We’ve all read various analyses on future travel trends and predictions for the tourism industry in recent months, and the latest comes from VisitBritain and its Covid-19 Consumer Sentiment Tracker.
According to the tracker, Scotland is currently fourth place in desirability for visiting during the spring months and in equal second place alongside North West Yorkshire and the Humber for the public’s intention to visit in summer.
With uncertainty still surrounding foreign travel, it’s no surprise holidaymakers across the UK have both shown an interest and been encouraged to look closer to home for their next break.
This increased desire to stay local gives businesses the opportunity to maximise their bounce back, reaching a new audience who, pre-pandemic, would have likely taken themselves and their cash abroad.
Hospitality in Scotland has been back open, with restrictions, for a whole week now and thankfully we’ve seen lots of innovation and investment from businesses trying to maximise revenue opportunities. This has included countless new or expanded outdoor seating areas for pubs and bars, as currently alcohol can only be served outdoors.
Unfortunately a picnic bench on the pavement isn’t going to cut it though – consumers are looking for festival lighting, rain cover, heaters and blankets to contend with the unpredictable weather while they socialise.
Likewise hotels, looking ahead to the busy summer months, are investing time and money now to refurbish bedrooms, enhance food and beverage offerings or expand their self-catering options to ensure they pick up staycation business.
The latest insights shared by VisitScotland has noted travel trends including ‘personalisation’ and ‘premiumisation’, highlighting consumer desire for a superior, unique and bespoke product with a level of exclusivity – but all the while seeking value for money.
This, combined with interest in experience-led breaks, has sparked partnerships between hotel groups and visitor attractions or tour guides for nearby walking, cycling or even wild swimming and paddle-boarding locations.
It’s not enough to tick along and hope that people visit your newly refurbished hotel – businesses need to get creative to attract new customers.
It’s not just existing hospitality businesses who are diversifying either – land owners are getting in on the action and are looking at ways to capitalise on the staycation market with campsite licences.
I commented last week on the rise of ‘dirty camping’ and the mess novice campers were leaving behind them at some of Scotland’s most popular beauty spots.
Fed up Scottish farmers and land owners are now taking matters into their own hands to tackle the issue. NFU Scotland and Scottish Land and Estates have clubbed together, appealing to the Scottish Government for an extension to ‘permitted development rights’, which were relaxed during the 2020 lockdowns.
This relaxation of the rules means that land managers and farmers alike can use their land for non-agricultural purposes for a longer period of time – including repurposing land as temporary campsites.
The temporary campsites will not only help tackle the issue of dirty camping, which is fast becoming a national issue, I believe it’s a clever way for land owners to adjust and diversify their revenue streams to benefit from the current staycation trends.
Scotland is on the back foot with ‘permitted development rights’ however, with both England and Wales already having their extension granted for 2021.
Hopefully the appeal brought forward by NFU Scotland and Scottish Land and Estates is processed quickly, ensuring that temporary campsites across Scotland can compete within the UK tourist market for staycation trade.
Within the travel and tourism industry a more bespoke offering is arguably easier to achieve on a small scale, so the trend for ‘personalisation’ and ‘premiumisation’ plays right to the hands of small businesses and land owners.
Larger scale hotel and visitor operations have the experience to provide a high standard of customer service, but they need be alert to the prospect of diversifying and targeting these new more prominent markets and trends rather than simply resting on their laurels – otherwise they may lose out.
With confidence rising among Scotland’s tourism operators and a larger staycation market to tap into, it will be interesting to see just how this plays out over the coming months.
As the hospitality and retail trade switch their businesses on once again, more and more of us are getting ready to spend a glorious summer outdoors after several months of being cooped up inside.
However, one lucky person may be keen to stay indoors a little while longer as the company behind one of Scotland’s biggest exports has offered what could be a dream job for many – playing video games for a living.
Edinburgh based media colossus Rockstar North, renowned worldwide for creating video game franchises such as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, has announced that they’re looking for a full time professional video game tester.
The new role could pay up to £23,000 per year and would see the successful applicant join the ever-expanding Scottish gaming industry, as long as they had ‘competent gaming ability’ on their CV, according to the job listing.
Stealing virtual cars from virtual citizens aside, Scotland has been in the spotlight lately for its prowess in the UK video game scene. Over 425 Scottish businesses are currently operating in the sector, with 85 brand new developers setting up in 2020 alone – due to the increase in demand of people playing video games while in lockdown.
One of Scotland’s leading developers within the industry, 4J Studios, who are behind the popular game Minecraft, have seen this growing trend as a real opportunity to lay down building blocks of their own.
The group recently invested an undisclosed seven-figure sum into a promising Dundee independent studio, Stormcloud, hoping to further craft their way to cementing their place as one of Scotland’s biggest names in the sector.
Here’s hoping that as more of us head outside, this gaming boom continues to thrive, because with exciting new career paths and investment, we’re not quite game over just yet.
It Made Me Laugh
Balloon mishap
As restrictions ease, there’s never been a better time to round-up those gift vouchers and birthday funds you’ve been saving and get spending within local businesses. However, one woman in Glasgow’s birthday money was blown, quite literally, faster than most.
Celebrating her 37th birthday, Nikki Walker received a generous gift of £100, which she hoped to spend on a shopping spree trip to Loch Long. Unfortunately for Nikki, the helium-filled balloon that the money was tied to had other plans – floating out of the box and sailing off into the distant horizon.
Wishing for the money’s return was probably not quite what she had expected when blowing out the candles on her cake, but at least the poor lass has set up a GoFundMe page to try get her cash back.
It Made Me Weep
The loosening of lockdown restrictions has sprinkled an air of positivity across the majority of business sectors in the country and optimism seems to be on the rise for many industry leaders in Scotland.
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows as a KPMG report this past week revealed that scale-up and fast growing businesses have seen investment across Scotland slowdown in the first quarter of 2021.
It’s disappointing to see and these findings are a blow to the entrepreneurial sector, which had previously managed to buck the trend of an economic downfall during the past year of pandemic blues.
Here’s hoping the high confidence seen elsewhere can provide an uplifting impact on these small success stories across Scottish business and the second quarter brings with it further investment and growth.
