Tourism Data Report - March 2020

Tourism Data Report March 2020

In this issue •A ccommodation Occupancy and Revenue • GB Domestic Tourism Update • Inbound Visitor Trends • Tourism Day Visits • Generation Z • Easter Activity

Welcome Welcome to our Tourism Data Report. We compile this quarterly newsletter to bring you a range of tourism data and insight for the Yorkshire and Humber region as well as England.

We have selected findings that we feel are important to highlight and will be of use to you and your business from an extensive selection of reports that are available on the Visit Britain website. If you are interested in finding out more, go to www.visitbritain.org We will also include updates on recent Welcome to Yorkshire activity and how it has helped visitor growth and promotion in the region.

COVER IMAGE: Brodsworth Hall and Gardens.

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Accommodation Occupancy and Revenue There is a consistent growth in occupancy rates from January until September, where after a small drop in October, rates have stabilised at 80% into November.

For the month of November there was an increase in ADR, from £63.89 in October, to £66.39 which drove a corresponding increase in RevPAR. RevPAR stayed ahead of 2018 figures for all the autumn months.

Key terms: * Average Daily Rate (ADR) - This is the average rate paid for rooms sold. It is calculated by dividing room revenue by rooms sold, i.e. ADR = Room Revenue / Rooms Sold. ** Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) - This is the revenue generated from the sale of actual rooms.

RevPAR can be calculated by using one of the following formulas - total revenue from guest rooms / total number of available rooms or Occupancy x ADR

Table 1: Yorkshire and Humber Occupancy and Revenue January - November 2019 versus 2018 MONTH

ROOM OCC ROOM OCC BEDSPACE BEDSPACE ADR (19) ADR (18) (19) (18) OCC (19) OCC (18)

RevPAR (19)

RevPAR (18)

January

60%

61%

43%

43%

£56.31

£57.00

£33.89

£34.69

February

74%

71%

53%

50%

£58.76

£59.91

£42.03

£42.29

March

72%

69%

51%

50%

£60.10

£61.02

£43.23

£42.25

April

75%

74%

55%

53%

£61.79

£61.90

£46.38

£45.53

May

76%

75%

55%

54%

£64.75

£65.03

£49.19

£48.61

June

79%

78%

56%

56%

£66.89

£65.90

£52.84

£51.29

July

83%

80%

58%

57%

£67.98

£67.02

£56.10

£56.10 £49.60

August

81%

79%

61%

59%

£66.41

£63.00

£53.54

September

82%

80%

57%

57%

£67.01

£66.41

£54.80

£53.19

October

80%

77%

58%

55%

£63.89

£64.44

£50.95

£49.92

November

80%

77%

57%

54%

£66.39

£65.20

£52.98

£50.05

Source: Visit England, Accommodation Occupancy 2019

Please note that the latest 2018 & 2019 results are subject to minor changes.

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GB Domestic Tourism Update: Volume and Value Comparisons The figures below compare Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) domestic tourism metrics against England for the period JanuaryJune 2018 versus the same period in 2019.

These figures show that the Y&H region have seen less favourable results in terms of number of trips, bed nights and total expenditure than England in the same time period.

However, the region has been much more successful in increasing average spend per night with growth in Y&H of 13.9% compared to only 5% for England. The region also saw significant growth in average spend per trip of 10.1% compared to 0.7% for England. Both Y&H and England saw small decreases in the average of length of stay by 3.9% and 4.4% respectively.

Table 2: GB Domestic Tourism January to June 2018 v 2019 TRIPS (MILLIONS)

BEDNIGHTS (MILLIONS) 2018

2019

% change

England

45.363

45.827

1%

Yorkshire and Humber

4.647

4.246

-8.6%

EXPENDITURE (£ MILLIONS)

England Yorkshire and Humber

England Yorkshire and Humber

2018

2019

% change

129.528

125.312

-3.3%

13.353

11.708

-12.3%

AVERAGE LENGTH OF STAY (NIGHTS)

2018

2019

% change

2018

2019

% change

£8,667

£8,816

1.7%

England

2.86

2.73

-4.4%

£717

£720

0.4%

Yorkshire and Humber

2.87

2.76

-3.9%

2019

% change

AVERAGE SPEND PER NIGHT

AVERAGE SPEND PER TRIP

2018

2019

% change

England

£67

£70

5%

Yorkshire and Humber

£54

£61

13.9%

2018

England

£191

£192

0.7%

Yorkshire and Humber

£154

£170

10.1%

Source: Visit England, Kantar, 2019

Please note that the latest 2018 & 2019 results are subject to minor changes.

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Inbound International Visitor Annual Trends for Yorkshire The following charts show inbound international visitor trends in terms of number of visits (millions), amount of spend (ÂŁmillions) and number of nights stayed (millions) between 2008 and 2018.

Visits The first chart below shows the ten-year trend for Yorkshire for the number of inbound international visits to the region. Overall, the number of annual visits has increased over the ten-year period by 0.13 million visits or 10.32%. 2018 is the highest year for visit numbers of all the years tracked. However, there were periods of significant decline over this time period, for example between 2008-2010, perhaps coinciding with the global recession of that same period. There were also drops in 2012 (London Olympics) and 2015. Comparatively, visit growth for the UK over the same ten-year period was 18.5%.

Inbound International Visits to Yorkshire (millions) VisitBritain, 2019 1.6 1.4

1.37 1.26

1.36

1.34

1.39

1.21

1.2

1.04

1.13

1.08

1

1.29

1.09

0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

0

Please note that the latest 2018 & 2019 results are subject to minor changes.

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Spend

Nights

The next chart looks at the same ten-year period, but analyses spend from international inbound visitors to the Yorkshire region. It follows a roughly similar pattern to the visit number trend with drops in spend between 2009-10, 2012 and 2015. Overall, annual international inbound visitor spend has increased by ÂŁ153.4 million or 34.06% over the ten-year period. Comparatively, spend growth for the UK over the same period was 40.65%.

The final trend chart looks at inbound international visitor nights to Yorkshire over the same period. Here again the dips in visitor nights mirror the trends in the previous chart, but in contrast we see a decrease of 2.29 million or -18.03% in the annual visitor night figures from 2008 until 2018. This means that although the number of visits is increasing international visitors are staying for less nights per trip. Comparatively, visitor nights for the UK over the same period grew by 8.28%.

Inbound International Visitor Spend in Yorkshire in ÂŁmillions VisitBritain, 2019 700 581.03

600 500

450.33

482.19

461.22

400

603.73 569.91

515.54 567.22

515.52 432.93

417.16

300 200 100

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

0

Inbound International Visitor Nights in Yorkshire (millions) VisitBritain, 2019 14

12.70 11.48

11.20

12 10.55

10.39

10.41

10

10.36 9.21

8

10.29

9.36 8.22

6 4 2

6

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

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Focus on 2018 Visits and Spend in Yorkshire The following charts provide a breakdown of the 2018 inbound international visitors into the Yorkshire region in terms of seasonality, purpose of trip and duration of stay.

Seasonality

Seasonality 2018 Visits %

Seasonality 2018 Spend %

Jan - Mar

22.74%

Apr - Jun

Jul - Sept

20.95%

In terms of seasonality we can see that the summer period of July-September is the main period of travel, followed by spring. However, the split across all four seasons is relatively even. Interestingly, in terms of spend, whilst July-September remains the key period, the period October-December provides a high level of spend despite having less visits than in spring. This is likely to be due to the Christmas activities during this period.

Oct - Dec

26.37%

16.49%

21.05%

25.29% 31.01%

36.09%

Source: VisitBritain, 2019

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Journey Purpose

Duration of Stay

These charts look at journey purpose in terms of the percentage of visits to Yorkshire and spend in the region.

For both metrics the largest percentage in terms of the purpose of the journey is visiting friends and relatives (VFR), with just under double of the next highest reason, that of taking a holiday. The percentage of visits and spend across all journey reasons is relatively the same, with the exception of study where spend is greater.

The final area is the duration of stay in the Yorkshire region in terms of visits and spend. Here the highest percentage of visits are for 1-3 nights, closely followed by 4-7 nights.

From this we can see that the Yorkshire region performs strongly in the short-break market. However, looking at the spend statistics it is probably not surprising that those visitors who stay longer in the region spend more, with 27.4% of the spend coming from those that stay 4-7 nights in comparison to 19.92% for those that stay 1-3 nights.

Journey Purpose 2018 Visits %

Journey Purpose 2018 Spend %

Holiday

1.36%

Business

2.25%

VFR

Study

Miscellaneous

28.81%

4.3%

26.7%

22.18%

22.88% 44.7%

44.32%

Duration of Stay 2018 Visits %

Duration of Stay 2018 Spend %

1-3 nights

18.31%

4-7 nights

8-14 nights

31.53%

15+ nights

26.06%

20.55%

19.92%

27.40%

29.61%

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2.51%

26.62%

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Tourism Day Visits Volume and Distance Travelled The table below shows the volume of visits in millions with the corresponding distance travelled to the region. It also shows the average distance travelled. Of the three regions, Yorkshire and Humber has the highest average distance travelled with 45 miles.

The region also performs strongly in terms of long distance travelled (over 100 miles), with 12 million visits. The North West performs strongly with the volume of tourism day visits under 40 miles, this could be attributed in part to the regions successful Premiership Football scene.

Table 3: Tourism Day Visits Volume and Distance Travelled 2018 DISTANCE

YORKSHIRE & HUMBER (MILLIONS)

NORTH EAST (MILLIONS)

NORTH WEST (MILLIONS)

Less than 5 miles

19

14

31

Between 5 and 10 miles

20

14

37

11 to 20 miles

24

14

30

21 to 40 miles

21

12

22

41 to 60 miles

11

6

13

61 to 80 miles

8

4

8

81 to 100 miles

6

3

6

Over 100 miles

12

8

14

Don’t know

8

3

9

Total volume of visits

129

78

170

Average distnace travelled (miles)

45

44

38

Source: Kantar and Visit England, Visit Scotland, Visit Wales, The Great Britain Day Visitor 2018 Annual Report

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Gen Z

Is this Yorkshire’s next big travel opportunity?

Anyone born in the mid-1990s and beyond is considered to be Generation Z. They comprise 32% of the global population, surpassing the number of millennials (Skift, 2020). This is the generation which has always known the presence of technology and as they become adults, travelling is increasingly important to them. The spending power of this generation is already US $143 billion (UNiDAYS, 2018).

What is important to Gen Z when travelling?

Experience, experience, experience!

Gen Z is characterised by having a YOLO (you only live once) state of mind and are activity and experience driven.

They are not destination driven. Booking.com (2019) reported that 65% of Gen Z ranked exploring the world as the most important way to spend their money. They are always searching for their next great escapade from adventure holidays to local food experiences and are keen to travel abroad. UNiDAYS (2018) found that Gen Z travel regularly throughout the year and they make last-minute travel plans.

Do not underestimate the power of social media This generation is influenced highly by social media.

They seek endorsements from trusted online sources and influencers and in turn become micro influencers by disseminating their own travels on social media (UNiDAYS, 2018). Skift (2020) found that the top 3 social networks used by Gen Z in the UK are Instagram, Snapchat/YouTube and Twitter. On the other hand, millennials in the UK engage more with Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube.

What does this mean for Yorkshire tourism?

Gen Z is a potential market for international travellers as Yorkshire can offer the diverse cultural experiences these travellers are seeking. These travellers do not book holidays to sit on a beach or relax in a resort. They want to explore and learn about the destination and have new experiences. These tourists are last-minute bookers and influence where their families go on holidays. With this in mind, Yorkshire tourism businesses can develop attractive offers based around their requirements. If you engage with this market now, you can create loyalty for your brand through targeted social media and in turn Gen Z may become influencers for your business.

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Caring for the environment There is a strong environmental ethos when Gen Z travel.

They search for eco-friendly travel options and ethical practices and are willing to pay more for this. They also see their travel supporting local economies (Globetrender, 2020).

Yes to technology Gen Z engage more with smartphones when purchasing travel compared to other generations (Expedia Group Media Solutions, 2018). They are always online. They will use channels such as booking via chats and virtual tours and will seek out digitised personalised experiences.

Content-rich mobile messages and Gen Z friendly speak (emojis and acronyms) are important in reaching this market (Expedia Group Media Solutions, 2018).

Bleisure - business travel for leisure Expedia Group Media Solutions (2018) reported that 60% of Gen Z business trips were extended for leisure holidays and 88% save for bleisure trips. Given that Gen Z are now coming into the workforce and having their financial independence, it is expected that bleisure trips will grow.

References: Booking.com (2019). Booking.com Gen Z Research Unpacked. Retrieved from https://partner. booking.com/en-gb/click-magazine/bookingcom-gen-z-research-unpacked Expedia Group Media Solutions (2018). Gen Z Travelers: More Open to Influence and Inspiration then Other Generations. Retrieved from https://advertising.expedia.com/about/ press-releases/gen-z-travelers-more-open-influence-and-inspiration-other-generations Globetrender (2020). Gen Z Travellers Think ‘A Lot’ about their Environmental Impact.

Retrieved from https://globetrender.com/2020/01/12/gen-z-environment-travel-2020/ Skift (2020). Megatrends: Defining Travel in 2020. Retrieved from https://skift.com/ megatrends-2020/ UNiDAYS (2018). Meet Gen Z: The Traveling Generation. Retrieved from https://cdn2.hubspot. net/hubfs/4000540/4%20-%20unidays-content/reports/reports-pdf-versions/UNiDAYS-AdAge-Travel-2018-Report.pdf

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Easter Activity Visit England commission surveys periodically to collect data on the number of GB consumers who plan to take an overnight trip at key times throughout the year, such as Christmas and Easter. In 2019 this survey was conducted in the last week of March before the Easter weekend which ran from the 19 - 22 April.

Visit England survey highlights

73%

13%

73% of those aged under 45 said they “definitely” or “might” take a day trip over Easter compared to 48% for those over 45.

13% would “definitely” take a holiday or short break in England over the Easter weekend up from 8% in 2018.

25%

64%

15%

25% of adults in Britain “definitely” planned to take an overnight trip over the Easter weekend at home or abroad, up from 17% in 2018.

64% of parents were “definitely” planning an overnight stay compared to 28% without children. For day trips the percentage for parents increased to 81% and for those without children to 49%.

1 5% of British adults said they were “undecided” about whether to take a trip. This represents at 2% decrease in those “undecided” from the survey conducted in Easter 2018.

The survey also explored the reasons people had for waiting to plan a trip and these are highlighted in the table below. The most common reason for delaying plans was to see what the weather was like and the least common reason was not knowing where they’d like to go.

REASON FOR WAITING

%

Waiting to see what the weather is like

31

Waiting to see if I can afford it

27

Waiting for someone else/for other people to make plans/book trips

24

No real reason, just prefer to decide at the last minute

23

Waiting to see if there are any deals/special offers

22

Not sure where I’d like to go

19

Source: Visit England 2019

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For further information: Contact T 0114 225 2095 Ed .j.egan@shu.ac.uk Go to www.visitbritain.org to explore a wide range of tourism insight reports.

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