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Cairngorms National Park STEAM infographic 2023

Cairngorms Nation­al Park

STEAM Tour­ism Eco­nom­ic Impacts 2023 Year in Review Summary

The Vis­it­or Eco­nomy of Cairngorms Nation­al Park

This is a sum­mary of the annu­al tour­ism eco­nom­ic impact research under­taken for the Cairngorms Nation­al Park for the cal­en­dar years 2012 – 2023. Out­puts in this report have been gen­er­ated using STEAM, the tour­ism spe­cif­ic eco­nom­ic impact mod­el, owned and oper­ated by Glob­al Tour­ism Solu­tions (UK) Ltd.

COV­ID-19 Pan­dem­ic: Some STEAM out­puts for 2023 remain below the level of usu­al eco­nom­ic out­puts for the area, due to the resid­ual effects of the COV­ID-19 pan­dem­ic on busi­ness and con­sumer activ­ity. Com­par­is­ons have been made to show per­form­ance levels against a pre-COV­ID-19 baselines.

2023

  • 2.15 mil­lion Tour­ism Vis­its to the Cairngorms Nation­al Park in 2023
  • 4.2 mil­lion Vis­it­or Days and Nights gen­er­ated by Vis­it­ors in 2023
  • 1.05 mil­lion vis­its were made by vis­it­ors stay­ing with­in the area as part of a hol­i­day or short break, gen­er­at­ing 3.1 mil­lion nights in loc­al accommodation
  • On aver­age, vis­it­ors stay­ing in the area spend 2.9 nights in the area and spend a total of £140 mil­lion on loc­al accommodation
  • 1.1 mil­lion tour­ism vis­its made by Day Vis­it­ors in 2023
  • Day Vis­its to the Cairngorms Nation­al Park gen­er­ated £67.5 mil­lion for the loc­al eco­nomy in 2023
  • A total of £419 mil­lion was gen­er­ated dir­ectly and indir­ectly with­in the loc­al eco­nomy through vis­it­or and tour­ism busi­ness expenditure
  • In total, stay­ing vis­it­ors gen­er­ate a total eco­nom­ic impact of £352 mil­lion for loc­al busi­nesses and communities
  • Vis­it­or activ­ity and spend sup­ports more than 5,454 full time equi­val­ent jobs locally

Trends 2019 – 2023

  • Eco­nom­ic Impact +35.9%
  • Vis­it­or Num­bers +4.0%
  • Total Vis­it­or Days and Nights ‑3.3%

2023

Stay­ing Vis­it­ors 49% of Vis­its Day Vis­it­ors 51% of Visits

Total Vis­it­or Num­bers 2.15m

Vis­it­or Types

Stay­ing Vis­it­ors encom­pass all tour­ists stay­ing overnight for at least one night in one of the fol­low­ing types of accommodation:

  • Ser­viced Accom­mod­a­tion — includ­ing Hotels, Guest Houses, B&Bs, Inns
  • Non-Ser­viced Accom­mod­a­tion – includ­ing Self-Cater­ing prop­er­ties such as Houses, Cot­tages, Chalets and Flats, as well as Camp­ing and Cara­van­ning, Hos­tels and Uni­ver­sity / Col­lege accommodation
  • Stay­ing with Friends and Rel­at­ives (SFR) – unpaid overnight accom­mod­a­tion with loc­al residents

Day Vis­it­ors vis­it­ing the area on a non-routine and non-reg­u­lar leis­ure day trip from a home or hol­i­day base

Vis­it­or Numbers

There were an estim­ated 2.15m tour­ism vis­its to the Cairngorms Nation­al Park in 2023, up 24.2% from the pre­vi­ous year, and up 4.0% from estim­ated pre-cov­id levels repor­ted in 2019.

In 2023, 1.05m vis­it­ors stayed in some sort of accom­mod­a­tion with­in the area. This sec­tor saw an increase of 17.8% when com­pared to the pre­vi­ous year and is now 5.3% above pre-cov­id levels. The ser­viced accom­mod­a­tion sec­tor, primar­ily com­prised of hotels, guest houses and B&Bs, saw an increase of 19.0% over the last year and is now above 2019 pre-cov­id levels by 14.4%. Ser­viced accom­mod­a­tion sup­ply has decreased with­in the Park in the after­math of cov­id, but this has failed to damped down the Nation­al Park’s recov­ery in this sec­tor. The non-ser­viced accom­mod­a­tion sec­tor also con­tin­ues to recov­er stead­ily and is now just ‑8.3% below pre-cov­id 2019 fig­ures, while up 16.4% on the pre­vi­ous year. Day vis­it­ors through­out many loc­a­tions in the UK are still below pre-cov­id levels, espe­cially in rur­al and semi-rur­al loc­a­tions, so it is extremely encour­aging to see day vis­it­or num­bers up 30.9% on 2022, and now up 2.7% on pre-cov­id estim­ates in 2019.

Key Fig­ures: Vis­it­or Num­bers 2023

Vis­it­or Num­bersSer­vicedNon-Ser­vicedSFRAll Stay­ing Vis­it­orsDay Vis­it­orsAll Vis­it­ors
2023 (Mil­lions)M0.6710.3470.0331.0511.0982.149
2022 (Mil­lions)M0.5640.2980.0300.8920.8391.731
Change 22⁄23 (%)%+19.0+16.4+9.0+17.8+30.9+24.2
Share of Total (%)%31.216.11.548.951.1100.0

Total Vis­it­or Days 4.17m

Vis­it­or Days

Vis­it­ors spent an estim­ated 4.17m days in the Cairngorms Nation­al Park dur­ing 2023. Vis­it­or days take into account mul­tiple stays. For example, if a fam­ily of five stay three nights, they will not only account for five vis­it­ors, but also fif­teen vis­it­or days. On aver­age, stay­ing vis­it­ors to the Park stay 2.9 days in the area.

Total stay­ing vis­it­ors accoun­ted for 3.1m vis­it­or days in 2023, an increase of 4.7% on the pre­vi­ous year, and now only ‑5.2% below 2019 pre-cov­id levels. The ser­viced accom­mod­a­tion sec­tor decreased slightly by ‑3.0% com­pared to 2022, and is now just frac­tion­ally ‑1.6% below pre-cov­id fig­ures repor­ted in 2019. Mean­while the much lar­ger non-ser­viced accom­mod­a­tion sec­tor with­in the Park is up 8.6% on the pre­vi­ous year, but still down ‑7.3% on 2019, which points to the ser­viced sec­tor recov­er­ing slightly ahead of the non-ser­viced sec­tor. As men­tioned before, day vis­it­ors to the Park are not only sub­stan­tially up by 30.9% on the pre­vi­ous year, but they buck the over­all slower recov­ery trend seen in oth­er rur­al and semi-rur­al areas in the UK by now sur­pass­ing estim­ated pre-cov­id level by 2.7%.

Key Fig­ures: Vis­it­or Days 2023

Vis­it­or DaysSer­vicedNon-Ser­vicedSFRAll Stay­ing Vis­it­orsDay Vis­it­orsAll Vis­it­ors
2023 (Mil­lions)M0.9601.9630.1473.0701.0984.169
2022 (Mil­lions)M0.9891.8080.1362.9330.8393.772
Change 22⁄23 (%)%-3.0+8.6+8.4+4.7+30.9+10.5
Share of Total (%)%23.047.13.573.726.3100.0

Aver­age Length of Stay for Dif­fer­ent Vis­it­or Types: 2023

Day Vis­it­ors 1.0 All Vis­it­ors 1.9 Ser­viced Accom­mod­a­tion 1.4 Stay­ing with Friends/​Relatives 4.5 All Stay­ing Vis­it­ors 2.9 Non-Ser­viced Accom­mod­a­tion 5.7

Total Eco­nom­ic Impact £419m

Eco­nom­ic Impact

The value of tour­ism activ­ity in the Carin­gorms Nation­al Park was estim­ated to be £419m in 2023, up by 18.7% on the pre­vi­ous year, and up by 35.9% when com­pared to pre-cov­id levels.

The total dir­ect eco­nom­ic impact com­prises the expendit­ure of vis­it­ors on goods and ser­vices, totalling £338m. Fur­ther to this, indir­ect and induced eco­nom­ic effects of loc­al busi­nesses and res­id­ents spend­ing tour­ism rev­en­ues loc­ally, were estim­ated to account for a fur­ther £81, togeth­er totalling £419m. The largest vis­it­or spend­ing sec­tor was Accom­mod­a­tion (£140m), then Trans­port (£66.63m), fol­lowed extremely closely by Food & Drink (£66.58m) and then shop­ping (£38.5m). The eco­nom­ic impact of the ser­viced sec­tor was up 11.3% on the pre­vi­ous year, reflect­ing increases in vis­it­or num­bers, and is now 52.9% up on estim­ated 2019 pre-cov­id levels. The Park’s lar­ger non-ser­viced accom­mod­a­tion sec­tor, com­pris­ing self-cater­ing and some cara­van, camp­ing and tour­ing sites, was up by 20.6% on 2022, and since 2019 has increased by 13%. In terms of com­par­is­on, the non-ser­viced sec­tor has over three times the bed­spaces of the ser­viced sec­tor, but less than half the eco­nom­ic impact. Day vis­it­or eco­nom­ic impact to the Park is up 48.1% on the pre­vi­ous year, and is now 31.5% above 2019 pre-cov­id levels.

Accom­mod­a­tion: Pay­ments for overnight stays in accom­mod­a­tion, such as room rates, pitch fees and hire charges for non-ser­viced accom­mod­a­tion Recre­ation: Cov­er­ing expendit­ure on a wide range of leis­ure activ­it­ies such as museum, event, con­cert / theatre and attrac­tions attend­ance as well as sports par­ti­cip­a­tion and spect­at­ing. Trans­port: Expendit­ure with­in the des­tin­a­tion on travel, includ­ing fuel and pub­lic trans­port tick­ets Food and Drink: Spend on eat­ing and drink­ing at res­taur­ants, cafes and oth­er ven­ues, takeaway food, snacks and gro­cer­ies Shop­ping: What vis­it­ors spend on items includ­ing cloth­ing / jew­ellery, house­hold items, music / films / games, gifts and smal­ler items, books and maps, plants and garden items Indir­ect: The expendit­ure by loc­al tour­ism busi­nesses with­in the loc­al sup­ply chain

Key Fig­ures: Eco­nom­ic Impact 2023

Eco­nom­ic ImpactSer­vicedNon-Ser­vicedSFRAll Stay­ing Vis­it­orsDay Vis­it­orsAll Vis­it­ors
2023 (£ Millions)£M232.017114.2805.565351.86267.469419.331
2022 (£ Millions)£M208.55094.7784.505307.83345.547353.380
Change 22⁄23 (%)%+11.3+20.6+23.5+14.3+48.1+18.7
Share of Total (%)%55.327.31.383.916.1100.0

Aver­age Eco­nom­ic Impact Gen­er­ated by Each Type of Vis­it­or: 2023

Eco­nom­ic ImpactSer­vicedNon-Ser­vicedSFRAll Stay­ing Vis­it­orsDay Vis­it­orsAll Vis­it­ors
Eco­nom­ic Impact per Day£241.7358.2037.79114.6061.42100.58
Eco­nom­ic Impact per Visit£345.71329.36169.32334.8061.42195.09

Sea­son­al Dis­tri­bu­tion of Key Vis­it­or Met­rics: 2023

  • Vis­it­or Num­bers: 15.4% Jan-Mar, 28.5% Apr-Jun, 38.7% Jul-Sep, 17.4% Oct-Dec
  • Vis­it­or Days: 18.1% Jan-Mar, 28.4% Apr-Jun, 35.4% Jul-Sep, 18.1% Oct-Dec
  • Eco­nom­ic Impact: 19.8% Jan-Mar, 24.0% Apr-Jun, 36.8% Jul-Sep, 19.4% Oct-Dec

Total FTES Sup­por­ted 5,454

Employ­ment Sup­por­ted by Tourism

The expendit­ure and activ­ity of vis­it­ors to the Cairngorms Nation­al Park sup­por­ted a total of 5,454 Full-Time Equi­val­ent jobs (FTEs) in 2023; an increase of 2.4% on the year before, and now just ‑8.2% below 2019 pre-cov­id levels.

Total employ­ment includes the jobs gen­er­ated by the expendit­ure of vis­it­ors on goods and ser­vices, totalling 4,484 FTEs, and the indir­ect and induced employ­ment sup­por­ted through loc­al busi­nesses and res­id­ents spend­ing tour­ism rev­en­ues loc­ally, account­ing for a fur­ther 970 FTEs. The accom­mod­a­tion sec­tor is by far the largest employ­ment sec­tor sup­por­ted by tour­ism activ­ity, account­ing for an estim­ated 2,149 FTEs, fol­lowed by Food & Drink at 832 FTEs, and then Trans­port at 716 FTEs.

Employ­ment Sup­por­ted by Tour­ism: Full-Time Equi­val­ents (FTEs) by Type 2023

Employ­ment Sup­por­ted by Sec­tor 2023Dir­ect Vis­it­or Employ­mentIndir­ect and InducedTotal
Accom­mod­a­tion2,1499705,454
Food & Drink832
Recre­ation323
Shop­ping464
Trans­port716
Total Dir­ect4,484

STEAM Com­par­at­ive Head­lines: 2022 and 2023

KEYStay­ing in Paid Accom­mod­a­tionStay­ing with Friends and Rel­at­ives (SFR)All Stay­ing Vis­it­orsDay Vis­it­orsAll Vis­it­or Types
Ser­vicedNon-Ser­viced
An increase of 3% or more
Less than 3% change
A Fall of 3% or more
Vis­it­or Days M2023 0.9602022 ‑3.0%2023 1.9632022 8.6%2023 0.1472022 8.4%2023 3.0702022 4.7%2023 1.0982022 30.9%2023 4.1692022 10.5%
Vis­it­or Num­bers M2023 0.6712022 19.0%2023 0.3472022 16.4%2023 0.0332022 9.0%2023 1.0512022 17.8%2023 1.0982022 30.9%2023 2.1492022 24.2%
Eco­nom­ic Impact £M2023 232.022022 11.3%2023 114.282022 20.6%2023 5.5652022 23.5%2023 351.862022 14.3%2023 67.472022 48.1%2023 419.332022 18.7%
Dir­ect Employ­ment FTEs2023 2,1582022 ‑2.9%2023 1,6292022 ‑0.3%2023 532022 8.9%2023 3,8402022 ‑1.7%2023 6452022 30.6%2023 4,4842022 1.9%
Total Employ­ment FTEs202320222023202220232022202320222023202220232022

STEAM Com­par­at­ive Head­lines: 2019 and 2023 Cov­id Recov­ery (Unin­dexed)

KEYStay­ing in Paid Accom­mod­a­tionStay­ing with Friends and Rel­at­ives (SFR)All Stay­ing Vis­it­orsDay Vis­it­orsAll Vis­it­or Types
Ser­vicedNon-Ser­viced
An increase of 3% or more
Less than 3% change
A Fall of 3% or more
Vis­it­or Days M2023 0.9602019 ‑1.6%2023 1.9632019 ‑7.3%2023 0.1472019 0.4%2023 3.0702019 ‑5.2%2023 1.0982019 2.7%2023 4.1692019 ‑3.3%
Vis­it­or Num­bers M2023 0.6712019 14.4%2023 0.3472019 ‑8.3%2023 0.0332019 1.5%2023 1.0512019 5.3%2023 1.0982019 2.7%2023 2.1492019 4.0%
Impact Eco­nom­ic Impact £M2023 232.022019 52.9%2023 114.282019 13.0%2023 5.5652019 28.8%2023 351.862019 36.8%2023 67.472019 31.5%2023 419.332019 35.9%
Dir­ect Employ­ment FTEs2023 2,1582019 ‑14.7%2023 1,6292019 ‑11.4%2023 532019 1.2%2023 3,8402019 ‑13.2%2023 6452019 3.3%2023 4,4842019 ‑11.1%
Total Employ­ment FTEs202320192023201920232019202320192023201920232019
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