Heavy rain, Olympics and poor economy blamed for visitors fall in Scotland

TOURISM leaders have admitted visitor numbers to Scotland are set to plummet this year – with prolonged bad weather and the struggling economy being blamed for a “challenging” 2012.

Senior industry figures say businesses are reporting trade is down by as much as 30 per cent due to a lack of consumer confidence and a struggling corporate market.

Latest figures from VisitScotland for the first half of the year show the number of overnight stays from UK visitors fell by around 9 per cent.

The number of “staycation” visits to Scotland was 4.49 million, a drop of almost a quarter of a million on the equivalent period in 2011.

And although there was a 5 per cent increase in the number of “day visitors” to Scotland, the amount they have actually been spending slumped by 30 per cent in the first half of the year. July and August are also expected to have been badly damaged by poor weather and the London Olympics.

However the agency insisted there were signs for optimism, including a 9.2 per cent increase in overseas visitors in the first few months of 2012 and a 7 per cent increase in spending by foreign visitors.

Its latest report for the industry admits “cautious” consumer attitudes, “static or low increase in income”, a clash between Edinburgh’s festivals and the Olympics, and rain throughout most of August were all major factors affecting the industry in recent months.

VisitScotland’s latest analysis also shows occupancy rates in self-catering accommodation, hotels and holiday parks down for the first half of this year.

VisitScotland recently launched a new £3 million campaign to try to attract visitors who may have delayed this year’s holidays due to the Olympics. Around £425,000 will be targeted towards the Scottish “staycation” market.

Stephen Leckie, chairman of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, and also chief executive of Crieff Hydro, said: “It has definitely been a bad year.

“Our own anecdotal evidence from other businesses is that the actual number of visitors hasn’t been down too much, but they are spending a lot less.

“We do have reports of some businesses being down as much as 30 per cent for the year so far, with others talking about being 7 or 8 per cent down.

“We need to be realistic about the economic situation. People just don’t have the same money in their pockets that they used to and the corporate market, which is almost a third of our own business, is still struggling.

“However, there is no doubt the bad weather has also played a part this year. I don’t think it puts people off coming to Scotland on holiday, but it definitely affects what they do here. People are much more inclined to stay indoors if it is raining rather than go off visiting attractions or taking a bus or boat tour.”

VisitScotland’s chairman, Mike Cantlay, said: “There is no denying it has been a challenging year, but we are continuing to see growth in Scotland’s tourism sector and that is encouraging, especially in the current global economic climate.

“There’s never any room for complacency and our marketing teams are working hard with the tourism industry and businesses all over the country to make the most of every opportunity.”