XX Commonwealth Games Visitor Study: Visitor Survey Results Report

1. Introduction

1.1 The XX Commonwealth Games Visitor Survey, undertaken by TNS, captured details on the characteristics and activities of a representative sample of 2,214 people (aged over 16) attending the XX Commonwealth Games and its cultural festival (referred to as the Games).

1.2 For the purposes of this report, the wider ‘Games’ has been split into two distinct categories, Glasgow 2014 and Festival 2014. Glasgow 2014 included ticketed and non-ticketed sporting events, some of which took place outside Glasgow (Strathclyde Country Park in North Lanarkshire, Barry Buddon Centre in Angus and the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh) and the official Opening and Closing ceremonies. Festival 2014 included the Opening and Closing Celebration events^[5], other activities taking place at Live Zones across Glasgow (including Glasgow Green and Kelvingrove Bandstand) and numerous other organised cultural events across the city including the Merchant City Festival.

1.3 The survey involved short interviews with people at a broad sample of the locations where Glasgow 2014 and Festival 2014 events were occurring, including numerous venues in Glasgow, Strathclyde Country Park, Barry Buddon Centre and the Royal Commonwealth Pool (see Annex B for a full list of locations).

1.4 At each of these locations respondents were selected on a random basis to ensure that the final survey sample was representative of those attending Glasgow 2014 and Festival 2014 events, with all visitors having an equal probability of inclusion in the survey. Within the interview, respondents provided details of the activities they had undertaken or were going to undertake over the course of the Games period, plus more general questions concerning their visit, cultural engagement, the quality of the experience and their demographics. Further details on the survey methods and definitions used are provided in Annex B. A copy of the questionnaire is provided in Annex A.

1.5 This report contains the main results from the Visitor Survey. Other reports and outputs from the XX Commonwealth Games Visitor Study, which this survey has, and will provide input to, include^[6]:

• The ‘Games Visitors’ section of the ‘XX Commonwealth Games Highlights Report’
• A 'XX Commonwealth Games Study: Festival 2014 & Merchant City Festival Visitor Survey Results Report' will be published alongside this report focusing on the visitor survey results amongst those attending Festival 2014, including Merchant City Festival
• A 'XX Commonwealth Games Study: Visitor Impact Report' will be published alongside this report containing estimates of the gross and net economic impact of visitors to the events

Note on the presentation of results in this report

1.6 In the sections which follow, all results are representative of visitors (labelled 'visitors', 'event visitors' or 'visitors who attended the Games') who attended the Glasgow 2014 and Festival 2014 events and activities between 23 July and 3 August (labelled ‘Games time’). Where survey sample sizes are sufficient to allow a robust analysis, results have been disaggregated and presented by the following defined visitor groups:

• All Visitors – those visitors who attended one or more Glasgow 2014 and/or Festival 2014 events – comprising the total sample of visitors who attended the Games
• Glasgow 2014 Visitors – those visitors attending any ticketed or non-ticketed sport event and/or the Opening and Closing ceremonies:
  • Glasgow 2014 Ticketed Sporting Event Visitors – those attending any Glasgow 2014 sporting events which required a ticket
  • Glasgow 2014 Non-ticketed Sporting Events Visitors – those attending a sporting event which did not require a ticket; that is, the marathon, cycling time trial or cycling road race
• Festival 2014 Visitors – those attending any ticketed or non-ticketed Festival 2014 events, including Opening and Closing Celebrations, Live Zone activities and Merchant City Festival

1.7 Results include visitors who attended Opening and Closing Ceremonies but due to sample size limitations findings are not presented separately for this group.

1.8 Results are also compared on the basis of whether or not visitors were on a day trip (referred to as ‘day visitors’) or a visit involving at least one night away from home (referred to as ‘overnight visitors’) and on the basis of place of residence.

1.9 The following sections provide a summary of the key insights emerging from the survey, further detailed survey results are provided in Annex A.

1.10 Finally, only statistically significant variations are highlighted in the commentary. See Annex B for details.