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2 The following slides collate the insights relating to food and drink only. To see the full results and to put this extract into context please click on this link: Scotland Visitor Survey Objectives
3 Methodology: overview
Location & value are fundamental aspects in choice of accommodation, but availability of free WiFi is next most important factor, particularly for younger visitors Location Value for money Free wifi Quality star grading Previous experience Specific room arrangements Specific facilities Restaurant / quality of food Pet friendly Accessibility provisions Childcare provisions / facilities LGBT friendly Other 6% 5% 3% 2% 8% 7% 12% 11% 18% 23% 28% Q20 Which of the following aspects, if any, were important in helping you choose your accommodation? Base: S2 All who didn t only stay in second home or with friends / family (2731) Note: quality star grading was not a specified QA scheme Choosing Accommodation 56% 77% Free WiFi most important for international and younger visitors Value for money more important for younger age groups (under 45yrs) Previous experience particularly important for over 65 year olds (30%) and Scot residents (27%) Scot residents looking for specific facilities (16%), restaurant quality (13%), pet friendly (8%) and childcare (5%) 4
Location, free WiFi, quality grading and specific room arrangements particularly important to Long Haul visitors, whilst Europeans more focused on value and free WiFi. Scot residents factor in previous experience and are particularly interested in specific facilities and restaurant reputation. 5 Scotland Rest of UK Europe Long Haul First time Repeat Quality star grading 25% 21% 22% 33% 27% 22% Availability of free WiFi at the accommodation 23% 23% 37% 46% 38% 24% Availability of specific facilities e.g. swimming pool, leisure facilities, DVD player, parking 16% 11% 7% 7% 8% 12% Reputation of restaurant / quality of food 13% 7% 6% 8% 6% 9% Location 74% 78% 72% 80% 72% 78% Value for money 51% 54% 68% 64% 66% 53% Availability of specific room arrangements (e.g. inter connecting rooms, family rooms) 10% 12% 11% 17% 13% 12% Accessibility provisions 7% 3% 2% 7% 3% 5% Childcare provisions/child facilities at the accommodation 5% 4% 1% 0% 2% 4% Pet friendly accommodation 8% 7% 2% 0% 2% 7% LGBT friendly 2% 2% 1% 1% 2% 1% Previous experience / have been before 27% 19% 8% 9% 3% 23% Something else 7% 5% 8% 9% 9% 6% BASE 409 770 885 667 1060 1671 Factors Important in Choosing Accommodation by Market and First Time vs Repeat Visitors
Location, quality grading and previous experience more important to 55+ age groups, whilst younger visitors are more concerned with value for money and free WiFi. Specific room arrangements and child and pet provisions most important for 35-54yrs age groups. 6 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ Quality star grading 23% 22% 21% 21% 27% 26% Availability of free WiFi at the accommodation 43% 35% 22% 25% 26% 23% Availability of specific facilities e.g. swimming pool, leisure facilities, DVD player, parking 10% 12% 15% 14% 8% 7% Reputation of restaurant / quality of food 6% 10% 6% 8% 9% 11% Location 66% 77% 80% 78% 79% 73% Value for money 65% 69% 62% 53% 53% 40% Availability of specific room arrangements (e.g. inter connecting rooms, family rooms) 11% 11% 16% 17% 9% 7% Accessibility provisions 4% 6% 3% 4% 6% 4% Childcare provisions/child facilities at the accommodation 0% 5% 10% 3% 1% - Pet friendly accommodation 5% 2% 8% 9% 5% 2% LGBT friendly 6% 1% 2% 1% 0% 0% Previous experience / have been before 10% 10% 19% 15% 22% 30% Something else 6% 6% 4% 7% 7% 9% BASE 266 455 435 645 597 315 Factors Important in Choosing Accommodation by Age
Other aspects over-indexed in importance for choosing specific types of accommodation 7 Hotel (1447) Quality star grading (30%) Reputation of restaurant / quality of food (12%) B&B / Guest House / Restaurant with Rooms (1027) Reputation of restaurant / quality of food (12%) Airbnb (241) Availability of wifi (50%) Touring caravan / motorhome (154) Previous experience / been before (33%) Pet friendly accommodation (17%) Static caravan (57)* Value for money (77%) Availability of specific facilities (37%) Childcare provisions / child friendly facilities (17%) Glamping (37)* Location (98%) Value for money (77%) Pet friendly accommodation (20%) Childcare provisions / child friendly facilities (16%) Factors Important in Choosing Accommodation By Accommodation Type
Food and drink is a key component of the visitor experience; international visitors are keen to try local foods and domestic visitors cite food as a key factor in accommodation choice. When on holiday I really like to find out about the local foods & local dishes unique to the destination 8% 9% 14% 21% 17% 26% Disagree strongly 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Agree strongly Top 2 box 43% Mean 7.9 8 Food And Drink 8% said the reputation of the restaurant / quality of food was a factor in choosing their accommodation Q45c To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about holidays in general? Base: S2 All (2999) 70% of those who gave a 9 or 10 score here went on to try local food and 55% to try local drinks during their visit to Scotland is there an opportunity to encourage more?
A gap exists between expectations and experience of the quality of food in Scotland, particularly for international visitors. 9 Mean Score Expectation: 7.2 Experience: 7.9 Q34 Now thinking about the quality of food in Scotland, please complete the following statements: a) Before my trip I expected the food in Scotland to be ; b) During my trip the food I experienced was generally. Base: S2 All (2999) Quality Of Food - Expectations vs Experience
Almost all visitors dined out whilst in Scotland. International visitors were much more likely to have had all of these food and drink experiences other than picnics/bbqs. 10 The vast majority of Long Haul and European visitors tried local food (81%, 72%); and local drinks (72%, 68%) Q35 Which of the following did you experience during your holiday / short break in Scotland? Base: S2 All (2999) Food & Drink Experiences Over half (55%) of Long Haul visitors had a night out / visited pubs European visitors (38%) were most likely to visit a distillery, closely followed by Long Haul visitors (35%) Scot residents (33%) were most likely to have a picnic or BBQ
Long haul and European visitors were most likely to experience local food and drinks and to visit whisky distilleries whilst in Scotland, as were those visiting Scotland for the first time. 11 Scotland Rest of UK Europe Long Haul First time Repeat Dined out in a restaurant, café or pub 89% 91% 93% 97% 93% 91% Had a picnic or BBQ 33% 30% 26% 20% 24% 30% Tried local food 45% 49% 72% 81% 65% 52% Tried local drinks (e.g. whisky, craft beer) 36% 37% 68% 72% 59% 41% Night out / visited pubs 29% 31% 41% 55% 41% 33% Attended a food & drink event 3% 3% 5% 7% 5% 4% Visited a whisky distillery 10% 15% 38% 35% 33% 16% Went on a food or drink trail 1% 0% 2% 3% 2% 1% None of these 5% 3% 2% 1% 2% 3% BASE 459 875 948 717 1121 1878 Q35 Which of the following did you experience during your holiday / short break in Scotland? Base: S2 All (2999) Food & Drink Experiences by Market
Three-quarters of visitors sought information about eating out whilst in Scotland, using both offline and online sources, with personal advice playing a prominent role Talking with locals Personal advice from accommodation provider Google Accommodation room pack info Online review websites Other leaflets from accommodation VIC Other websites Printed travel guide books VisitScotland.com Social media Information / advice from visitor attraction Travel guide websites Looked for quality star grading Apps Other search engine None of these 25% 20% 13% 10% 9% 8% 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 4% 3% 3% 1% 25% 43% Long Haul visitors most likely to talk with locals (68%) and ask for advice from accommodation provider (40%) Younger age groups more likely to use Google, online review sites, social media & travel guide books Older age groups relied on personal advice from locals & accommodation; as well as room pack & leaflets 12 Q36 During your holiday or short break in Scotland, which of the following sources of information did you use to help choose places to eat out? Base: S2 All who dined out (2807) Information Sources Used To Help Choose Places To Eat Out
1 in 10 used review sites for information on places to eat out whilst in Scotland, and the same proportion subsequently posted reviews about where they had been, primarily on tripadvisor No, 90% Eating out 9% Other review site, 1% Long Haul visitors (14%) and those in 45+ age groups were most likely to post reviews (11%) Those who gave Top 2 box ratings for food experienced during their trip were also slightly more likely to leave reviews (12%) Whilst 13% of 16-44s used online review sites for information on dining out, only 7% posted reviews 13 Q37 Did you leave any reviews relating to places you ate out in Scotland on TripAdvisor or another review website? Base: S2 All who dined out (2807) Leaving Reviews For Places Ate Out
9 in 10 visitors seek information whilst in Scotland, on a range of topics. Using smartphones is the most common approach, followed by seeking in person advice 14 Used to find out information Type of information sought Smartphone Talking face-to-face Tablet Laptop/desktop Telephone 19% 12% 36% 52% 68% 82% Weather reports 62% Things to see & do in local area 47% What s on in local area 75% Maps / directions 55% Places to eat / drink in local area 27% Transport None of these 10% 12% Accommodation Something else 2% Q39 During your holiday or short break in Scotland, did you use any of the following to find out information relating to your trip while you were in Scotland? Base: S2 All (2999) Q40 What type(s) of information did you look for during your trip? Base: S2 All who looked for information (2781) Usage Of Devices To Find Information During Trip
Visitors rate availability of local produce and value for money of eating out lower than other aspects of their holiday experience Availability of local produce 0% 0% 1% 3% 10% 11% 18% 24% 15% 18% 1 10 Top 2 box 33% Mean 7.5 15 Value for money - eating out 0% 0% 1% 3% 8% 12% 22% 26% 13% 14% 1 10 27% 7.5 Q38 Overall how satisfied were you with the following aspects of eating out during your holiday / short break in Scotland. Base: S2 All who dined out (2807) Food & Drink Ratings
Opportunities to drive advocacy Satisfaction with. Top 2 box Mean Ease of getting around 62% 8.7 Being made to feel welcome in VIC 56% 8.5 Availability of useful information in VIC 52% 8.5 Value for money of attractions 51% 8.4 VIC customer service 49% 8.4 Service provided by staff at accommodation 49% 8.3 Knowledge of staff at accommodation about things to do in local area 42% 8.3 Value for money of accommodation 42% 8.0 Availability of free WiFi at accommodation 40% 7.5 Availability of local produce when eating out 33% 7.5 Value for money of eating out 27% 7.5 Mobile phone signal coverage 28% 6.9 Availability of free WiFi 25% 6.7 Availability of 3G / 4G 18% 6.3 In general, satisfaction scores over 8 are excellent, between 7-8 adequate and <7 requires attention. Top 2 scores (9 and 10 out of a 1-10 scale) are required to create genuine satisfaction and loyalty, otherwise customers can be indifferent. These results show a positive visitor experience but we should strive to push the proportion ticking Top 2 boxes higher. 16 Satisfaction Across The Visitor Experience
Glasgow city centre 17 Food & Drink Key Takeouts
Further information 18