High Level Summary of Statistics: Key Trends for Scotland 2006

7. Tourism, Culture and Sport

Tourism

Expenditure and visits

Tourism is one of Scotland's largest business sectors. It is an important element in the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Scotland, from major cities to rural areas many of which depend on the industry for jobs and infrastructure.

Tourism is worth £4.4 billion per annum to the Scottish economy (based on figures for 2003). In 2003, over 18 million tourists took overnight trips to Scotland.

Source: VisitScotland (United Kingdom Tourism Monitor and International Passenger Surveys (1995-2003))

Publication
Scottish Tourism: The Next Decade - A Tourism Framework for Change sets out broadly the things the industry will need to do to keep Scottish tourism growing sustainably in that changing market. (Published 2006)

Web links
Historic Scotland safeguards the nation's built heritage and promotes it's understanding and enjoyment on behalf of Scottish Ministers.
Historic Scotland

VisitScotland is the principal agency for the promotion and development of Scotland's tourism industry
Visit Scotland

Overseas Visitors

Information on the number of visitors from overseas is captured by the International Passenger Survey ( IPS).

The latest provisional figures released from the IPS for 2005, show an increase of 31% in the total number of visits to Scotland by overseas residents compared to the period January to December 2004. In comparison, overseas visits to the UK rose by 8%.

These figures show that the number of visits to Scotland from Europe rose by 60% compared to January-December 2004. The figures show a slight decrease of 2%, but a slight increase of 4%, in the number of visits from North America and 'Other Countries' respectively, over the comparable period.

However it should be noted that these figures come with an important caveat. Prestwick airport was introduced into the IPS sample at the beginning of 2005 and so figures for 2005 include an estimate of the number of visitors who arrived in Scotland via Prestwick. Care should be exercised when comparing the results from 2005 with those published from previous years. (Source: International Passenger Survey, Office for National Statistics ( ONS) and VisitScotland)

Web link
Transport Travel and Tourism Table15 Office for National Statistics (Published 2005)

Domestic Visitors

In terms of domestic visitors, the United Kingdom Tourism Survey ( UKTS) measures the volume and value of tourism trips taken by residents in the UK. In 2003, around 16.5 million tourists took overnight trips to Scotland and the annual expenditure was about £3.6 billion. In 2002, tourism supported around 9% of all employment.

Following an extensive review of tourism data, the UKTS has moved to a new methodology for measuring the volume and value of domestic overnight trips from May 2005. The 2005 results are likely to be available in late summer 2006.

Web link
Tourism in Scotland 2003

Accommodation Occupancy and Visitor Attractions

Information from Visit Scotland shows that rising accommodation occupancy and visitor attraction figures point to strong performance. The Scottish average room occupancy figure for hotels recorded in February 2006 (54%) shows a 4 percentage point increase on the rate achieved for the same month last year (50%). In terms of visitor attractions, an overall increase in visits of 2.8% was experienced when 2005 data is compared with 2004 data.

Quality Assurance

High quality in every aspect of Scottish tourism is vital and it is important that the expectations of our visitors are fulfilled during their visits to Scotland.

Every tourism and related business - including those operated by the public and voluntary sectors - will be strongly encouraged to be come part of VisitScotland's Quality Assurance schemes, where they will be supported in raising standards.

Marketing

Evaluation of marketing effectiveness is measured by VisitScotland:

i) The UK Direct Marketing Campaign evaluation, looking at direct mail marketing activity and its estimated return, showed that major campaigns running during 2004 raised a return on investment figure of £32 for every £1 spent.

ii) Visit Scotland International Marketing Campaigns Evaluation, looking at the return on marketing spend, showed that the overall return on investment for France, Germany and Sweden in 2004 was £23 for every £1 spent.

Promotion of Scotland

EventScotland is Scotland's dedicated national events agency, responsible for attracting, creating and developing sporting and cultural events throughout the country. Established in 2003, EventScotland co-ordinates the delivery of the Major Events Strategy, published in November 2002 by the Scottish Executive. EventScotland's vision is to enhance Scotland's international profile as one of the world's foremost events destinations by 2015, increasing visitor numbers to Scotland and maximising all tourism related business for the continued development of the Scottish economy.

EventScotland's primary objective focuses on delivering international events to Scotland and the International Events Programme has been developed to support and attract those events which will generate significant international media coverage and/or create significant economic impact for Scotland.

Event tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. EventScotland channels all its efforts towards ensuring Scotland remains one of the premier events destinations in the world.

Examples of events supported/secured by EventScotland include:

The Open Golf Championship
Heineken Cup Final 2005
Davis Cup 2006
Sudirman Cup - Badminton World Team Championships 2007
Ryder Cup 2014
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Visual Art
Night Afore (part of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations)

Web link
Event Scotland

Golf Tourism

There are over 540 golf courses in Scotland and 5 of the 8 Open Championship venues are Scottish. Participation in golf in Scotland runs at twice the UK average.

VisitScotland continue to promote the Scottish golf product throughout the world. Golf Tourism is worth in the region of £300m to the Scottish economy. Spending by overseas visitors is estimated at £66m with £46m of this by US visitors (2002 figures).

On average, golfers spend twice that of other visitors to Scotland and for every £1 spent of a green fee, a further £5 is spent elsewhere in the Scottish economy.

Culture

Participation and Attendance

The Scottish Arts Council's latest 2004 survey on arts participation and attendance in Scotland, surveyed almost 3,000 adults. Key findings were that the majority of the population (75%) had attended an arts or cultural activity in the past year, and around two-fifths (39%) would consider attending an arts or cultural activity that they have never been to before, indicating potential demand. Two thirds (67%) of adults in Scotland had participated in some type of art or cultural activity in the past year, the most popular being reading books. About half (49%) of Scots adults indicated that they were 'very or quite' interested in arts and cultural events generally, a slightly higher percentage than recorded in the 2001 (45%) and 1998 (44%) surveys. Please note that the attendance and participation data are not strictly comparable to similar data collected in previous years due to a change in the definition used.

Other sources shows that:

• There were 1.4 million visits to the National Museums of Scotland in 2004/05, higher than any of the figures since 2000/01
• There were 1.2 million visits to the National Galleries of Scotland in 2003/04, higher than any of the previous years since 1999/00
• The number of readers at the National Library of Scotland was around 84,000 in 2003/04, showing a slight increase since 2001/02
• Based on the Scottish Arts Council's Core Funded Organisations audit, data recorded for total participation in cultural activities showed 8.23m in 2003/04 (compared to 4.67m in 2000/01, 5.46m in 2001-02 and 5.44m in 2002/03)
• There were over 530,000 attendances at Scottish Screen Regional Film Theatres in 2004/05, broadly similar to the previous years since 2001/02

Web link
Scottish Arts Council Taking Part Volume 1 - main report Scottish Arts Council (Published 2005)

Creative Industries

Estimates of employment (excluding self-employed) in the creative industries in Scotland has been increasing year on year to 2001, with a decrease in 2002, followed by an increase in 2003 when the creative industries employed just over 55,000 people in Scotland. The software and computer services sector contributes more employees (15,800) to the total than any other sectors.

Creative industries generated £5.4 billion of turnover in Scotland in 2003, an increase of over 4% since 2002. Gross value added increased by 9% to £3.3 billion over the same period. (Gross value added represents the income generated by businesses out of which is paid wages and salaries, the cost of capital investment, and financial charges, before arriving at a figure for profit).

Source: Annual Business Inquiry
1. Using SIC codes to estimate employer jobs in advertising, architecture, video film & photography, music and the visual and performing arts, publishing, software & computer services, radio & tv, arts/antiques trade, and designer fashion.

Source: Annual Business Inquiry

Language

For the first time in 2005, information was collected as part of the pupil census on the extent of Gaelic medium education in Scotland. Results from the Scottish Executive annual Pupil Census carried out in September 2005 show that (in publicly funded schools) there were 2,048 primary school pupils receiving at least some of the curriculum through Gaelic medium education. A further 160 primary school pupils were being taught Gaelic through the medium of Gaelic and a further 2,924 were being taught Gaelic as a learner.

There were 433 secondary school pupils receiving at least some of the curriculum through Gaelic medium education. A further 1,292 secondary school pupils were being taught Gaelic through the medium of Gaelic and a further 2,095 were being taught Gaelic as a learner.

The number of school entries in 2004/05 for Higher grade Gaelic (learners) was 103, the same as last year. The number of school entries in 2004/2005 for Higher grade Gaidhlig was 102, slightly higher than the preceding two years.

Publication
Pupils in Scotland, 2005 (Published 2005)

Public Libraries

Public library services in Scotland are entirely the responsibility of local authorities which have a statutory duty to secure the provision of adequate library facilities for all persons resident in their area. Currently there are some 545 public libraries in Scotland, and a further 82 mobile libraries, which serve rural areas.

According to Audit Scotland, the number of borrowers from public libraries in 2003-04 remained steady at just under 1.2 million people, for the 28 councils providing reliable information. Across Scotland, the percentage of the resident population borrowing from public libraries was 24.3%, almost the same as the previous year. The total number of items borrowed fell by over 1.5 million items (4.7%) to 32.5 million items. Overall, the average number of issues per borrower was 27.2, continuing the decline over the last six years.

The introduction of learning centres and learning access points has been phased across Scotland, so that some councils have had these facilities for longer than others. Across Scotland the number of users, for the 27 councils providing reliable information, was just over 287,000, about 7.2% of the population. Each of them used the service an average of 8.3 times, a total of 2.4 million occasions.

Publication
Cultural & community services Performance Indicators 2003/2004 Audit Scotland (Published 2005)

Sport

Strategy for Sport

Sport has the potential to improve people's quality of life and the Executive is committed to widening access to and encouraging people to take part in sporting activities at all levels. There are a number of strategies and programmes in place aimed at increasing participation in sport at all levels and in developing and realising potential. They also address the importance of keeping physically active and the wider benefits that this and participating in sport can bring.

Sport 21 2003-2007, the National Strategy for Sport in Scotland, is founded on 3 visions and sets out the key challenge for 2020 and 11 targets for 2007 and beyond. The National and Regional Facilities Strategy was launched by the Executive in March 2003. The National Physical Activity Strategy aims at increasing physical activity in the home, school, community and workplace. Sports Scotland is the national agency for promoting and developing sport in Scotland.

Web links
National Strategy for Sport in Scotland
National and Regional Facilities Strategy

Publication
National Physical Activity Strategy (Published 2005)

Sport Participation

Sportscotland survey measure extent of participation in sport in Scotland, with results from the most recent large-scale survey due to be reported on this year. The Executive is committed to encouraging participation in sports, but recent trends show a slight decline in 2000/02 compared with the previous two years. Adult participation rates in sports are higher for males (67%) than females (58%), although the gap has reduced over the last 15 years. Participation rates decline with age, and are generally lower for people in the social class DE.

Summary results which are available for 2002-2004 show that,

Source: sportscotland

Publication
Sports Participation in Scotland 2001 Sport Scotland (Published 2002)

Web link
sportscotland

Excellence

As part of Scotland's national strategy for sport, the target is to have 250 medallists on the world stage by 2007. The following table shows the number of Scottish medallists on the world stage between April 2003 and January 2005:

	Number of medallists on the world stage since April 2003
by December 2003	32
by August 2004	135
by January 2005	151

Source: sportscotland

Facilities

Sports Scotland figures show that there are more than 12,000 'built' sports facilities in Scotland which includes almost 6,000 pitches, more than 2,000 tennis courts and over 1,000 bowling greens. In addition there are around 3,600 countryside sports facilities such as cycle paths, angling areas and riding schools.

• In 2005, 95% of the Scottish population live within 20 minutes, by car, of a sports hall at 420 locations.
• In 2005, 65% of the Scottish population live within 20 minutes, by foot, of a sports hall at these locations
• An estimated 60% of Scottish sports facilities are local authority owned, while 20% are owned by sports clubs

Pitches

Scotland's total stock of sports pitches is an estimated 5,900, at December 2005.

From June 1996 to 31 March 2005, there were:

Source: Sportscotland Playing Field Monitoring Report (May 2004)

Physical Activity

Adults - key summary findings from the Scottish Health Survey 2003 for the adult population include the following:

• The proportion of the population participating in physical activity, for at least 15 minutes in the last four weeks, increased from 80% in 1998 to 83% in 2003 in men, and from 80% to 82% in women aged 16-74. These increases were due to a higher prevalence of walking and sports and exercise.
• The proportions of men and women aged 16-74 meeting the physical activity recommendations (30 minutes of at least moderate exercise on most days of the week) increased significantly from 41% in 1998 to 44% in 2003 in men, and from 30% in 1998 to 33% in 2003 in women. Increases in physical activity participation were particularly marked for men and women aged 55-74.
• The proportion of men with high activity levels decreased markedly with age from 59% among men aged 16-24, to 13% among men aged 75 and over.
• The proportion of women with high activity levels remained stable between the ages of 16 and 54 (35-40%) and decreased thereafter to 6% among women aged 75 and over.

Children - key summary findings from the Scottish Health Survey 2003 for children include the following:

• 74% of boys and 63% of girls aged 2-15 participated in physical activity for 60 minutes or more on 7 days a week (the level of activity currently recommended for children). The Scottish Executive's long-term target is for 80% of children to meet the recommendations.
• A further 12% of boys and 18% of girls participated for at least 30 minutes on 7 days (which is the recommended target for children who are currently inactive).
• Overall activity levels declined with age among girls (but not among boys) after the age of 8-10. By age 13-15, only 41% of girls did at least 60 minutes' physical activity on 7 days. In contrast, the percentage of 13-15 year-old boys who did so remained high at 68%.
• Boys' activity levels did not vary to any great extent by socio-demographic factors. In contrast, there was a tendency for girls' activity levels to increase as household income decreased, and as area deprivation increased.

Publication
Scottish Health Survey 2003 (Published 2005)

Physical Education

Sport 21 2003-2007 includes a target: 'To make progress towards all school children taking part in at least two hours of high quality physical education classes a week'.

In order to provide a baseline assessment of the starting position from which progress towards this target can be measured, a survey of taught physical education provision in the 2004/05 school year was undertaken. The key messages are that:

Primary Schools:

• On average, primary schools allocate 1 hour and 10 minutes of the weekly curriculum to physical education.
• The vast majority of primary school pupils (93%) have provision within their curriculum for at least 45 minutes of taught physical education.
• Just over two thirds (69%) of primary school pupils have provision for 1 hour of taught physical education within their curriculum.
• Just under a third (30%) of primary school pupils have provision for 90 minutes of taught physical education, with one in twenty (5%) primary school pupils currently receiving the 2 hour aspiration.

It should be noted that ad hoc activities within primary schools such as health week, sports days and cycling proficiency are not included in these figures as these do not currently form part of the standard (curriculum) school week. These activities, although not strictly physical education, are seen by many schools as an important part of a child's overall physical activity at school.

Secondary Schools (S1 - S4):

• On average, secondary schools allocate 1 hour and 40 minutes of the weekly curriculum to physical education.
• Almost all (99.5% ) S1 to S4 pupils have provision in their curriculum for at least 45 minutes of taught physical education. 87% are provided 1 hour per week.
• Almost three quarters (72%) of S1 to S4 pupils have provision in their curriculum for at least 90 minutes of taught physical education.
• 7% of secondary school pupils are currently provided the 2 hour aspiration.

Secondary Schools (S5 - S6):

• Non National Qualification physical education drops off significantly for S5 and S6.
• Just under a third (30%) of S5 pupils are provided 45 minutes or more of taught physical education in their curriculum, falling to around 1 in 8 (12%) in S6.

Publication
Progress towards the recommendations of the Physical Education Review Group (Published January 2006)

Golf

Clubgolf, the Scottish national junior golf strategy which was launched in 2003, has been developed to take forward the Scottish Executive's commitment to introduce every nine year old child in Scotland to the game by 2009.

During the clubgolf pilot phase in 2004, the number of juniors playing golf within clubs in Scotland grew by over 4%.

Since its launch in February 2005, clubgolf's introductory game, firstclubgolf has exceeded its targets for participation by more than 20% with 12,226 nine year olds experiencing firstclubgolf (target figure was 10,000). Just under 5,000 of these children, around 40%, moved on to Stage 1 coaching at their local clubs (estimate was for 10-20% moving to the golf club).