FEBRUARY, 2020
NO. 2
The official e-journal of the Tourism Society
IN WHITBY
Global Tourism Trends Witnessed in Whitby
WITH THE CORONAVIRUS STOPPING TRAVEL TO
by Richard Bryan, Qa Research
IN THIS ISSUE
CHINESE TOURISM BOOM
AND FROM CHINA THERE IS NO TELLING HOW GREAT THE DAMAGE WILL BE TO UK TOURISM BUSINESSES, OR WHEN IT WILL ALL END. SO SHOULD WE BE SPENDING THIS ENFORCED ‘DOWN TIME’ IMPROVING HOW WE WELCOME
With its beautiful harbour, Gothic ruin and colourful history,Whitby is a wonderful place to visit. The town on the North Yorkshire coast has always been popular
AND TREAT THE CHINESE WHEN FINALLY THE ALL
with families and we usually go a couple of times a year.
CLEAR IS SOUNDED?
But on my latest visit I noticed something new. And it
AFTER A NOVEMBER VISIT TO WHITBY RICHARD BRYAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT QA RESEARCH CONCLUDED THAT OUR OFFER COULD CERTAINLY DO
WITH
SOME
SHARPENING
UP.
HE
SAW
GLOBAL TOURISM TRENDS AT WORK BY THE SEA
revealed a number of insights which tie in closely to the research
work
we
undertake
with
UK
tourism
organisations.
BUT SAYS MORE LESSONS COULD BE LEARNED.
IN THE PREVIOUS ISSUE
Chinese Tourism Boom
- THE TOURISM SOCIETY
What struck me was how many visitors from China
SYMPOSIUM
were exploring the resort. There were scores of Chinese
- IS YOU DESTINATION WOKE
tourists taking in Whitby’s sights, sounds, food and
ENOUGH?
drink.
REPORT ON PROSPECTS "VISION 2035"
This
development
certainly
reflects
a
more
general trend likely to continue once travel from China is reinstated.
FEBRUARY, 2020
NO. 2
Research by TripAdvisor recorded an increase of 133% in Chinese travellers researching UK destinations between 2018 and the same period in 2019. Interestingly, the Whitby visitors were mainly
younger
people,
in
their
twenties, often in couples but without children. This reflects a significant shift in the sector. As our research found, Chinese inbound tourism is now subdivided into distinct markets, including free independent travellers (FITs). FITs have individual control over where they go and what they do, and are often affluent millennials.
Textbook Attraction One of the highlights of a trip to Whitby is the fish and chips. We called in to the famous Magpie restaurant for lunch – and many of the other tables were taken by Chinese visitors. This may help to explain why so many had made the journey to the Yorkshire coast – after all it’s quite a diversion from more well-trodden tourist spots like London and Edinburgh. Our research found that Chinese visitors want a uniquely British experience they can share with friends and family back home. And this is often tied to our culture, whether that means the royal family, famous fictional characters like Harry Potter, or food and drink.
Fish and chips is a must for many tourists from China, for two reasons. In 2015 Chinese president Xi Jinping famously tucked in to the national dish with the then prime David Cameron. And the meal is also ever-present in the textbooks Chinese students use to learn English. Any tourism destination hoping to increase its share of this lucrative market will benefit from finding a similar cross-cultural reference point.
FEBRUARY, 2020
NO. 2
Cash Concerns Clearly Whitby is doing something right to attract so many visitors from China. But I left with the nagging feeling that the
town
wasn’t
maximising
the
opportunity. During my trip I called in to a jewellers to buy a present for a family member made from the famous Whitby jet. I was planning to pay with my phone, using Apple Pay – only to be told the shop didn’t take it.
This rang alarm bells. As VisitBritain puts it, “Mobile payments are becoming more and more popular in China, and travellers appreciate being able to use those abroad as well.” I mentioned this to the shop assistant, who seemed unaware of the situation. Chinese travellers are among the world’s biggest-spending tourists. Before the coronavirus outbreak they were forecast to spend £1 billion this year on UK high streets and leisure destinations. And much of this buying spree is done via their mobiles, using one of two tech platforms – Alipay and WeChat Pay. According to the Chinese digital marketing site DigiPanda, 60% of payments in the UK by Chinese tourists were via these mobile apps. It was great to see a place like Whitby welcoming so many people from China, even on a chilly winter day. For me, the town only needs to make a few modifications to its tourism offer, based on the insights our research into the market has revealed, to fully seize the opportunity on their doorstep.
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NO. 2
The World Travel & Tourism Council say the average recovery time for a destination from the impact of viral outbreaks is 19.4 months. • VisitBritain figures show that China has been one of the top ten most valuable inbound visitor markets since 2017. In the 12 months to September 2019 there were 415,000 visits to the UK from China with Chinese visitor spending up 15% at £714million. • One job is created in Britain’s tourism industry for every 22 Chinese visitors. • In 2018 the Chinese spent on average £1,680 per visit, almost three times the all market average. They also stayed longer, with an average of 16 nights and travelled more widely across the UK than other visitors.
RICHARD BRYAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR
• Chinese tourists, travelling both individually and within
OF QA RESEARCH WHICH HAS BEEN
groups, account for 16% of the world’s international travel spending.
PROVIDING INSIGHT AND MEASURING IMPACT FOR ORGANISATIONS THROUGHOUT THE UK FOR 30 YEARS.
• VisitBritain Director Patricia Yates says: ‘China is the
WWW.QARESEARCH.CO.UK RICHARD.BRYAN@QARESEARCH.CO.UK
world’s most valuable outbound market and a huge tourism opportunity for the UK. Increasing the services that visitors experience is important to our message of welcome with more
businesses
making
themselves
“China
Ready”.
Whether that is promoting the benefits of implementing Chinese mobile payment capabilities to retailers, hotels and attractions providing information in Cantonese or Mandarin, or businesses and tour operators adapting their products for the Chinese market.’ • For more information on the valuable Chinese market: www.visitbritain.org/markets/china
Prospects "Vision 2035" Report By Richard Denman The
annual
‘prospects’
event
is
always a highlight of the Society’s calendar and once again lived up to expectations. This year we met in the elegant rooms of Trinity House, overlooking the Tower of London. Our moderator for the evening was the world-renowned Stephen Sackur, of BBC Hard Talk fame. He invited us to take inspiration from our venue in shining
a
light
on
tourism’s
challenges in the coming years.
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NO. 2
Tourism Sector Holds Up Well Amid Concerns About Impact Ian Taylor, Executive Editor, Travel Weekly gave the keynote presentation. He presented a range of data for the tourism and travel sector as a whole, including purchases by UK citizens of overseas travel.
This
showed how the UK has maintained a leading position in Europe on total tourism spending, with further growth in future intentions to travel. Despite the advent of online booking and alternative types of accommodation, there is still a strong demand for traditional hotels and travel agents. The collapse of Thomas Cook was a major event, but the capacity has been taken up by other operators and the overall sector is in good shape. Alongside
this
robust
performance,
over
55%
of
travellers have reported concerns about sustainability, with the most rapid rise being related to awareness of the impact of flying.
Measuring Trends & responding to challenges A panel of a further three speakers addressed a mixture of market trends and challenges. Jennie Carr, Creative and Communications Director, Silver Travel research
Advisor, data
presented on
the
recent
travel
and
holiday habits of the over fifties. The picture
that
emerged
was
significant ambition and activity.
of
FEBRUARY, 2020
NO. 2
 While city breaks and beach holidays remain the most popular, there has been a very striking rise in demand for adventure travel. People in this age group are keen to travel as couples, singles or in multi-generational groups, can be very active on social media and believe they are more adventurous now than in their thirties. Simon McNamara, Area Manager UK and Ireland, IATA provided data on the massive size of the UK aviation industry which is estimated to support 1.5 million jobs. In addition to travel and tourism it provides a very important service in the swift transport of high-quality goods. Air transport accounts for 3-5% of global CO2 emissions and this is growing. The challenge is taken very seriously by the aviation industry, with a fourpillar strategy including more efficient aircraft, more efficient operations, improved infrastructure and a global offsetting scheme. Other challenges include skills shortages and an eastward shift in the centre of gravity of aviation owing to the influence of China and the Gulf States.
Richard Nicholls, Head of Research and Forecasting, VisitBritain, presented the latest statistics on inbound tourism to the UK. Growth in spending has been particularly encouraging, increasing by 8% in the year to date. Forecasts for 2020 are for a 3% growth in visits and 7% in spend. Growth has primarily been for holiday purposes and from long haul markets, with a decline in visits from European markets since 2017. Brexit has led to a marginal decline in positive sentiment
towards
Britain
and
in
intention to visit. Prospects from China were looking good but are currently affected by the coronavirus
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NO. 2
In
leading
the
panel
discussion,
Stephen Sackur sought more views on the impact of Brexit. In general, it was considered that this had been quite limited in terms of market reaction, with labour shortages likely to have a more serious impact on the sector. There may be more uncertainty arising during the current year which could affect consumer confidence. Many of the
questions
from
the
audience
related to issues of carbon emissions from flying. Responses suggested that people should be reassured that they can still take flights, but there is a
Government Focus On Collaboration, Sustainability & LevellingUp The final speaker was Stephen Darke, Head of Tourism, DCMS
who
presented
a
government
perspective.
He
reminded us that DCMS is primarily involved in providing funding for VisitBritain and VisitEngland and supporting certain initiatives and events, together with influencing other government departments. The current focus has been on the Tourism Sector Deal as a collaborative programme with industry, aimed at improving infrastructure and the workforce and at strengthening the performance of places and events. There is a need to understand our current and future visitors better and DCMS is addressing the need for improved sources of data.
In looking forward, Stephen
referred to two overall government priorities which will influence
the
work
of
his
department:
sustainability,
including the need to meet targets for zero carbon; and levelling-up, enabling the rest of the UK to benefit more from the high proportion of tourism spending that currently occurs in London.
need to address balance and impact. Points raised included: an increase in demand progress
for in
rail-based
holidays;
developing
more
sustainable fuels; doubt about the use of offsets as a solution; and the lack of justification for very low airfares.
FEBRUARY, 2020
NO. 2
In response to a question from the author of this note, Stephen recognised that the priority given to sustainability should mean that carbon emissions are included as a factor in identifying future target markets,while also considering length of stay and total spending. Â He also confirmed that ministers are being kept informed of the potential impact of the coronavirus on tourism. In closing the meeting, Keith Brown, CEO, The Tourism Society thanked Stephen Sackur for giving us his time and the speakers for their very informative
presentations.
He
encouraged
all
members of the audience who were not members of the Society to join with us and support our work RICHARD DENMAN DIRECTOR
in raising the profile of tourism and sharing knowledge across the sector.
THE TOURISM COMPANY
rdenman@thetourismcompany.com http://thetourismcompany.com/
The e-journal is published bi-monthly by The Tourism Society—to provide information of interest to its members, their customers and/or employees. This replaces the quarterly Journal and is delivered electronically via email as e-newsletters have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in general has gained popularity over printed correspondence. of you would like to contribute an article, opinion piece or Tourism Society event report please contact the secretariat on membership@tourismsociety.org For future events see www.tourismsociety.org