Scots display staying power to boost tourist industry against all the odds

Published on Monday 28 September 2009 22:38

SCOTLAND'S tourism industry is set to withstand the impact of the recession – thanks to the UK's "staycation" market and the Year of Homecoming.

A successful summer for hundreds of hotels, guesthouses, caravan parks and self-catering cottages has helped the nation beat the threat of the downturn. The number of trips booked by UK visitors is said to be up 3.7 per cent on last year, with many holidaymakers shunning overseas trips due to poor exchange rates and worries over the security of airline companies.

But growing numbers of visitors from elsewhere in Europe have also offset a dramatic drop-off in visitors from North America and Asia, according to new research from VisitScotland.

Peter Lederer, chairman of the industry body, yesterday declared that although the economic downturn had damaged the industry, this year had "surpassed all expectations" from the beginning of the year.

He said there were "clear lessons" to be learned from the Year of Homecoming, including the need to promote more events under the one banner overseas, but said the industry had been "lucky" the credit crunch had coincided with Homecoming as it had made a huge difference to areas such as the Highlands.

Hotel bookings are currently running roughly in line with 2008, despite the turmoil caused by the economic downturn and thousands of job losses across Britain, after operators dropped their prices to make up a shortfall in business tourism.

In the self-catering sector, guesthouses and B&Bs have seen bookings rise by 3 per cent compared to last year, while bookings at camping and caravan parks are currently up 2 per cent up on 2008.

Hostel and bunkhouse bookings are also said to be in line with last year, with self-catering establishments also benefiting from the "stay-at-home" effect after a slow start to the year.

Visitor attraction figures are also ahead on last year, by 2.7 per cent, with VisitScotland experts saying they have been among the big "staycation" winners.

VISITSCOTLAND'S research emerged yesterday as figures revealed the average room occupancy rate across the UK fell by 3.3 per cent last month.

But hotel consultancy experts PKF said Edinburgh had enjoyed an "astonishing" month, achieving 91.3 per cent occupancy in August, up from 88.9 per cent for the same month last year.

A spokeswoman for VisitScotland said there had been growing evidence of Scots holidaying at home throughout 2009 since Easter which had chimed with research from a number of studies about the impact of the credit crunch.

She added: "From all our research, it definitely seems that attitudes to booking holidays within the UK have changed over the last year.

"Where people may have stayed in a hotel before, they are now looking for a high-quality self-catering establishment to try to get a better-value holiday. There are definitely fewer people going abroad," the spokeswoman said.

"People seem to be more conscious with their money but they still seem to see a holiday as a necessity rather than a luxury. They are just altering what they choose to do when they go on holiday."

Mr Lederer said: "It's definitely not been an easy year so far, but things are certainly looking a lot better than we thought they might be a year ago, and we have way surpassed expectations for 2009 from where they were at the beginning of the year.

"Some hotels have been hit pretty hard by the economic downturn, particularly at the top end of the market, and this has been down to the significant drop-off in business tourism and corporate bookings," he said.

"However, there is no doubt we have seen the benefits of the 'staycation' effect, particularly in the Highlands, the Western Isles and in Edinburgh, which had a terrific month in August."

THE Year of Homecoming, which will have seen more than 400 events staged between 25 January and St Andrew's night, has provoked a mixed reaction within the industry.

But Mr Lederer said he was in no doubt it had been a success. "Our research has shown we have benefited a great deal from people booking holidays from overseas based on the programme of events we've been able to offer months in advance.

"Homecoming has shown what we can achieve if we have different bodies and organisations pulling in the one direction. There are a lot of lessons to be learned about the benefits of having themed events and programmes that can be sold around the world."

Matthew Haggis, vice-chair of the Association of Self Caterers in Scotland, said: "People have definitely been looking for better-value holidays this year, and although the picture is mixed across the country, the majority of our members have had a better year in 2009 than last year."

SCOTS SCOOP HOSPITALITY AWARDS

GLENEAGLES has been named one of the UK's top hotels at a major industry "Oscars". The five-star Perthshire resort was named Scotland's best hotel at the annual AA Hospitality Awards in London.

The Plumed Horse, a Michelin-rated eaterie in Leith, won best restaurant in Scotland, while the Inn at Inverbeg, by Loch Lomond, scooped best Scottish pub. The Cross, a "restaurant with rooms" at Kingussie picked up the award for the best wine menu in Scotland.

Kinloch Lodge, the Skye hotel run by cook Claire Macdonald, is celebrating being awarded three rosettes.

The awards, which have been held for more than 100 years, were hosted by TV presenter Natasha Kaplinsky.

Giovanna Grossi, AA Hotel services group area manager, said: "It was difficult to make the final decisions this year as we have seen some exceptional candidate, but we are confident that the best establishments have been selected."