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News

ASVA has been pleased to promote, over recent months, the fully-funded Scottish Tourism Leadership Programme to ensure our members take advantage of the outstanding and highly motivational professional and personal development opportunities for current and aspiring leaders in our industry.

We’re particularly keen to encourage attraction members to sign up for, and benefit from, one of the Programme’s final three courses – this is specifically designed for personnel working in the visitor attractions sector. The real-time online course is completely free, thanks to Scottish Government tourism recovery funding for this year, so we do hope as many representatives from ASVA attractions will make the most of the chance to take part.

It’s the first time that the acclaimed Scottish Tourism Leadership Programme has offered a course exclusively for our sector, so this is a particularly relevant and valuable training opportunity for our members.

The Visitor Attractions Sector course takes place on 19 & 20 January and 2 February, and the applications deadline is 9 January.

The course content, which aims to inspire and uplift, has been developed by Scottish Enterprise, the South of Scotland Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and Skills Development Scotland, in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University’s Professor Jane Ali-Knight and Kenneth Wardrop.

The course features speakers including Susan Deighan of Glasgow Life, V & A Dundee Director Leonie Bell, and Abbi Ollive, Head of Marketing, Sales and Programming at Castle Howard. Also included is a panel discussion involving Royal Yacht Britannia CEO Bob Downie, Professor Anna Leask of Napier University, and Scottish Tourism Alliance Strategy Project Manager Karen Christie. The course itinerary is available here.

In addition to the Visitor Attractions Sector course, applications are open for: Rural (South) course : 9, 10 & 23 February (30 January application deadline), and Pan-Scotland course : 2, 3 & 16 March (20 February application deadline).

You can find further information on the Scottish Tourism Leadership Programme and details of how to apply for all three of the courses here.

We’d urge line managers to encourage their team members to sign up for these courses and take advantage of the last of the Programme’s fully-funded places. If you know anyone who would benefit from the excellent training opportunity offered and the chance to connect with other tourism leaders or aspiring leaders, please do encourage them to apply.

In these very challenging times for our industry and sector, whilst so much uncertainty remains, we appreciate that it’s tough to make time commitments however whilst this funding support is still available, it’s an ideal time to sign up for these courses. They will certainly stand participants in good stead for the future, as well as providing a motivational boost to help individuals and businesses keep driving forward.

Those who have recently taken part in Scottish Tourism Leadership Programme courses have commented on how much they’ve valued the experience, and connecting with others working in the industry and experiencing the same challenges. Many participants have advised that, taking part in the Programme has not only helped them considerably through the course learnings they’ve gained, but has also given them renewed optimism and drive for the future – a welcome and much-needed additional benefit, given our sector’s current difficult circumstances.

A new series of Complete Storytelling workshops, which are specifically designed for businesses and organisations across all sectors of Scotland’s tourism industry, will take place in the New Year. This outstanding new training opportunity has been created to support recovery from the continuing impacts of the pandemic and help operators to capitalise on the opportunities presented by Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.

In-person and online attendees at Scotland’s Tourism Industry Conference will remember the inspirational presentation by storytelling experts Complete Works on the importance of creating and delivering engaging, memorable stories to enhance customer service delivery, ensure exceptional consumer experiences and boost business.

Following the presentation, ASVA CEO Gordon Morrison announced that Complete Works would lead a series of Complete Storytelling workshops early in the new Themed Year for colleagues across Scotland’s tourism industry. The events follow the success of a pilot series of five workshops arranged for ASVA members during the summer. These were extremely well-received – 97% of attendees said the workshop either exceeded or fully matched their expectations and over 90% said they would implement the course content.

The 10 Complete Storytelling workshops which will take place in locations across Scotland during February and March, are being offered to colleagues across Scottish tourism thanks to funding support provided by Skills Development Scotland through the Tourism Recovery Programme. As a result, places for the in-person one-day workshops are available at the vastly reduced rate of only £50 inclusive of VAT. (This calibre of training would normally cost in the region of £150-£200 per person.)

Designed to provide the tools needed to stimulate business recovery, the highly motivational Complete Storytelling workshops provide an outstanding opportunity to find out how to unlock the power of stories to enhance your service delivery and boost your bottom line, and how stories can help transform consumers into ambassadors, generating repeat visits, recommendations and increased secondary spend.

Workshop delegates will learn how to use storytelling to engage, sell, and create brand loyalty through communications and sales skills. Using performance techniques, the experienced Complete Works professional trainers hone participants’ skills in Body Language and Voice, teaching tried and tested tips and tricks used by actors and presenters. The sessions break down the fears and boundaries that prohibit truly effective communication, through practicing practical methods in a safe, supported, inspiring environment.

The dates and locations of the 10 Complete Storytelling workshops, plus links to book places at each, are provided in the events section of our website: https://asva.co.uk/events/.

This afternoon, the First Minister announced details of the £100m support package for businesses impacted by the latest COVID-mitigating measures.

ASVA has been working exceptionally hard to ensure that the Scottish Government is fully aware that it is more than one sector that is hurting just now, with many visitor attractions reporting huge drop offs in visitation, as well as a raft of event cancellations. So many in the sector are on their knees as a result and we are in real danger of losing some of our cultural assets. The fact we have managed to get this recognised is significant, but way more financial support will be required.

ASVA is now calling on the Scottish Government and, crucially, the UK Government to step up further and reintroduce the support measures we saw during lockdown, as tourism businesses are experiencing conditions akin to lockdown now.

Details of the support being offered by the Scottish Government is somewhat limited thus far, but you can find more information at this link.

There was mixed reaction to the Scottish Budget for 2022/23, announced on Thursday 9 December. Whilst news of the continuation of rates relief was welcomed, the consensus from the country’s industry sectors was that the support measures noted by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy were less than adequate. 

From the perspective of tourism, there was disappointingly little in the Budget that directly references our industry.  The only statement of importance was that rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will continue at 50% for the first three months of the next financial year, capped at £27,500 per ratepayer, while smaller businesses will be exempt from paying rates. Even this positive development, however, fell significantly short of what had been hoped for. 

More disappointing though was the fact that there was no specific mention by Kate Forbes MSP of any measures to support Scotland’s attractions sector.  

ASVA CEO Gordon Morrison commented: “My initial reaction on hearing the Budget was one of disappointment that so little is being done to aid our sector and wider tourism industry.

“Ms Forbes made reference to the Fiscal Commission forecasting that our economy will recover to pre-pandemic levels by April–June 2022. This may well be the case across the economy as a whole, but it is undeniable that our sector most certainly won’t have recovered in six months time.

“Although we’ve been appreciative of the support offered by the Scottish Government over the last 20 months, it is very unsatisfactory that there was no recognition in this Budget that our sector has not had any significant opportunity to progress its recovery in 2021 and Scotland’s attractions will still be in a difficult position in 2022.

“Whilst we of course welcome additional short-term rates relief for those members who will be able to benefit from it, it is much more than just short-term support that our sector is in need of.  Data we have presented to the Scottish Government shows that many attractions are in survival mode at the moment as they battle to make it through the winter with barely any cash reserves. Recovery is still a long way off and our sector certainly won’t be back on its feet by June 2022.

“There is no doubt that more action is needed to sustain our sector and assist its recovery, and we need both the Scottish and UK Governments to recognise that greater support measures are required than those currently on the table. ASVA will continue to work closely alongside other associations and industry groups to inform and influence policy makers about the status of our sector and the support that’s required to enable the industry to not simply scrape through another season, but to build back better and meet our collective ambition of being world leaders in 21st century tourism.”

The latest ASVA Visitor Attractions Barometer report – for October 2021 – is now available to view in the Members Area of this site (see top right of the screen).

This latest report provides us with further evidence of how the industry is faring since Scotland moved ‘beyond level 0’ in August. It is very clear that, despite the fact most restrictions on visitor numbers and travel have been lifted, there has yet to be a wholescale recovery of the attractions sector. 

There are a number of factors which would help explain why this is the case. Firstly, many attracions continue to operate with covid mitigating measures which do limit visitor numbers, despite the fact that they are not mandated to do so by law. In our sector wide survey in September, two thirds of the sector indicated that they are still operating with measures such as timed entry and physical distancing, to further reassure the public, and indeed staff, about their safety when on-site.  We also know that, although it is getting better, consumer confidence regarding visiting indoor attractions in particular is still relatively low. On top of this, we have yet to see the return of international visitors in any significant numbers, and indeed current predictions are that we will not see these visitors return in significant numbers for some time to come.

As a result, the overall picture for October was very similar to that reported on in September. Overall visitor numbers across ASVA member attractions were down 39.2% on pre-covid levels in 2019, a slight upturn of 3% on last month. The year to date figure sees the sector down 65.6% on 2019, further emphasising the point that 2021 is still very much a year of survival, not recovery, for our sector.   Of course, as was observed in September, there are pockets of the sector where things are looking considerably better. Those operating in outdoor environments have, as would be expected, seen visitor numbers at closer to pre-pandemic levels than those who primarily operate in the indoor environment, although for the most part even in outdoor environments these numbers are between 20%-35% down on 2019.

The data from this month confirms that our sector is yet to recover from the impacts of the pandemic. This data will be used by ASVA to ensure that the Scottish Government and other key stakeholders are fully aware of the challenging conditions we continue to operate under as we enter the traditionally quiet winter period.  

As another difficult year for many of us draws to the close, ASVA has been approached by a number of members to discuss the sector’s plans and intentions for 2022, with members enquiring about others’ plans regarding continuing COVID protocols, pricing plans, opening hours, investment priorities etc.

With this in mind, we would be very grateful if all attraction members would take the time to complete this very quick survey. The survey will give ASVA a clear indication of our members’ intentions as things currently stand. Once the survey results have been analysed, we plan to share these across our membership to help you with your own decision-making processes.

The survey is in a multiple-choice format, all responses are anonymous and it should only take 2-3 minutes to complete. We’d like to thank you in advance for your co-operation and look forward to sharing the overall results with you after the survey closes on Monday, 13 December.

You can complete the survey now by clicking here.

During ASVA’s Annual General Meeting – which was held via Zoom on Monday, 29 November – nominations were voted on for new Members of the Board of ASVA.

The resignation of Bruce Ritchie, Katie Waugh, Kat Brogan and Anne Kinnes (all of whom were thanked by our Chair Susan Morrison for their contributions to ASVA’s Board) had resulted in four Director positions becoming available. Our new Directors, whose appointments were confirmed during the AGM, are:

Barbara Smith – Managing Director, Scotland Brand Homes, Diageo

Pauline Young – Managing Director, Mackintosh at the Willow

Jillian Schofield – Marketing Team Lead, Falkirk Leisure Community Trust

Dr Victoria Hollows – CEO, Renfrewshire Leisure

In addition, during the meeting, it was confirmed that Sally Rae, of ASVA trade member Eden Scott Recruitment, will continue as a Board member representing our trade members for a second three-year term.

Following the official business of the AGM, our CEO Gordon Morrison provided an update on ASVA’s activities over the past year, plans for 2022, and our new five-year strategy, including our new Vision, Mission and Values. (Our five-year strategic plan is available in the Members Area of our website, under the Management Information section.

VisitScotland’s new Director of Industry & Destination Development, Rob Dickson, also addressed AGM attendees on what 2022 holds for the Scottish tourism industry, highlighting the national tourism organisation’s key priorities for the year ahead.

ASVA has received confirmation from the Scottish Government that certain types of visitor attraction are eligible for the Coronavirus Business Ventilation Fund, despite attractions not be specifically listed on the list of eligible sectors.

To determine eligibility, interested businesses are required to complete an online self-assessment form. Once completed a recommendation will be given on whether a need to improve ventilation has been identified. If a need has been identified, the business will be invited to apply for funding. As a reminder, successful businesses can claim up to £2,500 per eligible premises to recover the costs of carrying out work to improve ventilation and air quality. 

For more details of the fund, including full criteria, please click here.

The latest ASVA Visitor Attractions Barometer report – for September 2021 – is now available to view in the Members Area of this site.

This report provides what is probably the closest we have to genuinely comparable visitor statistics between 2021 and 2019. We say this because September was the first full month since the pandemic first struck where attractions were not required by law to operate with restrictions that inhibited visitor numbers through closures or physical distancing measures.

Of course, this is not to say that attractions did not continue to operate with covid mitigation measures that limited numbers. We know from our sector-wide survey, conducted in September, that, in order to provide the reassurances that many visitors are looking for, more than 92% of attractions maintained some form of covid mitigating measures beyond those required by law, with almost two-thirds of attractions operating with either physical distancing or some other similar measures to limit the number of visitors on-site at any one time. We also did not see the return of international visitors in any significant numbers in September and there was undoubtedly still a considerable degree of caution amongst domestic visitors when it came to visiting indoor spaces.

As a result, whilst September provided conditions as close to pre – pandemic levels as we have yet seen, we have not seen a significant increase in visitor numbers for the month. Overall visitor numbers across ASVA member attractions were down 46.2% on pre-covid levels in 2019. As was observed in August, certain parts of the sector were able to demonstrate more of a recovery than others, with predominately outdoor attractions considerably outperforming their indoor counterparts. As an example, Wildlife/Animal Attractions were actually up by 8.4% on 2019 levels. Similarly, Outdoor/Nature attractions had a comparatively good month, only 9.1% down on 2019. For indoor attractions, although the picture is improving somewhat, the vast majority were still considerably down on pre-pandemic levels, with Historic Houses/Palaces down 56.4% and Castles/Forts reporting a decrease of 65.4% on 2019 levels.

As has been consistently reported throughout the year, it is very clear that there is yet to be a full-scale recovery for the attractions sector. Data from our barometer reports will continue to be used to ensure that the challenging conditions that many in our sector continue to operate under, are highlighted in the corridors of power.

40 speakers will bring fresh insights and inspiration to the EICC next week at Scotland’s Tourism Industry Conference – the first major industry conference to take place since the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020.

Organised and delivered jointly by the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA), HIT Scotland (Hospitality Industry Trust), and Scotland Food & Drink, the event on 24 & 25 November is themed around rebuilding tourism together. The two-day programme is designed to deliver knowledge, best practice and new insights, – focusing on areas such as sustainability and the industry journey towards Net Zero, traveller behaviour in a recovering economy, food tourism trends, emerging trends from a global perspective, the conditions necessary for recovery and growth, and creating memorable experiences – all of which will help build resilience to support Scotland’s tourism strategy vision that ‘Scotland will be the world leaders in 21st century tourism’.

This will be the biggest speaker line-up to date for a national industry conference; the event has drawn international industry experts and thought leaders such as travel journalist Simon Calder, Peter Martin – Founder and Executive Director Peach 2020, James Bulmer, CEO – Wonderland Restaurants, Hotelier of the Year – Sally Beck, and Bernard Donoghue, CEO – Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, to name just a few.

The theme of creating supportive policy is high on the agenda for the first day of the conference, with the Ministerial Address being delivered by Scottish Government Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism & Enterprise Ivan McKee MSP followed by what will be an informative and engaging panel discussion around the biggest issues and challenges to the recovery of the industry and what policies are needed to support and rebuild tourism. There will also be updates on some of the priority recovery activity underway, such as the Tourism Observatory, our journey to a greener recovery, and news on the development of the Outdoor Tourism Strategy.

The event’s packed programme has also been curated to inspire and energise delegates to find better, new, and innovative ways of doing things in the changed and challenging tourism landscape. Insights into overcoming obstacles to achieve greatness will be shared on day 1 by world record-breaking mountaineer and adventurer Mollie Hughes, and on day 2 we’ll hear about the creation of first-of-its-kind experience Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser from Walt Disney Imagineering Executive Producer & Creative Director Ann Morrow Johnson.

As we move from industry survival to recovery, to raise spirits and generate motivation and confidence Tree of Knowledge Owner & Director Gavin Oattes will focus on winning ways of entertaining, enlightening and educating audiences, and former SAS member John Davidson, one of the world’s most sought-after bodyguards John Davidson will highlight how resilience under pressure can be reached.

Scotland’s Tourism Industry Conference will end on a high with a celebration of the achievements of a group of HIT Scotland scholars who will be presented with certificates in recognition of their dedication and success in completing the Tourism and Hospitality Talent Development Programme, which launched earlier this year.

Speaking about the event, STA Chief Executive Marc Crothall said: “It has been an intensely challenging 20 months for Scotland’s tourism industry; many of our sectors and businesses remain in survival mode with a degree of uncertainty ahead, however the mood within the industry is upbeat, positive and one of resilience.  The number of delegates booked to attend the event, both at the EICC and online, reflects the level of desire to reconnect after such a difficult period and look towards rebuilding the industry together, with ambition and focus on developing a globally-recognised, sustainable tourism product. 

“The event has drawn a wide range of hugely exciting experts from many sectors of tourism within the UK and abroad, so delegates can look forward to taking home practical, innovative and new solutions to support the recovery and future growth of their businesses.”

ASVA CEO Gordon Morrison said: “This is a highly-anticipated and hugely significant conference for the tourism industry. We have an outstanding two-day programme with a stellar line-up of 40 specialist speakers, and we are excited to be bringing the whole tourism industry together to take very important steps in reconnecting, recharging and rebuilding.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming colleagues from across the country – whether in-person or virtually – to this major industry gathering. I’ve absolutely no doubt that delegates will find the entire event both highly relevant and incredibly valuable as we collectively continue to navigate our way through the COVID pandemic and begin the journey of not just rebuilding, but reimagining what our wonderful industry can deliver for Scotland in 2022 and beyond.”

Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism & Enterprise Ivan McKee MSP said: “Scotland’s tourism and hospitality industry is a key sector of the Scottish economy and I am looking forward to attending the first in-person conference hosted by the industry in two years. It’s been an incredibly difficult year for tourism and hospitality but it is important that we look towards a sustainable recovery. In recent years both the public and private sector have worked closely together to further our collective aims for Scottish tourism and we are keen to build on this relationship as we move forward.

“We all have a part to play and the conference will showcase some of the commitments being taken forward as part of the £25 million tourism recovery funding and how we can collectively ensure a strong and resilient future for Scottish tourism.”

Visitor attractions can take advantage of further opportunities to benefit from the VisitScotland Days Out Incentive Fund – the £4 million Scottish Government-funded initiative created specifically to support our sector.

When the Fund opened originally, the ‘window’ to apply was very limited. Recognising that as a result, some attractions missed out on the chance to submit an application, Phase 2 of the Days Out Incentive Fund opened on Monday, 8 November.

The deadline for applications is Tuesday, 30 November and all eligible attractions across Scotland that haven’t already taken advantage of the funding on offer are encouraged not to miss out on this new opportunity. Information on Phase 2 and details of how to apply can be found here.

Through the Days Out Incentive Fund, subsidies are being made available to attractions, as well as outdoor, adventure and wildlife activities operators, to enable them to offer discounted ticket promotions to drive visitation during the off-season. Successful applicants to Phase 1 of Fund are currently promoting half-price ticket offers to attract visitors through the winter months.

To be eligible to apply for funding, attractions and activities open for business between now and February must have a listing on VisitScotland.com and be signed up to the ‘We’re Good to Go’ COVID-19 industry standard. Businesses have the flexibility to choose which days or weeks they wish to apply the discount within the promotional period, and the channels (online or offline) they use.

VisitScotland has launched a special marketing campaign to promote the Days Out discount offers to consumers. The Great Days Out in Scotland campaign, which runs to mid-February, is designed to encourage people to get out and about during the coming months to make the most of ticket promotions from participating attractions and activity operators. The campaign uses a multi-channel approach across visitscotland.com digital, social, radio & press to drive visits to attractions as part of a day out or a short break.

A dedicated toolkit is available to help successful applicants of Phases 1 and 2 of the Days Out Incentive Fund to promote the special ticket discounts they’re able to offer thanks to the subsidies. The toolkit and advice can be accessed via the visitscotland.org page How Your Business Can Promote the Great Days Out in Scotland campaign, which can be accessed here.

We are pleased to invite all ASVA members to attend our Annual General Meeting, which will take place on Monday, 29 November, at 10am.

This year’s AGM will be held virtually, via Zoom. Members can register by clicking here.

The agenda for the meeting can be found at this link.

The AGM Minutes referred to in item 2 of the agenda can be found in the Members’ Area of our website. Please click on ‘ASVA Management Information’, followed by ‘ASVA Organisational Information’ to access the Minutes. The Financial Statements noted in item 3 can also be found in the ‘ASVA Management Information’ section of our website Members’ Area, under ‘Annual Accounts’.

Members who would like any items or questions raised in agenda item 5, ‘Any Other Business’, are asked to email these to info@asva.co.uk by 5pm on Monday, 22 November.

At the conclusion of the formal business of the AGM, our CEO Gordon Morrison will speak about ASVA’s activities over the past year and outline our plans for 2022 – including introducing members to our new Vision and Mission Statements as part of our new five-year Strategy for the organisation.

We are also delighted that VisitScotland’s new Director of Industry & Destination Development, Rob Dickson, will attend our AGM to talk to our Members on what 2022 holds for the country’s tourism industry and outline the priorities for VisitScotland.

We hope that as many ASVA members will be able to join us (virtually) for our AGM on Monday, 29 November.