Coastal Tourism Monitor A snapshot of performance of tourism businesses on England’s coast Results from Wave 5 School summer holidays in July and August 2017

Introduction The Coastal Tourism Monitor has been designed to provide a snapshot of the performance of tourism businesses on England’s coast. The research collects feedback on past performance and future prospects to give a national and regional overview. The research involves a telephone survey with a core sample of 400 tourism businesses who were interviewed three times during 2016 and twice in 2017. Fieldwork for this wave was conducted from 6 October - 3 November 2017, reviewing the school holidays in July and August. Businesses making up the core sample were interviewed to reflect the nature and distribution of tourism businesses around the English coast.

Business profile Business type Number of employees Business region The core sample of 400 included: 375 accommodation establishments including mix by region, establishment size and hotels / guest houses / B&B / self-catering / caravan and campsites. 25 visitor attractions including mix by region, attraction type, and size (measured by annual visitor admissions).

Business performance (during school holidays in July and August, compared to same period last year) Overall across coastal businesses Performance by business type and across regions For most businesses, performance was either the same or up compared with the same period last year. Caravan/campsites and those in the East of England were most likely to report improved performance.

Reasons for increase in performance (during school holidays in July and August, compared to same period last year) Staycation growth due to a weaker pound or security fears abroad was considered a significant reason for increased performance - a noticeable change from previous periods

Reasons for decrease in performance (during school holidays in July and August, compared to same period last year) General increase in tourism in the area Fewer people visiting the area and a general decline in tourism in the area were the main reasons attributed to decreased performance, with poor weather also a factor.

Business performance expectation for next 3 months, compared to same period last year Overall across coastal businesses Performance expectation by business type and across regions Businesses are not as confident about ongoing business performance as during the spring with the majority expecting business to be the same as last year

Key challenges affecting coastal businesses Are there key challenges affecting your business sector? What are these challenges? In terms of key challenges, unpredictable weather, the poor UK economic climate and local competition continue to be the main concerns.

Plans for the future In terms of plans for the future, which statement describes your attitude to your business? Businesses interviewed were at a variety of different stages in terms of business development.

Plans for the future Which of the following would help your business to grow? 45% of businesses felt that attracting more off peak visitors would help their business grow.

Visitor market Changes seen in visitor needs/profile? What are the changes in visitor profile? Comments from businesses I have noticed customers leave their booking until near the time. Bookings for in advance have decreased. They’re all expecting more for their money than before. Every single person wants WiFi now, absolutely everybody. The amount of time they’re spending away from home has changed, more people now want shorter breaks. As found in previous waves of the monitor, many businesses felt that visitors expected more for their money. A quarter said they were getting more visitors from overseas - a change which had not been noted previously.

Destination managers 13 destination managers were also surveyed during this period so that their thoughts could be compared with businesses. Fieldwork dates were 6 October - 3 November 2017, reviewing the school holidays in July and August.

Coastal Tourism Monitor Business performance compared to same period last year Expectations for next 3 months compared to same period last year Destination Managers were quite positive about business in the last quarter with 54% saying they thought it was the same as last year and 31% saying it was better. Their reasons were mainly better marketing of destination and investments made by public and private sectors starting to pay off. Destination Managers were positive about the forthcoming winter period with two thirds expecting business to be the same as last year and a further quarter expecting it to be better. In terms of key challenges affecting the industry, Destination Managers cited cost of using/competition from online agents, competition from overseas holidays, poor or unpredictable weather, the growth and under-regulation of AirBnB properties and the poor UK economic climate (less money in consumer pockets).

Coastal Tourism Monitor Key priorities for improvement to visitor economy Profile of visitors Whether experienced any changes in the profile of visitors? The most important priority for improvement to the economy was thought to be attracting more off-peak visitors. Destination Managers felt that the profile of their visitors now included more overseas, younger or affluent visitors. They also felt that visitors now had higher expectations and that there was they were now have more frequent but shorter breaks away.

For more information about the Coastal Tourism Monitor please contact: Jo Edom Academy Manager National Coastal Tourism Academy   t:   01202 962572 w: www.coastaltourismacademy.co.uk e:  jo.edom@coastaltourismacademy.co.uk