the premises.

We are acutely aware that the compulsory re-introduction of any kind of physical distancing, even for just a short period of time, will have ramifications for a considerable number of members. Our CEO, Gordon Morrison, attended a hastily convened meeting of the Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group (STERG) this afternoon, where the new restrictions were discussed, and he made the point that visitor attractions, not just hospitality venues, are very much being hit hard again by the impacts of the measures being taken to curb the spread of Omicron and it is vital that the Scottish Government provide the necessary support to our sector.

To read the First Minister’s statement, please click here.

As part of the First Minister’s statement about additional restrictions, there was an acknowledgement that the decisions made by the Scottish Government and the ongoing advice that is currently being given to the public, will have significant financial implications for many businesses.  

Members will recall from yesterday’s update that £100m has already been allocated to support affected businesses and, today, the First Minister confirmed that an additional £275m will be made available between now and the next financial year to further support those sectors most impacted.

At today’s STERG meeting, it was confirmed that emergency funding will be made available to visitor attractions that are currently feeling the impact of Omicron measures, i.e. visitor attractions that have been open from 8^th December. This funding will come from the original £100m allocated by the Scottish Government last week. ASVA has been advised that details of this funding support should be forthcoming early in the Near Year.

How the additional £275m on top of the emergency funding will be allocated has yet to be decided, but members can be assured that ASVA will continue to provide the Scottish Government with strong evidence to demonstrate that ours is a sector which continues to be heavily impacted by the effects of COVID-19. We would like to thank all the members who have provided us with sensitive financial information over the last few days. The information provided has greatly helped ASVA make a strong case for additional support for our sector.

As it stands, the only details of the £100m emergency support available thus far is in relation to the December & annuary Business Top Up for those in the Hospitality Sector, which can be found here.

ASVA will be advising VisitScotland and the Scottish Government over the Christmas period regarding the creation of the emergency fund for Scottish Visitor Attractions. As soon as we have more details, we will share with members.

Members will recall that, in early December, we reached out to you to ask you to complete our latest survey. The survey was designed to establish attraction members’ operational plans and intentions for 2022, including covid measures, pricing policies, opening hours, wage levels and investment priorities.

The results of the survey are now in and are summarised in this report.

We hope that members find the report useful as you make your decisions about priorities and plans for the year ahead. One note of caution, of course, is that the survey was undertaken in the first week of December, so before the impact of the Omicron variant was being truly felt across the sector. We would therefore recommend that some results, such as the level of optimism about business performance in 2022, be read through a cautious lens.

One point we are very keen to emphasise from the survey results, and that we will certainly be emphasising strongly in our ongoing dialogue with the Scottish Government, is that that 100% of survey respondents detailed that they would be operating with some form of COVID-19 mitigating measures in 2022, even if these measures are not mandated in law.

This backs up what has been consistently demonstrated by the attractions sector over the last 20 months, that ours is clearly a sector that places the safety of visitors and staff above all else and we must be commended for the actions we have taken, and continue to take, to curb the spread of COVID-19 whilst still offering our visitors a high quality and hugely enjoyable experience.

ASVA is delighted to announce a very exciting new partnership with award winning tourism insight consultancy BVA BDRC, to provide members with the opportunity to take part in an innovative new Mystery Visitor Programme in 2022.
 
As members may recall in the summer of 2021, BVA BDRC worked with ASVA to conduct mystery visits to 20 Scottish visitor attractions across a range of sectors and regions.  The project assessed the full range of how visitors experience their sites including, pre-booking and adherence to COVID protocols.  With identical assessment criteria across all attractions, the programme was able to benchmark individual venues against the rest of the sector and inspire with examples of best practices at each. 
 
Following the success of the summer programme of visits, we are continuing our partnership with BVA BRDC and in 2022 they will be rolling out a mystery visitor benchmarking programme across the UK.   The assessment criteria has been put together by a group of stakeholders within the attractions sector and will cover areas such as:

• Pre-booking & arrival
• Queues and visitor management
• Staff engagement
• Cleanliness, health & safety
• Retail & Catering
• Green credentials & messaging

Benchmarking is a central feature of this programme, making it a first of its kind. It allows attractions to understand their strengths and weaknesses and see if these are shared across the sector or whether they have outliers of quality or improvements needed. Unlike other Mystery Visit programmes, individual assessments will be benchmarked against the sector, so you can work out what ‘good’ really looks like. Individual venue results will, of course, be confidential, but through sharing examples of best in class, we hope to help raise standards across the industry.  

As ASVA has partnered with BVA BDRC on the creation of this exciting new programme, we are delighted to advise that our members will receive an exclusive discount if they choose to participate. ASVA members will be charged the accessible price of £175 per visit, with an incremental discount for additional visits.

For more information about this first of its kind programme and to read more about the results of the pilot visits undertaken in the summer, please click here.

The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) and its UK counterparts are asking colleagues across Scotland’s tourism industry to part in a national survey to help the STA and the Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group (STERG) share evidence from Scotland with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The primary purpose of the UK-wide survey is to build robust evidence on the impacts that the Omicron variant is having on businesses in all sectors of the tourism and hospitality industry across the UK. The findings will also inform STERG on how it can best respond to and offer better support to businesses.

By taking part in the survey, you will be providing vital information which can be presented to UK Government and Scottish Government Ministers to ensure they have a good understanding of the live issues impacting the industry and, importantly, the severity of the financial position facing tourism and hospitality businesses nationwide. Most importantly it will help the collective case to be made for urgent Government intervention.

STA Chief Executive Marc Crothall said: “Working together with STERG, and our industry colleagues on the UK Tourism Industry Council and at DCMS, we will use the information to make the case for policy solutions and interventions from the UK and devolved Governments to mitigate the financial pressures which tourism and hospitality businesses across the UK are experiencing. We appreciate this is a busy time for you, so are very grateful for you taking the time to complete this survey which should only take 5 minutes.”

As it is industry wide, ASVA is aware that some of the questions contained within may not be best tailored for our sector. However, we would request that, despite this, members please take the time to complete the survey. ASVA will not be conducting our own separate survey, as we recognise that it is more impactful and effective if every business in Scottish tourism completes one single piece of research.  

All information provided by participants will remain completely anonymous and you can complete the survey, which closes on 10 January, here.

ASVA has been pleased to promote, over recent months, the fully-funded Scottish Tourism Leadership Programme to ensure our members take advantage of the outstanding and highly motivational professional and personal development opportunities for current and aspiring leaders in our industry.

We’re particularly keen to encourage attraction members to sign up for, and benefit from, one of the Programme’s final three courses – this is specifically designed for personnel working in the visitor attractions sector. The real-time online course is completely free, thanks to Scottish Government tourism recovery funding for this year, so we do hope as many representatives from ASVA attractions will make the most of the chance to take part.

It’s the first time that the acclaimed Scottish Tourism Leadership Programme has offered a course exclusively for our sector, so this is a particularly relevant and valuable training opportunity for our members.

The Visitor Attractions Sector course takes place on 19 & 20 January and 2 February, and the applications deadline is 9 January.

The course content, which aims to inspire and uplift, has been developed by Scottish Enterprise, the South of Scotland Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and Skills Development Scotland, in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University’s Professor Jane Ali-Knight and Kenneth Wardrop.

The course features speakers including Susan Deighan of Glasgow Life, V & A Dundee Director Leonie Bell, and Abbi Ollive, Head of Marketing, Sales and Programming at Castle Howard. Also included is a panel discussion involving Royal Yacht Britannia CEO Bob Downie, Professor Anna Leask of Napier University, and Scottish Tourism Alliance Strategy Project Manager Karen Christie. The course itinerary is available here.

In addition to the Visitor Attractions Sector course, applications are open for: Rural (South) course : 9, 10 & 23 February (30 January application deadline), and Pan-Scotland course : 2, 3 & 16 March (20 February application deadline).

You can find further information on the Scottish Tourism Leadership Programme and details of how to apply for all three of the courses here.

We’d urge line managers to encourage their team members to sign up for these courses and take advantage of the last of the Programme’s fully-funded places. If you know anyone who would benefit from the excellent training opportunity offered and the chance to connect with other tourism leaders or aspiring leaders, please do encourage them to apply.

In these very challenging times for our industry and sector, whilst so much uncertainty remains, we appreciate that it’s tough to make time commitments however whilst this funding support is still available, it’s an ideal time to sign up for these courses. They will certainly stand participants in good stead for the future, as well as providing a motivational boost to help individuals and businesses keep driving forward.

Those who have recently taken part in Scottish Tourism Leadership Programme courses have commented on how much they’ve valued the experience, and connecting with others working in the industry and experiencing the same challenges. Many participants have advised that, taking part in the Programme has not only helped them considerably through the course learnings they’ve gained, but has also given them renewed optimism and drive for the future – a welcome and much-needed additional benefit, given our sector’s current difficult circumstances.

A new series of Complete Storytelling workshops, which are specifically designed for businesses and organisations across all sectors of Scotland’s tourism industry, will take place in the New Year. This outstanding new training opportunity has been created to support recovery from the continuing impacts of the pandemic and help operators to capitalise on the opportunities presented by Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.

In-person and online attendees at Scotland’s Tourism Industry Conference will remember the inspirational presentation by storytelling experts Complete Works on the importance of creating and delivering engaging, memorable stories to enhance customer service delivery, ensure exceptional consumer experiences and boost business.

Following the presentation, ASVA CEO Gordon Morrison announced that Complete Works would lead a series of Complete Storytelling workshops early in the new Themed Year for colleagues across Scotland’s tourism industry. The events follow the success of a pilot series of five workshops arranged for ASVA members during the summer. These were extremely well-received – 97% of attendees said the workshop either exceeded or fully matched their expectations and over 90% said they would implement the course content.

The 10 Complete Storytelling workshops which will take place in locations across Scotland during February and March, are being offered to colleagues across Scottish tourism thanks to funding support provided by Skills Development Scotland through the Tourism Recovery Programme. As a result, places for the in-person one-day workshops are available at the vastly reduced rate of only £50 inclusive of VAT. (This calibre of training would normally cost in the region of £150-£200 per person.)

Designed to provide the tools needed to stimulate business recovery, the highly motivational Complete Storytelling workshops provide an outstanding opportunity to find out how to unlock the power of stories to enhance your service delivery and boost your bottom line, and how stories can help transform consumers into ambassadors, generating repeat visits, recommendations and increased secondary spend.

Workshop delegates will learn how to use storytelling to engage, sell, and create brand loyalty through communications and sales skills. Using performance techniques, the experienced Complete Works professional trainers hone participants’ skills in Body Language and Voice, teaching tried and tested tips and tricks used by actors and presenters. The sessions break down the fears and boundaries that prohibit truly effective communication, through practicing practical methods in a safe, supported, inspiring environment.

The dates and locations of the 10 Complete Storytelling workshops, plus links to book places at each, are provided in the events section of our website: https://asva.co.uk/events/.

This afternoon, the First Minister announced details of the £100m support package for businesses impacted by the latest COVID-mitigating measures.

ASVA has been working exceptionally hard to ensure that the Scottish Government is fully aware that it is more than one sector that is hurting just now, with many visitor attractions reporting huge drop offs in visitation, as well as a raft of event cancellations. So many in the sector are on their knees as a result and we are in real danger of losing some of our cultural assets. The fact we have managed to get this recognised is significant, but way more financial support will be required.

ASVA is now calling on the Scottish Government and, crucially, the UK Government to step up further and reintroduce the support measures we saw during lockdown, as tourism businesses are experiencing conditions akin to lockdown now.

Details of the support being offered by the Scottish Government is somewhat limited thus far, but you can find more information at this link.

There was mixed reaction to the Scottish Budget for 2022/23, announced on Thursday 9 December. Whilst news of the continuation of rates relief was welcomed, the consensus from the country’s industry sectors was that the support measures noted by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy were less than adequate. 

From the perspective of tourism, there was disappointingly little in the Budget that directly references our industry.  The only statement of importance was that rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will continue at 50% for the first three months of the next financial year, capped at £27,500 per ratepayer, while smaller businesses will be exempt from paying rates. Even this positive development, however, fell significantly short of what had been hoped for. 

More disappointing though was the fact that there was no specific mention by Kate Forbes MSP of any measures to support Scotland’s attractions sector.  

ASVA CEO Gordon Morrison commented: “My initial reaction on hearing the Budget was one of disappointment that so little is being done to aid our sector and wider tourism industry.

“Ms Forbes made reference to the Fiscal Commission forecasting that our economy will recover to pre-pandemic levels by April–June 2022. This may well be the case across the economy as a whole, but it is undeniable that our sector most certainly won’t have recovered in six months time.

“Although we’ve been appreciative of the support offered by the Scottish Government over the last 20 months, it is very unsatisfactory that there was no recognition in this Budget that our sector has not had any significant opportunity to progress its recovery in 2021 and Scotland’s attractions will still be in a difficult position in 2022.

“Whilst we of course welcome additional short-term rates relief for those members who will be able to benefit from it, it is much more than just short-term support that our sector is in need of.  Data we have presented to the Scottish Government shows that many attractions are in survival mode at the moment as they battle to make it through the winter with barely any cash reserves. Recovery is still a long way off and our sector certainly won’t be back on its feet by June 2022.

“There is no doubt that more action is needed to sustain our sector and assist its recovery, and we need both the Scottish and UK Governments to recognise that greater support measures are required than those currently on the table. ASVA will continue to work closely alongside other associations and industry groups to inform and influence policy makers about the status of our sector and the support that’s required to enable the industry to not simply scrape through another season, but to build back better and meet our collective ambition of being world leaders in 21^st century tourism.”

The latest ASVA Visitor Attractions Barometer report – for October 2021 – is now available to view in the Members Area of this site (see top right of the screen).

This latest report provides us with further evidence of how the industry is faring since Scotland moved ‘beyond level 0’ in August. It is very clear that, despite the fact most restrictions on visitor numbers and travel have been lifted, there has yet to be a wholescale recovery of the attractions sector. 

There are a number of factors which would help explain why this is the case. Firstly, many attracions continue to operate with covid mitigating measures which do limit visitor numbers, despite the fact that they are not mandated to do so by law. In our sector wide survey in September, two thirds of the sector indicated that they are still operating with measures such as timed entry and physical distancing, to further reassure the public, and indeed staff, about their safety when on-site.  We also know that, although it is getting better, consumer confidence regarding visiting indoor attractions in particular is still relatively low. On top of this, we have yet to see the return of international visitors in any significant numbers, and indeed current predictions are that we will not see these visitors return in significant numbers for some time to come.

As a result, the overall picture for October was very similar to that reported on in September. Overall visitor numbers across ASVA member attractions were down 39.2% on pre-covid levels in 2019, a slight upturn of 3% on last month. The year to date figure sees the sector down 65.6% on 2019, further emphasising the point that 2021 is still very much a year of survival, not recovery, for our sector.   Of course, as was observed in September, there are pockets of the sector where things are looking considerably better. Those operating in outdoor environments have, as would be expected, seen visitor numbers at closer to pre-pandemic levels than those who primarily operate in the indoor environment, although for the most part even in outdoor environments these numbers are between 20%-35% down on 2019.

The data from this month confirms that our sector is yet to recover from the impacts of the pandemic. This data will be used by ASVA to ensure that the Scottish Government and other key stakeholders are fully aware of the challenging conditions we continue to operate under as we enter the traditionally quiet winter period.  

As another difficult year for many of us draws to the close, ASVA has been approached by a number of members to discuss the sector’s plans and intentions for 2022, with members enquiring about others’ plans regarding continuing COVID protocols, pricing plans, opening hours, investment priorities etc.

With this in mind, we would be very grateful if all attraction members would take the time to complete this very quick survey. The survey will give ASVA a clear indication of our members’ intentions as things currently stand. Once the survey results have been analysed, we plan to share these across our membership to help you with your own decision-making processes.

The survey is in a multiple-choice format, all responses are anonymous and it should only take 2-3 minutes to complete. We’d like to thank you in advance for your co-operation and look forward to sharing the overall results with you after the survey closes on Monday, 13 December.

You can complete the survey now by clicking here.