Most of those domestic visitors waited for the last moment to book, driven by weather forecasts and the hope of negotiating a discount. And they spent less than in previous years.
These are among the top-line findings of the end-of-season survey of Westcountry hotels and leisure businesses by sector specialists at accountants, Bishop Fleming.
Almost half the respondents (40%) reported little change in UK visitor bookings, but an increase in overseas visitors for the recent summer season. Only 4% of the Bishop Fleming survey respondents reported the predicted increase in domestic “staycation” visitors.
Analysis of those increased overseas bookings reveals a dominant role for Germany and other Euro-zone countries.
James Finnegan, head of Bishop Fleming’s Hotels & Leisure team: “Almost half of our respondents (45%) identified Germans as having made the biggest number of bookings, followed by France (20%), and the Netherlands (15%).
“Interestingly, the same number of our respondents (3%) listed Italy and Spain – the same number as those listing visitors from the USA. Japan and China were only listed by 2% of our respondents.
“It is clear that the Westcountry’s biggest and easiest overseas market is the ‘Euro-zone’, rather than the massively expensive markets in the USA and South East Asia”, said Mr Finnegan.
Commenting on the inbound tourism success in 2011, Exeter Airport’s managing director, Matt Roach said:
“We were pleased to play a part in welcoming thousands of Austrian and German tourists into the region this summer following the introduction of the new Flybe route from Dusseldorf and a series of six flights from Vienna and Salzburg with the airline Niki in conjunction with the tour operator GTA-SKY-WAYS. This is a great boost for the region and we hope to see a repeat of these in 2012.”
Meanwhile, the Bishop Fleming survey also reveals the business impact of this year’s holiday season.
With more than two-thirds (69%) reporting a big increase in last-minute bookings and more than half (56%) reporting a decline in visitor spending on food, wine, and “extras”, many of the Westcountry’s hotels and tourism businesses have decided to revisit their product and marketing.
“This end-of-season survey reveals that almost a third of our region’s tourism businesses (31%) will see a cut in their income compared to last year. Little surprise, therefore, that 38% of them have decided to change their product and marketing”, said Bishop Fleming’s James Finnegan.
“A further 45% acknowledged that this season’s experience demonstrates how the market is changing, requiring that they reconsider their product and marketing. Only a minority (17%) were convinced that their current product and marketing need no change”, he added.
“This is good news for those businesses, and for the Westcountry’s vital tourism sector. Capturing visitors and their spending is a fiercely competitive market.