Scottish Government

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Conclusions

6.1 The principal aim of this study was to review and collate existing sources of information on the use of transport by those visiting Scotland for leisure, recreation and business purposes. Three main areas were covered:

1. Visitor flows within Scotland were examined in order to identify existing data on spatial travel trends, travel behaviour and visitor type and visitor use of travel modes.

2. The scope and limitations of transport supply for visitors were evaluated in an attempt to appraise the internal accessibility of destination Scotland for visitors. The role of information in accessibility was considered and judgements made on key barriers to travel within Scotland, as indicated by the available data.

3. Visitor experiences of transport provision in Scotland were considered, in order to identify levels of satisfaction with existing transport services, and any relationship between transport provision and satisfaction with Scotland's tourism product.

6.2 Table 6.1 summarises the main findings of this research in terms of what is currently known and what is not known about visitor travel behaviour in Scotland. Paragraphs 6.3 to 6.10 below elaborate on these points.

Table 6.1 Summary of current state of knowledge of visitor travel behaviour

6.3 It is clear that, whilst a great deal of reliable information is available from national surveys on the origins and basic socio-economic characteristics of domestic and overseas visitors, port of entry (in relation to overseas visitors), mode of travel to Scotland or the UK and visit purpose and length, little is known about the travel patterns of visitors within Scotland from these sources.

6.4 The majority of domestic visitors arrive in Scotland by car, although the proportion of those travelling by air and, to a lesser extent, by train, increases for those travelling from more remote origins in the UK. Air travel is the predominant mode of travel to the UK for overseas visitors. Less than one fifth of overseas visitors arrive in the UK using sea ports and the Channel Tunnel.

6.5 Although a large percentage of overseas visitors choose public transport to travel to the departure airport, it is not clear whether or not this is indicative of a more widespread use of public transport by overseas visitors during their stay in Scotland. It would be wrong, however, to assume that visitors use only one form of transport within Scotland. A significant proportion of car users also report using some other mode during their stay in Scotland. The recurring pattern that emerges from the available data is that the further away visitors come to Scotland from, the less likely they are to use a car. Visitors from North America are the possible exception to this, but there is insufficient data to substantiate this claim. The data reviewed indicates small, but nonetheless significant markets for public transport.

6.6 There is evidence of a change in the visitor market having occurred in recent years with a rise in the number of overseas visitors and the time they spend in Scotland, accompanied, possibly, by a reduction in the size of the domestic market. The impact this may have on the travel behaviour of visitors in Scotland is worthy of consideration. Most obviously, this may result in an increase in the number of overseas visitors who do not, by and large, arrive with their own means of transportation places more importance on the quality of transport service provision within Scotland.

6.7 Edinburgh and the Lothians is the most popular destination within Scotland followed by Greater Glasgow and the Clyde Valley and then the Highlands and Skye for both domestic and overseas visitors. Domestic and overseas visitors using Prestwick airport exhibit higher degrees of mobility and dispersal throughout Scotland than visitors using other airports. Further analysis of the origin, socio-economic characteristics and trip purpose of visitors may offer some explanation of this phenomenon.

6.8 Some gaps in the existing transport provision are apparent. As regards road transport, congestion in popular tourist areas, poor roads in some rural areas, a lack of parking facilities and poor signage have been identified as gaps in provision. From the perspective of public transport, it is evident that many of the visitor attractions which are located in more rural areas, in particular the areas of natural beauty, are accessed almost exclusively by private transport. An interesting phenomenon is suggested at some of these sites where the private coach appears to have replaced public transport as a means of access.

6.9 On average and across the studies reviewed there is no evidence to suggest that visitors from the UK and overseas, and those travelling for leisure purposes have lower levels of satisfaction than local transport users in Scotland. Indeed, the available evidence suggests that, although domestic visitors find it easiest to get around Scotland, they are the most likely to be dissatisfied with transport provision. There is also some evidence to suggest that leisure visitors are better satisfied with some public transport services than business travellers. Moreover, experiences of private transport appear in general to be more positive than those of public transport.

6.10 There is some evidence, particularly from the Visitor Attractions Monitor, to suggest that visitor attractions in Scotland regard transport to have a small but significant effect on visitor numbers and satisfaction. This effect is perceived to be more negative than positive.

Recommendations for Future Research

6.11 A number of weaknesses have been uncovered in the way in which data on visitor travel behaviour in Scotland is collected, analysed and ultimately stored. Throughout this report, shortcomings have been identified in the way in which particular surveys have collected and analysed information on visitor use and experience of transport in Scotland. It is possible to generalise to some degree and to suggest guidelines which may not only increase the usefulness of individual data sets, but also increase the possibilities for aggregating existing data sets.

6.12 Firstly, recommendations have been inserted throughout the report relating to simple additions to existing surveys which would permit a higher level of analysis of visitor use of transport. For example inclusion of variables measuring country of residence and purpose of trip (leisure or business) in surveys of passenger satisfaction undertaken by transport operators would allow visitor views to be examined separately. Likewise, it would be useful to measure whether respondents in the Tourism Attitudes Survey who are commenting on the quality of Scotland's transport network have used public or private transportation during their stay. Indeed, it would be desirable to introduce an element of harmonisation into the data collection process. For example, a number of visitor attractions undertake surveys of their visitors on a regular basis, as has been illustrated by this report. The inclusion of standard questions which request information on the point of origin of the journey to the attraction and the mode of transport used to access the attraction should be encouraged. In this, information can be gleaned not only on how visitors arrive at attractions, but also on distance travelled to access attractions. Moreover, results could be compared and collated across a range of key visitor attractions in Scotland and data mapped to show the spatial nature of tourist travel and the catchment areas for a range of attractions.

6.13 It would be very simple in many cases to raise the level of the data, in order to increase the possibilities for statistical analysis of the data. Where possible, ordinal, interval or scale level data should be collected, rather than nominal level data. Moreover, appropriate analysis should be undertaken in order to provide the fullest picture of the data. For example, where satisfaction with a list of destination attributes is measured on an attitudinal or Likert scale (e.g. accommodation, attractions, accessibility), rather then present the number of responses in each category in the scale, of which is difficult to gain an overview, it would be more useful to present the average ratings for each variable which can then be compared to see how the different attributes of the destination product are performing relative to one another. The same technique could also be used for surveys of satisfaction with attributes of public transport. Such techniques are relatively common and easy to implement.

6.14 It is important to build on previous surveys. For example, several of the visitor surveys reviewed asked similar questions with regard to the visitor's likes and dislikes about Scotland, often worded in different ways but essentially meaning the same thing. In many cases, these questions were open ended and allowed the researcher to build up a list of attributes of Scotland as a visitor destination which appeal to the visitor and which detract from the enjoyment of the destination. Whilst such explorative work is useful in building up a longitudinal record of the likes and dislikes of visitors, it is considered more useful to build on this research by undertaking more in-depth analysis of these responses, which appear to remain largely the same from year to year. Moreover, it should be stressed that investigating the highlights and disappointments of the holiday confuses the concepts of expectations, importance and satisfaction. Where transport is cited as the main disappointment of a holiday, it cannot be clear whether this arose because transport was used and found to be of a much lower standard than other attributes of the destination product, or because transport was a factor of key importance for the visitor and, in under-performing even slightly, had a seriously detrimental effect on overall enjoyment of the destination. It is therefore important to measure as a minimum not only satisfaction with the various attributes, but also their relative importance across the sample. In this way, an importance/performance ( IP) analysis could be undertaken in order to establish which elements of Scotland's tourism product are rated high in importance, but low satisfaction and are therefore under-performing. In this way, techniques from the academic literature can be usefully exploited to enhance the output of primary research. However, it should be noted that it would be necessary to employ quota sampling in order to ensure visitors are represented proportionately within any sample taken. It would also be necessary to obtain a large enough sample of visitors for any statistical techniques to be validly employed.

6.15 It is also recommended that greater attention be paid to the storage of data on transport use and that collected from visitor surveys. Much of the research currently undertaken in this field is commissioned by the public or private sectors and undertaken by research consultancies. Once the outcomes of the research have been delivered, the data set is seldom retained by the organisation which has commissioned the research. For this case of this particular research project, a number of data sets were requested from research consultancies for the purpose of undertaking secondary analysis on data collected. In such cases, it was clear from the report produced by the consultancies that the data set contained the variables necessary to undertake useful analysis which had not been previously undertaken. For none of the cases in point was the research consultancy willing to produce the data set. In one case, they produced analysis on request, but at additional cost. Where such research has originally been commissioned by the public sector, it is strongly recommended that the original research brief include a requirement that the data set be delivered as an outcome of the project. The UK Data Archive is worthy of consideration as an appropriate repository for data collected in visitor surveys.

6.16 Many points in the above discussion suggest that it would be desirable to have a degree of coordination over the collection and storage of data collected on transport and tourism in Scotland. It is also possible that such a recommendation may be equally relevant to other areas of the Scottish Executive's work. A successful example of such coordination can be found in the work of European Cities Tourism ( ECT). This is a professional destination management organisation to which European urban destinations of over 100,000 inhabitants can affiliate. With the assistance of academic colleagues at the Economic University of Vienna, ECT has worked towards encouraging its members to standardise visitor surveys, particularly occupancy surveys taken in hotels, so that each city is measuring a key set of variables which can then be compared in order to give a more accurate picture of urban tourism and competition in Europe. Data is input via a online form and is collated and stored by the Economic University of Vienna. Clearly questions arise over whose responsibility such an exercise would become, particularly given the spanning of two areas of interest and departments (Transport and Tourism). One suggestion might be to involve Tourism Knowledge Scotland in this exercise. This is a body of academics working in Tourism from all of the Scottish Universities and which therefore has a wealth of expertise in overseeing and implementing rigorous research projects.

Policy Directions

6.17 An overview of the existing policies of public agencies towards visitor travel covering, namely national government, enterprise companies and local authorities is shown in Table 6.2. This table summarises the main policies which have emerged from a review of available documentation. Where visitor travel and tourism are mentioned, it is generally in the context of economic development and is associated with major infrastructure and service development where the visitor benefits are a relatively small element. However other areas commonly being identified include providing travel information targeted at visitors, developing cycling routes, developing tickets for visitors, improving road signage. Overall, however, there are very few transport policy instruments that are targeted specifically at visitors. Whilst visitors undoubtedly benefit from the many general transport improvements being made, a bespoke approach for visitors may be required in certain aspects of transport provision.

6.18 Good policy requires a sound evidence base. This report has collected and collated the current state-of-knowledge on visitor travel behaviour in Scotland. It is clear that there are significant gaps in the evidence base and it would be sensible to address at least some of these gaps in order to produce better policy. Nonetheless, listed below are some specific recommendations aimed at improving transport provision for visitors. It must however be recognised that the information on which these are based is neither complete nor conclusive.

6.19 Transport strategy preparation and implementation is undertaken at national, regional and local levels in Scotland. There is a need to consider specifically the needs of visitors in the preparation of transport strategies, a point which is recognised in Scottish Tourism: the next decade (Scottish Executive, 2006).

6.20 The division of responsibilities for the planning and delivery of quality tourist transport between various stakeholders is imprecise. Transport management largely focuses its efforts on local users except where there is an unusually high level of tourist demand. Destination management organisations often regard transport as being outwith their remit. It is therefore recommended that there is a greater degree of co-ordination between stakeholders at different administrative levels.

6.21 Whilst it is recognised that visitors' use of public transport represents a small percentage of the total usage of public transport, there remains a significant demand for public transport, particularly by overseas visitors. In urban areas a sizeable proportion of overseas visitors are reliant on public transport. Thus, whilst this may not be an important market from the point of view of public transport operators, tourism represents an important part of the economy as a whole. It is important that mechanisms are found which incentivise operators to deliver public transport services which meet the needs of visitors to Scotland.

6.22 It may in certain instances be unrealistic to expect tourists to use existing transport supply which is designed to cater largely for the needs of the local population. Patterns of demand generated by the two groups are not always compatible. It may be more feasible in some environments for transport authorities to work with operators to create tourist dedicated products.

Table 6.2 Tourist travel policies of public agencies with a transport responsibility