News

We were shocked and saddened by the news that ASVA member, the Scottish Crannog Centre – an outstanding, much-loved visitor attraction as well as a unique, invaluable living history educational facility – was devastated by a dreadful fire on Friday night (11 June) .

The Iron Age roundhouse, which stood on stilts on the shore of Loch Tay, near Kenmore in Perthshire, was engulfed in flames and the blaze very rapidly destroyed the structure. Very thankfully there were no casualties but the Centre’s team, the local community and Scotland have suffered a huge loss as a result of the incident.

Director of the Scottish Crannog Centre, Mike Benson, said: “It’s just a devastating blow. It’s such a much-loved icon, you can’t think of Loch Tay without thinking of the Crannog Centre. It’s been here for 25 years and has been so incredibly loved. The main thing is nobody has been hurt. The crannog has gone but it is not the end of the story.”

Mike says that since the fire, he has been ‘inundated with support’. The local community has been particularly sympathetic, with neighbouring business Loch Tay Highland Lodges having set up a crowdfunder. ASVA is encouraging the visitor attractions community throughout Scotland to support this financial appeal to help the Scottish Crannog Centre. Donations can be made via the JustGiving page at https://bit.ly/35kFF0l

The Centre – a unique Iron Age history experience which is integral to interpreting and sharing Scotland’s story – is also receiving help from Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS). Over the last year MGS has awarded grants from the Scottish Government totalling over £283K for the Scottish Crannog Centre’s far-reaching work to welcome visitors, increase employment opportunities in the local area, and support vocational learning with young people through Modern Apprenticeships and the Kickstart Scheme.

Museums Galleries Scotland Chief Executive Lucy Casot said: “The Crannog team worked so hard to continue their vocational learning opportunities with young people during the pandemic and welcome visitors back once it was safe to do so. Our hearts went out to the team when we heard about the fire and the immense loss of the iconic crannog reconstruction will be felt by many. We are working closely with the team and this will continue as we understand the immediate and longer-term support requirements. The community that is at the heart of the Scottish Crannog Centre needs our support now as they recover and rebuild from the fire. We encourage the many people who enjoy the Crannog to donate to its financial appeal.”

The Scottish Crannog Centre community is widely recognised for innovation, ambition, and care for its local area – qualities that, with support, will be central to its recovery from the fire.

On Friday 11 June, the UK Government announced its Tourism Recovery Plan which sets out future policy for the industry and the Government’s ambitions for domestic and international tourism The specific aims of the Plan are to:

• Recover domestic overnight trip volume and spend to 2019 levels by the end of 2022, and inbound visitor numbers and spend by the end of 2023.
• Ensure tourism’s recovery benefits every nation and region, with visitors staying longer, growing accommodation occupancy rates in the off-season and high levels of investment in tourism products and transport infrastructure.
• Build back better with a more innovative and resilient industry, maximising the potential for technology and data to enhance the visitor experience and employing more UK nationals in year-round quality jobs.
• Ensure tourism contributes to the enhancement and conservation of the country’s cultural, natural and historic heritage, minimises damage to the environment, and is inclusive and accessible to all.
• Return the UK swiftly to its pre-pandemic position as a leading European destination for hosting business events.

In addition to increasing the focus on sustainable tourism and on data and technology – to capitalise on information and insights – new initiatives have been announced to boost tourism and support attractions. These are:

Days Out Voucher Scheme:  A £10 million consumer promotion between VisitBritain and the National Lottery will see players having the chance to claim vouchers to redeem at tourist attractions across the UK between September and March 2022. The scheme aims to encourage trips beyond the peak summer season. Businesses taking part will be required to ensure they are using the We’re Good to Go industry standard.

As ASVA members and stakeholders will be aware, we have been supporting VisitScotland on its development of a voucher incentivisation scheme to support Scottish tourism by promoting days out to visitor attractions. VisitScotland is now reviewing its plans and discussion is taking place on whether there is an opportunity to align this recovery project with the national Voucher Scheme or, indeed, incorporate the two initiatives. 

Rail Pass Scheme:  A new scheme for ‘staycationers’ is being developed to encourage, and make it easier for, domestic tourists to get around the country using the rail network. The intention is to create a new pass scheme to build on the success of rail tourism products such as the BritRail pass, which is sold through VisitBritain and provides international visitors with flexible travel across the country and provides discounted entry to tourism attractions. The aim is to launch the new rail pass scheme later in the year.

You can read the full details of the Tourism Recovery Plan here.

Applications open tomorrow, 1 June, for a new £3 million Destination & Sector Marketing Fund which aims to support the revival of tourism in Scotland.

Part of the £25 million Scottish Government industry recovery programme announced in March, the Fund is one of 10 proposals developed by the Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group (STERG) in collaboration with the Tourism Task Force.

The Fund, which will be managed and delivered by VisitScotland, has been designed to accelerate tourism recovery in the immediate to medium term by focusing on the domestic market.

Destination and sectoral groups across Scotland are being encouraged, through the Fund, to develop and promote strong visitor propositions – both sustainably and responsibly – to help stimulate all-year-round demand in the UK and Ireland market.  

The funding is being made available to enable the destination and sector organisations to carry out targeted campaign activity marketing visitor experiences that are aligned to identified post-COVID-19 trends and reflect what consumers are now looking for. The initiative is therefore designed to help the sustainable recovery of the industry going forward. 

The Destination & Sector Marketing Fund will operate across three tiers:

• Tier one – City Region Award Programme (awards between £50,000 – £100,000). Closing date for applications: 29 June
• Tier two – Pan Scotland Sector Groups & Regional Destination Organisations (awards between £40,000 – £80,000). Closing date for applications: 3 July
• Tier three – Local Destination Organisations, Marketing Groups & Non-Pan Scotland Sector Groups (awards between £10,000 – £20,000). Closing date for applications: 23 July

Please note, this funding is not available to individual businesses, it is purely for destination and sector organisations. We are highlighting the opportunity as we know that many of our members will be involved in local/regional destination organisations or marketing groups and may wish to apply as part of such a group.

Information on the Fund criteria and eligibility requirements for each tier, as well as details of how destination and sectoral groups can apply, can be found here.

VisitScotland is hosting a webinar about the Fund on Wednesday, 2 June at 2pm-3pm. Senior Marketing Fund Manager Emma Hallington will provide a overview and participants will have an opportunity, via the web chat, to ask questions as part of a Q&A session. You can register for the event here.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament yesterday (26^th May), setting out the priorities for the Scottish Government, the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that tourism is recognised as a priority industry and will continue to receive support to aid the recovery of the country’s economy.

The most immediate priority for the Government, Ms Sturgeon said, is to lead Scotland safely through and out of the pandemic. She referred to the ‘ambitious programme to drive recovery’ her party set out during the election campaign and stated that the Government is now intent on delivering on those commitments.

Listing a number of key ways in which the Government will promote economic recovery, Ms Sturgeon said: “We will support specific business sectors – including food and drink, and tourism.”

In addition to acknowledging the industry’s importance to the economy and pledging the Government’s commitment to supporting it as a priority, Ms Sturgeon referred to a number of related sectors and areas that it will also focus on to drive Scotland’s recovery.

These included the Government’s intention to publish a plan for the safe reopening of cultural venues and performances and to support the events sector. Promoting fair work and sustainability, or ‘a green recovery’ have also been identified as priorities in planning for and delivering Scotland’s economic resurgence from the impact of COVID-19.

Highlighting her belief that Scotland is now on the right track out of the pandemic, Ms Sturgeon also said that within the next three weeks, the Government plans to set out its expectations for the stage beyond Protection Level 0 – and importantly, the restrictions that will still apply and affect business operations for our industry and sector.

ASVA Chief Executive Gordon Morrison said: “The First Minister’s confirmation that tourism will be a priority for Scottish Government support is very welcome news for the attractions sector, which is a major contributor to the country’s £11 billion industry. It is now imperative that we hear how and when the country will move through and out of the current Levels system. Even at Level 0, there are currently restrictions that will impact on viable trading in our sector. We therefore need a clear plan for how and when these restrictions will be safely removed.

“The recent appointment of Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, Ivan McKee MSP – supporting Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy Kate Forbes MSP – transferred tourism into the Government’s economy portfolio.  This is a significant development for our sector as it demonstrates the Government’s acknowledgement and recognition of the pivotal role tourism – and our hugely important sector – will play in driving Scotland’s economy and leading its recovery.”

With much of the tourism industry reopening, ASVA and the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism are asking all Scottish attractions to complete a quick survey to help us ascertain current business performance, recovery prospects and confidence levels within the attractions sector.

The survey – which should only take approximately 10 minutes to complete – closes at midnight on Monday 31 May.

We will be using the data collected in the survey to help inform the attractions sector and key stakeholders, including the Scottish Government and VisitScotland, about the prospects for, and needs of, the sector in 2021.  The survey results will also be used to inform and shape ASVA’s ongoing lobbying efforts with the Scottish and UK Governments. 

It is through data collected from these surveys that we can best inform and argue on behalf of the industry. It is therefore essential that we receive as many responses as possible to help us ensure that the sector’s needs are being represented.

No sensitive material for individual attractions will be published.

Please complete the survey by clicking here.

• New figures show visitor numbers slumped 34 million in 2020, a fall of 63.2%
• Continued restrictions mean many attractions cannot reopen fully, a survey reveals
• Staycationers urged to support Scotland’s visitor attractions this summer

New figures have revealed the full impact of the COVID-19 crisis on Scotland’s visitor attractions.

Overall visitor numbers slumped by almost 34 million in 2020, a fall of 63.2%, with 153 sites closed for the full 12 months, according to data from the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Edinburgh Castle – Scotland’s busiest paid-for attraction in 2019 – saw visitor numbers drop by 87.2% with figures for Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, in Glasgow, and the National Museum of Scotland falling 85.8% and 79.9% respectively.

Data from the Moffat Centre’s Scottish Visitor Attraction Monitor 2020 shows attractions with large outdoor areas outperformed museums/art galleries and castles.

Edinburgh Zoo was Scotland’s busiest paid-for site last year, attracting 292,631 visitors, a drop of 46.4% on the previous 12 months. Culloden Visitor Centre attracted 182,496 visitors as it recorded battlefield-only visits for the first time and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was the most popular free site with 452,479 visits.

The Scottish Visitor Attraction Monitor shows the overall number of visits dropped from 53,722,691 in 2019 to 19,785,282, across 638 sites.

Professor John Lennon, Director of the Moffat Centre at GCU, said: “The impact of COVID-19 was felt across all aspects of the Scottish visitor attractions sector as travel was restricted, the international market collapsed and the wider economy was impacted.

“Attractions are an essential element of the Scottish visitor experience. With international tourism unlikely to return until well into 2022, domestic visitors will provide the sole source of income. Their custom will be vital going forward.”

Two-thirds of attractions due to reopen this week expect to operate with either reduced hours, some facilities closed, or at weekends-only, to keep costs down, according to a survey of operators, carried out by the Moffat Centre in partnership with The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA).

The survey, conducted in April, revealed that one in eight sites will remain closed for all of 2021 without a further easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Industry leaders are now warning many smaller attractions are at risk of closing for good without ongoing financial support from the UK and Scottish Governments.

Gordon Morrison, ASVA Chief Executive, said:“​Whilst the majority of attractions are reopening from this week onward, it’s extremely concerning that so many sites feel it’s not viable for them to open fully, or even at all this year, due to continuing restrictions.

“Our last survey in March revealed the continuation of 2m physical distancing means 54% of attractions are either forced to remain closed or will lose money when they do reopen. Those findings, combined with our April survey, highlight just how vulnerable the attractions sector is and how incredibly challenging its economic recovery will be.

“Now more than ever, this important sector of our country’s £11bn tourism industry not only needs continued government support to survive and thrive but also needs the public to get behind it.

“Visitors can expect the warmest of welcomes and be assured that the highest standards of safety protocols – praised by the Scottish Government as exemplary – have been put in place across the sector for their benefit.  And with sites predicted to be at least 30% less busy this year due to the fact that there will be significantly fewer international visitors, those from Scotland and the rest of the UK can take advantage of a rare opportunity to experience our world-class attractions and all that they offer in a uniquely enjoyable, memorable way.”

Today (26^th February) VisitBritain has announced that tourism businesses in the UK registered to the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard scheme can now automatically be issued with the international ‘Safe Travels’ stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
 
The ‘We’re Good To Go’ scheme, launched last year by the UK’s national tourism bodies VisitScotland, VisitEngland, Visit Wales and Tourism Northern Ireland, has been recognised by the WTTC as meeting its international global standardised health and hygiene protocols and for its role in supporting the recovery of the UK tourism sector.

The WTTC stamp enables travellers to recognise destinations around the world which have adopted global standardised protocols – so they can experience ‘Safe Travels.’

VisitBritain is coordinating the Safe Travels stamp issue in the UK, on behalf of the WTTC, for businesses registered to its ‘We’re Good To Go’ scheme, with those who welcome international visitors particularly encouraged to use the Safe Travels stamp.
 
Any business that is signed up to ‘We’re Good To Go’, can now log back into their online ‘We’re Good to Go’ account and download the Safe Travels logo from there. 
 
As ASVA is a partner organisation for ‘We’re Good to Go’, any members who have not already signed up to the scheme, can sign up here and will benefit from a streamlined application process.
 
For more information about the alignment between ‘We’re Good to Go’ and ‘Safe Travels’, please click here.

Yesterday (23^rd Feb), in a statement to the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon presented details of the updated Strategic Framework for a return to ‘normal’ life, setting out initial priorities and providing an indicative timeframe for cautiously easing lockdown restrictions.
 
In her statement, Ms Sturgeon confirmed that the country will move back into a levels system from end of April and that there will be a “phased and significant” reopening of the economy thereafter. The First Minister confirmed that there will be “discussions over the next couple of weeks as we put further flesh on the plans we set out today” and that the Scottish Government will publish a further document in mid March outlining more detail.
 
Ms Sturgeon also acknowledged that there is a need for greater support for many businesses; “We are also considering some form of tapered support for businesses that may still face trading restrictions and reduced demand, even as they are allowed to re-open” and that the Scottish Government will be working with business organisations on this and other issues as we emerge from lockdown.
 
Disappointingly, there was little mention of tourism in the statement, but the key points pertaining to our sector are:

• There will be a moving back to a levels system from the last week in April with all parts of the country currently in level 4 moved back to level 3
• From 5^th April restrictions on outdoor gatherings will be eased so that at least 6 people from 2 households can meet together.
• From the last week of April there will be a phased but significant re-opening of the economy, including non-essential retail, outdoor hospitality and services like gyms and hairdressers.
• The Strategic Framework Business fund (SFBF) will be in place at least the end of June.
• When exiting level four, businesses that are allowed to reopen will continue to receive payments from the SFBF Temporary Closures Grant for at least the next four weeks
• Tapered support is also being considering for businesses that may still face trading restrictions and reduced demand. 

Members should be made aware that, following the publication of the updated Strategic Framework, the ASVA Board will be meeting the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy & Tourism, Fergus Ewing, on Wednesday 3 March to discuss the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions on our sector. In the meeting, amongst other things, we will be emphasising the need for substantial ongoing financial support whilst our industry is still subjected to restrictions and will be seeking further clarity about the re-opening of our sector.
 
You can view the First Minister’s statement here and the updated Strategic Framework document can be found at this link.

Following the First Minister’s announcement of a review of the Strategic Framework for Recovery next week and with the industry still very heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, ASVA and the Moffat Centre are asking all Scottish attractions to complete a quick survey to help us ascertain the industry’s preparedness for re-opening, the factors that need to be considered which will influence decision making about re-opening, the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on your business and further support measures required.
 
The survey should only take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
 
We will be using the data collected in the survey to help inform the attractions sector and key stakeholders, including the Scottish Government and VisitScotland, about the potential re-opening of the industry and the challenges ahead. The survey results will also be used to inform and shape ASVA’s lobbying efforts with the Scottish and UK Governments.
 
It is through data collected from these surveys that we are able to best inform and argue on behalf of the industry. It is therefore essential that we receive as many responses as possible to help us ensure that the sector’s needs are being represented.
 
We would urge all ASVA attraction members to complete the survey at your earliest convenience. Your support in this matter is greatly appreciated.
 
To undertake the survey, please click here.