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The following slides collate the

insights relating to food and drink

only.

To see the full results and to put

this extract into context

please click on this link:

Scotland Visitor Survey

Objectives

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•

•

Methodology: overview

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7%

2%

3%

5%

6%

8%

11%

12%

18%

23%

28%

56%

77%

Other

LGBT friendly

Childcare provisions / facilities

Accessibility provisions

Pet friendly

Restaurant / quality of food

Specific facilities

Specific room arrangements

Previous experience

Quality star grading

Free wifi

Value for money

Location

Location & value are fundamental aspects in choice of accommodation, but

availability of free WiFi is next most important factor, particularly for younger

visitors

Note: quality star grading was not a specified QA scheme

Choosing Accommodation

Q20 Which of the following aspects, if any, were important in helping you choose your accommodation?

Base: S2 All who didn’t only stay in second home or with friends / family (2731)

• Free WiFi most important for

international and younger visitors

• Value for money more important for

younger age groups (under 45yrs)

• Previous experience particularly

important for over 65 year olds (30%)

and Scot residents (27%)

• Scot residents looking for specific

facilities (16%), restaurant quality

(13%), pet friendly (8%) and childcare

(5%)

5

Factors Important in Choosing Accommodation by Market and First Time vs Repeat Visitors

Scotland Rest of UK Europe Long Haul First time Repeat

Quality star grading 25% 21% 22% 33% 27% 22%

Availability of free WiFi at the accommodation 23% 23% 37% 46% 38% 24%

Availability of specific facilities e.g. swimming

pool, leisure facilities, DVD player, parking 16% 11% 7% 7% 8% 12%

Reputation of restaurant / quality of food 13% 7% 6% 8% 6% 9%

Location 74% 78% 72% 80% 72% 78%

Value for money 51% 54% 68% 64% 66% 53%

Availability of specific room arrangements (e.g.

inter connecting rooms, family rooms) 10% 12% 11% 17% 13% 12%

Accessibility provisions 7% 3% 2% 7% 3% 5%

Childcare provisions/child facilities at the

accommodation 5% 4% 1% 0% 2% 4%

Pet friendly accommodation 8% 7% 2% 0% 2% 7%

LGBT friendly 2% 2% 1% 1% 2% 1%

Previous experience / have been before 27% 19% 8% 9% 3% 23%

Something else 7% 5% 8% 9% 9% 6%

BASE 409 770 885 667 1060 1671

Location, free WiFi, quality grading and specific room arrangements particularly important to Long

Haul visitors, whilst Europeans more focused on value and free WiFi. Scot residents factor in previous

experience and are particularly interested in specific facilities and restaurant reputation.

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Factors Important in Choosing Accommodation by Age

16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

Quality star grading 23% 22% 21% 21% 27% 26%

Availability of free WiFi at the accommodation 43% 35% 22% 25% 26% 23%Availability of specific facilities e.g. swimming

pool, leisure facilities, DVD player, parking 10% 12% 15% 14% 8% 7%

Reputation of restaurant / quality of food 6% 10% 6% 8% 9% 11%

Location 66% 77% 80% 78% 79% 73%

Value for money 65% 69% 62% 53% 53% 40%Availability of specific room arrangements (e.g.

inter connecting rooms, family rooms) 11% 11% 16% 17% 9% 7%

Accessibility provisions 4% 6% 3% 4% 6% 4%Childcare provisions/child facilities at the

accommodation 0% 5% 10% 3% 1% -

Pet friendly accommodation 5% 2% 8% 9% 5% 2%

LGBT friendly 6% 1% 2% 1% 0% 0%

Previous experience / have been before 10% 10% 19% 15% 22% 30%

Something else 6% 6% 4% 7% 7% 9%

BASE 266 455 435 645 597 315

Location, quality grading and previous experience more important to 55+ age groups,

whilst younger visitors are more concerned with value for money and free WiFi. Specific

room arrangements and child and pet provisions most important for 35-54yrs age groups.

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Hotel (1447)

• Quality star grading (30%)

• Reputation of restaurant / quality of food (12%)

B&B / Guest House / Restaurant with Rooms (1027)

• Reputation of restaurant / quality of food (12%)

Airbnb (241)

• Availability of wifi (50%)

Touring caravan / motorhome (154)

• Previous experience / been before (33%)

• Pet friendly accommodation (17%)

Static caravan (57)*

• Value for money (77%)

• Availability of specific facilities (37%)

• Childcare provisions / child friendly facilities (17%)

Glamping (37)*

• Location (98%)

• Value for money (77%)

• Pet friendly accommodation (20%)

• Childcare provisions / child friendly facilities (16%)

Factors Important in Choosing Accommodation By Accommodation Type

Other aspects over-indexed in importance for choosing specific types of

accommodation

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8% 9% 14% 21% 17% 26%

When on holiday I really like to find outabout the local foods & local dishes

unique to the destination

Disagree strongly 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Agree strongly

8% said the reputation

of the restaurant /

quality of food was a

factor in choosing their

accommodation

Food and drink is a key component of the visitor experience; international visitors

are keen to try local foods and domestic visitors cite food as a key factor in

accommodation choice.

Food And Drink

7.9

Q45c To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about holidays in general? Base: S2 All (2999)

MeanTop 2

box

43%

70% of those who gave a 9 or 10

score here went on to try local

food and 55% to try local drinks

during their visit to Scotland…is

there an opportunity to encourage

more?

9A gap exists between expectations and experience of the quality of food in

Scotland, particularly for international visitors.

Mean Score

Expectation: 7.2

Experience: 7.9

Quality Of Food - Expectations vs Experience

Q34 Now thinking about the quality of food in Scotland, please complete the following statements:

a) Before my trip I expected the food in Scotland to be…; b) During my trip the food I experienced was generally…. Base: S2 All (2999)

10Almost all visitors dined out whilst in Scotland. International visitors were much more

likely to have had all of these food and drink experiences other than picnics/BBQs.

Food & Drink Experiences

• The vast majority of Long Haul and European visitors tried local

food (81%, 72%); and local drinks (72%, 68%)

• Over half (55%) of Long Haul visitors had a night out / visited pubs

• European visitors (38%) were most likely to visit a distillery,

closely followed by Long Haul visitors (35%)

• Scot residents (33%) were most likely to have a picnic or BBQ

Q35 Which of the following did you experience during your holiday / short break in Scotland? Base: S2 All (2999)

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ScotlandRest of

UKEurope

Long Haul

First time Repeat

Dined out in a restaurant, café or pub 89% 91% 93% 97% 93% 91%

Had a picnic or BBQ 33% 30% 26% 20% 24% 30%

Tried local food 45% 49% 72% 81% 65% 52%Tried local drinks (e.g. whisky, craft

beer) 36% 37% 68% 72% 59% 41%

Night out / visited pubs 29% 31% 41% 55% 41% 33%

Attended a food & drink event 3% 3% 5% 7% 5% 4%

Visited a whisky distillery 10% 15% 38% 35% 33% 16%

Went on a food or drink trail 1% 0% 2% 3% 2% 1%

None of these 5% 3% 2% 1% 2% 3%

BASE 459 875 948 717 1121 1878

Food & Drink Experiences by Market

Long haul and European visitors were most likely to experience local food and

drinks and to visit whisky distilleries whilst in Scotland, as were those visiting

Scotland for the first time.

Q35 Which of the following did you experience during your holiday / short break in Scotland? Base: S2 All (2999)

12Three-quarters of visitors sought information about eating out whilst in

Scotland, using both offline and online sources, with personal advice playing a

prominent role

25%1%

3%3%4%4%5%6%7%8%8%9%10%

13%20%

25%43%

None of these

Other search engine

Apps

Looked for quality star grading

Travel guide websites

Information / advice from visitor attraction

Social media

VisitScotland.com

Printed travel guide books

Other websites

VIC

Other leaflets from accommodation

Online review websites

Accommodation room pack info

Google

Personal advice from accommodation provider

Talking with locals

• Long Haul visitors most likely to talk

with locals (68%) and ask for advice

from accommodation provider (40%)

• Younger age groups more likely to

use Google, online review sites, social

media & travel guide books

• Older age groups relied on personal

advice from locals & accommodation;

as well as room pack & leaflets

Information Sources Used To Help Choose Places To Eat Out

Q36 During your holiday or short break in Scotland, which of the following sources of information did you use to help choose places to eat out?

Base: S2 All who dined out (2807)

131 in 10 used review sites for information on places to eat out whilst in Scotland,

and the same proportion subsequently posted reviews about where they had

been, primarily on tripadvisor

9%

Other review

site, 1%No, 90%

Eating out

Whilst 13% of 16-44s used

online review sites for

information on dining out, only

7% posted reviews

Leaving Reviews For Places Ate Out

Q37 Did you leave any reviews relating to places you ate out in Scotland on TripAdvisor or another review website? Base: S2 All who dined out (2807)

• Long Haul visitors (14%) and those

in 45+ age groups were most likely

to post reviews (11%)

• Those who gave Top 2 box ratings

for food experienced during their

trip were also slightly more likely to

leave reviews (12%)

149 in 10 visitors seek information whilst in Scotland, on a range of topics. Using

smartphones is the most common approach, followed by seeking in person advice

10%

12%

19%

36%

52%

68%

None of these

Telephone

Laptop/desktop

Tablet

Talking face-to-face

Smartphone

Used to find out information Type of information sought

Usage Of Devices To Find Information During Trip

Q39 During your holiday or short break in Scotland, did you use any of the following to find out information relating to your trip while you were in Scotland?

Base: S2 All (2999) Q40 What type(s) of information did you look for during your trip? Base: S2 All who looked for information (2781)

Something else

2%

82%Weather reports

75%Maps / directions

62%Things to see

& do in local

area

55%Places to eat /

drink in local

area

47%What’s on in

local area

12%Accommodation

27%Transport

15

Mean

Visitors rate availability of local produce and value for money of eating out lower

than other aspects of their holiday experience

0% 0% 1% 3% 10% 11% 18% 24% 15% 18%

0% 0% 1% 3% 8% 12% 22% 26%13% 14%

Food & Drink Ratings

Top 2

box

7.5

Availability of local produce

Value for money - eating out

33%

27%

1 10

1 10

7.5

Q38 Overall how satisfied were you with the following aspects of eating out during your holiday / short break in

Scotland. Base: S2 All who dined out (2807)

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Satisfaction with…. Top 2

box

Mean

Ease of getting around 62% 8.7

Being made to feel welcome in VIC 56% 8.5

Availability of useful information in VIC 52% 8.5

Value for money of attractions 51% 8.4

VIC customer service 49% 8.4

Service provided by staff at accommodation 49% 8.3

Knowledge of staff at accommodation about

things to do in local area

42% 8.3

Value for money of accommodation 42% 8.0

Availability of free WiFi at accommodation 40% 7.5

Availability of local produce when eating out 33% 7.5

Value for money of eating out 27% 7.5

Mobile phone signal coverage 28% 6.9

Availability of free WiFi 25% 6.7

Availability of 3G / 4G 18% 6.3

Satisfaction Across The Visitor Experience

In general, satisfaction scores

over 8 are excellent, between

7-8 adequate and <7 requires

attention.

Top 2 scores (9 and 10 out of

a 1-10 scale) are required to

create genuine satisfaction

and loyalty, otherwise

customers can be ‘indifferent’.

These results show a positive

visitor experience but we

should strive to push the

proportion ticking Top 2 boxes

higher.

Opportunities to drive advocacy

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Glasgow city centre

Food & Drink – Key Takeouts

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Further information