This month's Business Bulletin focused around the theme of Tourism and Hospitality. Our Chief Executive Russell Borthwick sat down with Chris Foy, Chief Executive of VisitAberdeenshire for an exclusive interview.
RB: Let’s start with the incredible headline that the visitor economy delivered a £1.1billion economic impact in the North-east last year. Beating the target we set out to achieve in 2017! We’re not only seeing a strong recovery from the pandemic, but also significant growth from 2019. What lies behind the story?
CF: This is a burgeoning, vibrant sector that is making a difference to lives and livelihoods in the North-east from Aberdeen to Alford and from St Cyrus to Sandend. This demonstrates the important role of tourism within the Regional Economic Strategy, and validation that ours is the place where Scottish tourism is going to grow.
The strategy is now paying dividends in the form of new jobs and business growth helping to transform the region's economy. This has been delivered by our team, supported by a range of partners and powered by investment in VisitAberdeenshire’s work by Opportunity North East and our local authorities. Investment that is now demonstrating a handsome return.
But at the heart of this story is the resilience, ingenuity and vision of the tourism and hospitality businesses here; collectively employing more than 11,000 people in jobs that fit with lifestyles and open up new career prospects as the North-east economy continues to diversify.
At VisitAberdeenshire have been banging the drum for the North-east since before the pandemic, we kept the lights on during those dark times, then maintained a consistent message that challenged long held perceptions of Aberdeen and its magnificent hinterlands and is now delivering substantial results.
RB: What are the ingredients that make up a successful visitor destination?
CF: That’s easy. Three Cs. Cost, connectivity, and compelling experiences.
RB: Ok so how are we, as a region, doing on these fronts?
CF: Tour operators and conference organisers are now realising that this is the part of Scotland where they can do business. The very basics of securing room allocations at a rate where there is a viable margin means that the North-east is where Scottish tourism will grow. Average rates in Aberdeen are currently around £20 lower than in Glasgow which makes us highly competitive. Independent travellers are realising that too, and it is no further, and often much quicker to drive to the East coast than the west.
There is certainly more headroom on connectivity, both in travel time and frequency.
At the moment Aberdeen has a strong presence on departure boards in London airports, and in regional hotspots which makes a lot of difference to both leisure and conference travel. A game changer would be a regular connection from a highly concentrated population area in Germany.
We all have our anecdotes of rail delays between Aberdeen and somewhere in the central belt or beyond but casting my mind back to being stranded outside Clapham Junction, Bristol Parkway, and even Zurich Hauptbahnhof of all places reminds me that train troubles are not a uniquely North-east of Scotland challenge.
We have more and more innovative visitor experiences that meet demand, who are also now telling their story in a compelling way. Along with Opportunity North East we have been running a growth programme for tourism businesses since 2018, with over 50 local firms from across the North-east so far benefiting for professional advice and mentoring.
RB: This is a great story. Can you tell our readers some of the companies that have benefited?
CF: Of course. A free plug for… Dalriada, Twin Peakes fly fishing, Castleton Farm, Braemar Highland Games Pavilion and Aberdeenshire Sheepdogs to name just a few.
RB: What will get in the way of the great progress we have seen?
CF: The high cost of doing businesses not only puts some operators at risk, but it can stifle innovation among others.
Adapting to and adopting to new legislation remains a big challenge- something which we know the Chamber has been highlighting.
And access options. Rail and air services need to consolidate and we need to see growth of key routes. However, the majority of our visitors still come by car, and looking ahead, there is some catching up to do with the Scottish and UK average on EV charging points if this is to remain a preferred and viable form of travel.
RB: And on the topic of legislation what about the prospect of the Visitor Levy? Something with which anyone who travels to cities in the UK and further afield will be familiar with.
CF: Legislation has now passed stage 3 at Holyrood, but it is still early days. Three key components are that any levy should be easy to understand - and affordable - for the visitor. Simple to implement for a wide range of accommodation businesses (and local authorities), and effective in its hypothecation that the funds raised will be used to directly support local visitor economies across Scotland.
This has been well precedented in Manchester over the past year where £2.8million has been raised, and re-invested in tourism marketing, bidding for conventions as well as funding public events and maintenance of key touch points for visitors within the public realm.
Chris Foy, Chief Executive of VisitAberdeenshire
RB: So how has VisitAberdeenshire built on the positives and overcome the challenges?
CF: We operate in a highly competitive market for the visitor pound, euro, dollar or krone. And historically we have not been the most front of mind destination in the UK. So we’ve had to take some bold moves to get the North-east on the radar.
To challenge perceptions, often only seeing is believing. We have secured major tourism conventions, hosted travel writers and tour operators, cruise companies and golf operators, invested in great photography and video. As you know Russell - because you were there - we were the first destination in the UK, if not further afield, to host a reception in London for the national travel media after the pandemic, ensuring that Aberdeenshire was top of the list for travel articles and tv programmes.
We’ve delivered compelling and innovative marketing campaigns, partnering with other brands like Loganair and Mackie’s of Scotland like the current “Destination Delicious” promotion on screens, and in supermarket freezers across the UK. And media partnerships to get Aberdeenshire top of mind among Adventure enthusiasts.
Crucially we evaluate all of this and our own channel promotions alone - by which I mean our e-marketing, website and social media - has put over £3.5million into the local economy. Our promotion last autumn with Caledonian Sleeper contributed another £1/2 million.
RB: So what are VisitAberdeenshire's priorities for the year ahead? Or put another way, where next, why and how…
CF: This summer we will set our targets for growth for the sector as a whole through to 2029/30, as well as some more nuanced targets around length of stay and intention to visit.
Meantime, while the overall picture is positive, there are notable troughs outside of the peak season that we can help to address.
While we certainly benefit from the endless daylight in summer, Winter can also be a wonderful time this far north. There is a stellar opportunity to play to our natural and creative strengths that meet customer demand and market trends. Dark Skies in our rural spots, , festivals, shows, nights out in the city. Our new Northern Nights campaign will launch in the autumn as a banner under which our winter offer can be promoted to a wider audience. In the meantime we’re working with businesses across the region to help develop dark sky experiences. As someone who grew up under the orange glow of the west London sky… it is a difference that I recognise.
On business events, we’ve a strong Team Aberdeen in place all playing to remits and strengths. Part of my team, the Aberdeen Convention Bureau, promotes our world class venue P&J Live and other venues across the region. Universities are the crucial third wheel to attract the great minds for association conferences.
Add in the role of the Chamber, the wider business community, travel partners and Aberdeen becomes a very joined up proposition for conference organisers to consider. We’re on a roll this year with a strong pipeline of major wins aligned to the key growth sectors in the regional economic strategy.
We need to maximise the value of cruise visits. Not just on the day, but with an eye to the future. Our smiling, uniformed Welcome volunteers help to create the very best impression of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, increasing the probability of return visits among our cruise guests.
Using our own channels to promote events and festivals, reasons to be here now, not next year will be an important part of our activity over the next few weeks. Events like the Legends Tour at Trump International, Nuart, Portsoy Boat Festival and our own Provenance Festival in September celebrating the incredible array of local food and drink demonstrate the diversity of the offer we have. And these things should encourage residents to become tourists in their own back yard.
Working with Opportunity North East on the North-east Adventure Tourism Project, we have a new marketing strategy and dynamic video to enhance the profile of the region among adventure seekers and help this crucial sector to grow.
Building on the effective collaboration with strategically important partners. Our funders, and future sponsors will be key to this, but it is also important that we keep the profile of VisitAberdeenshire and the region high among bodies like VisitScotland and VisitBritain, so that a consistent depiction of the region goes out to all of our audiences, wherever they may be in the world.
RB: Not much going on then! So finally what’s critical to the continued future success of VisitAberdeenshire and the region’s visitor economy?
CF: We know now that tourism is growing at pace, but we cannot afford to stand still. As a destination, we are just scratching the surface of what is possible.
Without funding, we cannot deliver the successful outcomes that have been our hallmark in recent years. We continue to benefit from public sector and private sector supporters who recognise the positive impact on the region’s economy from our work. That gives the North-east a competitive edge, demonstrating that tourism is one area of public sector funding that can actually deliver a quantifiable return on investment. So it is essential that we continue to demonstrate the added value we provide so that support for VisitAberdeenshire is continued to be recognised as a priority. This is particularly important if our local authorities take up the opportunity to implement the visitor levy. We will make a strong case for how the proceeds should be used to further develop and promote our tourism sector, learning from the success in Manchester and Salford.
Our primary private sector funder, Opportunity North East has been pioneering in its support for tourism and has been instrumental in the sector’s success to date. This is unprecedented in the UK and demonstrates how the private sector can drive positive change. We now need other companies to follow ONE’s trailblazing example and work with us to shape the future of the region’s economy. As I said earlier, sponsorship of our work is nothing new we just need to do more. Much more.
In 2024 we are taking this to another level with a corporate sponsorship programme that will enable businesses from within and outwith the tourism sector to be part of the success story that is VisitAberdeenshire and I’d be delighted to speak to any Chamber member that wants to know more.
Find out more about the place where Scottish Tourism is going to grow here.