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'Staycations' bolstering tourism sector
07/07/2010
Tourism Minister Jim Mather has commended the Scottish tourism industry's resilient efforts to attract more visitors from Scotland and the UK in response to unprecedented challenges this year.
Mr Mather praised the industry's response to air travel disruptions and tough economic conditions during a visit to Crieff Hydro in Perthshire, where a focus on staycations has helped the leisure resort boost turnover from within Scotland by six per cent in the last year.
Mr Mather said:
"Scottish tourism is responding robustly to what continues to be a tough economic climate - generating £4 billion for the economy and boosting visitor numbers by 2.7 per cent last year against a global drop of 4 per cent. The sector was integral to Scotland's recent return to economic growth and is strongly supporting the recovery.
"And, with the support of VisitScotland, ambitious and innovative tourism businesses like Crieff Hydro are continuing to demonstrate incredible resilience in their successful efforts to maximise opportunities presented by recent disruptions to air travel.
"VisitScotland is taking decisive action to support the industry by delivering £5 million of tactical campaign activity that will return £100 million in additional tourism revenue over the coming months. In direct response to recent challenges, much of this work focuses on attracting visitors from the UK and for the first time, particularly from within Scotland.
"It makes strong economic sense to encourage Scots to enjoy and explore some of the must-visit, great value destinations on their doorstep - and with the school holidays now underway there is no better time to do it. Tourism businesses the length and breadth of Scotland are supporting and benefiting from this action, as we have seen at Crieff Hydro today."
Crieff Hydro cites their relationship with VisitScotland as one of the reasons behind their current success.
Stephen Leckie, Managing Director, said: "It's clear our rising turnover comes from working with VisitScotland. They take the lead and the trick is to add our own marketing onto what they are doing. Together we are firmly focused on getting more new people out of Scottish and British towns and cities and onto the general doorstep of Scottish tourism - which brings obvious benefits for Crieff Hydro and the local economy.
"The current weak pound makes the UK more competitive and ongoing worries over strikes and ash clouds are helping tip the balance in our favour. With their £5 million 'guerrilla marketing' campaign, VisitScotland has seized an obvious opportunity to focus their efforts on appealing to so called 'staycationers'. This is exactly the right thing to do in the current climate - and is directly benefiting our business."
Almost 12.5 million visitors from within the UK took a trip in Scotland last year, generating approximately two thirds of the £4 billion tourism contributes to Scotland's economy.
Crieff Hydro's business from within Scotland has risen by six per cent this year. The leisure resort expects to welcome over 2,000 new families as a result.
Crieff Hydro has over 200 4* hotel bedrooms, and 50 3-5* self- catering units set on a 900 acre Perthshire estate. The business welcomes up to 1000 customers a day, employs 500 people and has a turnover of over £17 million. The business has been involved in several of VisitScotland's seasonal marketing campaigns, including Perfect Day, which focuses on the domestic market and through which visitors have accessed a range of offers and discounts.