Impacts of tourism in Scarborough Borough

Volume and value estimates 2004

Scarborough Borough Council
“All together better”
Scarborough Borough Council

Estimates of the volume and value of tourism in Scarborough Borough 2004

1. Introduction

This document is intended to provide an estimate of the volume and value of tourism to the economy of Scarborough Borough in
2004. The aims of the calculation are to produce an estimate which is relatively simple to compile, transparent in its methodology
and as reliable as possible given the available data.

In simple terms the methodology consists of:

1. Accurately identify the volume of tourism accommodation available in the Borough including hotel and guest accommodation,
camping and caravan pitches and self-catering accommodation.

2. Surveying staying visitors to establish daily expenditure habits.

3. Surveying staying visitors to establish a realistic proportion of visitors staying with friends and family.

4. Calculating a total number of visitor nights in tourism accommodation using YTB occupancy survey data.

5. Estimating the total number of day visits and average expenditure based upon annual national day visits survey.

6. Multiplying number of visitor nights by average surveyed expenditure to establish the total value of staying visitors.

7. Multiplying the total number of visitor days by average expenditure per day to establish the total value of day visitors.
2. Accommodation Stock

In April 2004 the volume of the Borough's accommodation stock was surveyed by CBA Market Research who were commissioned by
the Yorkshire Tourist Board, as part of the Coastal Tourism Initiative.

The research methodology of this project was carried out in three distinct stages.

Stage 1 - Initial desk research

This comprised of building an initial database from the following sources.

- Local authority lists

- guides / directories (Where to stay, English Country Cottages etc)
- club / association handbooks eg, AA, Caravan Club, YHA handbook
- TIC lists
- Websites, both tourist and commercial
- Holiday brochures
- other sources including rates and environmental health records.

Stage 2 - Telephone key data verification

This stage comprised of telephone calls to proprietors of each establishment to collect key facts including the number of bedrooms
and bed spaces in the property and the quality rating if any.

The telephone survey would also ask respondents if they know of other establishments, which have recently opened or closed.
Stage 3 – Understanding the data

The next stage of this research was carried out by SBC and this was to interpret and understand the data that was supplied. One
important element of this was to identify the number of bed spaces represented by caravan pitches and camping pitches. These were
calculated as follows:

1 Static caravan pitch = 6 bed spaces

1 Mobile caravan pitch = 4 bed spaces
1 tent pitch = 2 bed spaces
1 pitch that might be used for either a mobile caravan or a tent = 3 bed spaces

Each entry was then coded to identify which Council ward the property is in and on this basis the geographical boundaries of Whitby,
Filey, Scarborough and the rural areas were identified.
The result of this research are shown in the following table:

Tourism bed spaces in Scarborough Borough 2004

Scarborough Whitby Filey Rural Totals

STEAM 99 SBC STEAM 99 SBC 03 STEAM SBC 04 STEAM99 SBC 04 STEAM99 SBC04
2004 99

Serviced 8,357 7,242 1,986 1,815 277 300 2116 1,533 12,736 10,890

self catering 1,064 1,352 182 3,011 5,609

caravan / camping 2,406 794 700 27,963 31,863
non-serviced 3,328 3,470 1,072 2,146 680 882 31,081 30,974 36,098 37,472

Total: 11685 10,712 3,058 3,961 907 1,182 33,197 32,507 48,834 48,362

This table contains the previous known estimates of bed stock compiled for Steam in 1999, and compares them with CBA’s results
from the 2004 survey. Overall the results are similar suggesting a common core methodology between the two sets of figures. Work
carried out by SBC’s planning department indicates that over the last five years the net effect of change of use planning applications
has been a small overall loss of hotel and guest bed spaces. This is compatible with the CBA research which shows losses of serviced
accommodation bed spaces and increases in non-serviced accommodation. Overall the total number bed spaces has declined by less
than 1% and this would indicate general stability within the Borough’s tourism market.
3. YTB Occupancy data

The next stage of this research was to get occupancy data from the Yorkshire Tourist Board survey. This gives a percentage of the
total number of tourism bedspaces occupied in any given month. In 2004 the average bed occupancy for serviced accommodation in
Scarborough Borough was 45%

In order to establish a realistic bed occupancy percentage for non-serviced accommodation comparisons have been made with
serviced accommodation room and bed occupancy. In this case a room occupancy figure of 58.4% results in a bed occupancy of
approximately 48% and therefore this figure has been used to calculate bednights in self catering accommodation. Camping and
caravan accommodation is monitored in terms of pitch occupancy, data for pitch occupancy is sketchy and therefore a conservative
estimate of 38% has been used in this calculation. This reflects a pitch occupancy of 46%.
4. Scarborough B.C. 2004 Visitor Survey

In 2004 SBC commissioned a survey of visitors to identify a wide range of preferences, activities and behaviour to begin to inform the
Borough’s next tourism strategy. Part of the information compiled was to assess average expenditure patterns among visitors and the
proportion of visitors staying with friends and relatives. The study surveyed 1073 staying leisure visitors to the Borough and took
place throughout the Borough between August and October 2004. The questionnaire used is appended to this report.

The survey found that the average expenditure is roughly £48.63. This figure included those visitors staying in hotels, who average
£70.17 per night and those staying with friends and relatives, £26.29. The following tables outline these findings in more detail.

Spend per night

All visitors All visitors

(per (per person)
group) £
£ (Base~840)
(Base~84
0)
Accommodation in the Borough 62.16 24.91
Eating & drinking (in cafes pubs, restaurants,
hotels etc.) 29.80 10.97
Shopping (including souvenirs, guidebooks,
clothes, sweets, drinks, food, other
purchases) 21.72 8.27
Entertainment (including admissions to
attractions, theatre/cinema tickets, guided
tours)
4.11 1.47
Travel & transport in the Borough (including
fuel, fares, car parking charges) 7.27 2.93
Other 0.27 0.08
Total 125.33 48.63
 Spend per night per person (£)

Hotels Other Self Static Touring Friends /

(Base Service caterin carava carava relatives
=293) d g n n (Base
(Base (Base (Base (Base =54)
=147) =169) =129) =94)
Accommodation 44.49 26.64 21.62 11.42 8.41 0.33
Eating & drinking 11.49 15.58 9.85 8.71 7.36 12.02
Shopping 9.96 8.60 7.11 6.38 7.85 9.13
Entertainment 1.87 1.35 1.47 1.51 0.89 1.07
Travel &
transport 2.34 3.15 2.56 3.24 3.84 3.70
Other 0.00 0.34 0.06 0.01 0.02 0.04
Total 70.17 55.65 42.67 31.26 28.37 26.29

The visitor survey also showed that 7% of all visitors were staying with friends and relatives a figure, which will of course not be
included in the occupancy survey.

The final volume and value calculation shows an anomaly between the survey data showing average daily expenditure and the
calculated average daily spend. This is because the high numbers of caravan users drags the average down when the figures are
calculated to include all visitors. By applying average expenditure by type of accommodation a more accurate final total is achieved
which shows an average expenditure per staying visitor per night of £40.35.
5. Day Visitors

According to the Countryside Agency’s Annual Day Visitor Survey 2003, over 5.2 billion leisure day trips were made from home in the
UK in 2002-3. People living in England took the vast majority of these trips (c. 4.5 bn). People living in Scotland (c. 456 million) made
more than twice as many trips as people living in Wales (c. 214 million).

The annual day visitor survey states that in 2003 approximately 21m day trips were made to the seaside and countryside in the
Yorkshire and Humber Region. 5 million of these were to the seaside, while 13 million were to the countryside and 3 million to the
woods / forest.

The Borough’s Staying Visitor Survey indicates that the main motivations for visiting the Borough are general sightseeing, walking and
visiting the beach. On this basis it would be reasonable to discount regional town / city visits from a Borough calculation as the vast
majority of these are likely to consist of visits to Leeds, York and the regions other larger cities.

On the basis of the Yorkshire Tourist Board’s accommodation stock estimates we can see that Scarborough Borough has very roughly
19% of all of the regions bedspaces, 48,362, of approximately 250,000 across the region. Using this figure as an indicator of
attractiveness, or market share we might assume that the Borough would receive some 19% of leisure day visits to the seaside and
countryside throughout the region as a whole. On this basis the Borough can be expected to receive some 3.99m day visits per
annum. A day visit here is defined as one that lasts more than three hours.

The day visitor survey also provides evidence of average expenditure per visitor per day. Within Yorkshire and Humberside the
average day visitor expenditure per day is £21.90. This figure is comparable with survey data of staying visitors to Scarborough
Borough who spend on average £23.72 per day excluding accommodation.

The impact of day visitors can therefore be calculated as follows:

3.99m visitors x £21.90 daily expenditure = £87,381,000.

6. Volume and Value of Tourism in Scarborough 2004 – estimates
Bed spaces Occupancy No of visitor days average spend per day Total
Hotel accommodation 2,579 45.0% 423,600 70.15 £29,715,540
Serviced Guest Accommodation 8,328 45.0% 1,367,874 55.66 £76,135,867
Self Catering Accommodation 5,609 48.0% 982,696 42.67 £41,931,638
Static caravans 16,308 38.0% 2,261,919 31.27 £70,730,207
Touring caravans and tents 15,538 38.0% 2,155,120 28.37 £61,140,754
VFR 541,274 26.29 £14,230,093
Staying visitor days 7,308,883 £293,884,099
Day visitors 3,990,000 21.90 £87,381,000
Total: 48,362 11,298,883 £381,265,099

Tourism value by activity

hotels other serviced s/c static caravan touring / tent VFR day visitors Total
Accommodation 18,845,964 36,440,163 21,245,886 25,831,115 18,124,556 178,620 120,666,304
Eating Out 4,867,164 21,311,476 9,679,556 19,701,314 15,861,683 6,506,114 36,959,000 114,886,307
Shopping 4,219,056 11,763,716 6,986,969 14,431,043 16,917,692 4,941,832 28,201,000 87,461,308
Entertainment 792,132 1,846,630 1,444,563 3,415,498 1,918,057 579,163 6,256,000 16,252,043
Travel 991,224 4,308,805 2,515,702 7,328,617 8,275,664 2,002,714 13,970,000 39,392,726
other 465,077 58,962 22,620 43,102 21,650 1,995,000 2,606,411
total 29,715,540 76,135,867 41,931,638 70,730,207 61,140,754 14,230,093 87,381,000 £381,265,099

Visitor numbers by accommodation

Jobs
Hotel 100,875
Guesthouse 390,821 Tourism in Scarborough Borough accounts for 7,453 direct jobs
Self catering 146,671 or 18% of the work force, making it the second most significant
Static caravan 383,376
Camping, touring caravan 336,737
sector of employment in the area.
VFR 110,464
Staying visitors 1,468,944
Day visitors 3,990,000
Total 5,458,944
7. Tourism Sectors

Business Tourism
The Yorkshire Tourist Board Occupancy Survey indicates that 8.1% of serviced accommodation bednights are business users. This
figure is consistent with research carried out for Scarborough B.C. in 2003 into Conference Tourism in the town and equates to
145,100 bed nights and accounts for some £17m of tourism expenditure annually or 4.4% of tourism overall.

Educational Tourism
Scarborough Borough has a number of language schools that teach english to overseas students on residential courses. In addition
the Hull University Campus at Scarborough attracts a number of overseas students and these can legitimately be considered
educational tourists. Visits by schools and marching bands from overseas also fall into this category.

By surveying local language schools, travel agencies and other educational establishments an estimate of educational tourism has
been calculated which indicates that this sector accounts for some £6.8m of tourist expenditure per annum or approximately 1.8%
of tourism overall.

Leisure Tourism
By far the largest sector of the tourism market in Scarborough Borough is derived from leisure tourism which accounts for 93.8% of
the gross value of tourism in the Borough..
Sources

Scarborough Borough Visitor Survey, December 2004 – TEAM

Scarborough Borough Accommodation Stock Review, June 2004 – CBA Associates

Annual Occupancy Survey 2004 – Yorkshire Tourist Board

Annual Business Survey 2004 – Yorkshire Futures

Annual Day Visits Survey 2003 – Countryside Agency