Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Business Barometer Quarter 1 Results

We can now share the Quarter 1 2019 (January-March) results for the Tourism Industry Barometer, thank you to all of you who shared your thoughts with us. Your input is crucial so do please keep filling it in every quarter – the greater the response rates the more reliable our results.

So, what did you tell us? Based on a sample of 49 respondents:

-       Nearly 60% stated that visitor numbers were up or similar (Scotland-wide figure: 68%).
-       54% stated that turnover was up or similar (Scotland-wide figure: 67%).
-       Nearly 2/3rds (65%) of you said you were very or quite optimistic about the next 3 months (Scotland-wide figure: 74%).   

You are businesses committed to product development and quality improvement - of those who had plans to invest, three-quarters of you said this would be investment to expand/grow the business rather than to simply maintain business levels. This was 10% points above the national figure. 67% of you said this investment to expand and grow the business would be in the next 3 to 12 months, substantially above the figure for Scotland as a whole – 51%.

You told us that the main barrier to success in Q1 was “Economic conditions”, selected by 20% of respondents. “Footfall and visitor numbers” was in second place, highlighted by 18% of respondents. These are perhaps to be expected given the quarter under review (January-March). These mirrored the top two barriers identified at national level.

We are encouraged by the results, but do have to advise caution given the size of the sample size. The Tourism Industry Barometer runs 4 times a year. We do understand it is a time commitment, but the more businesses that complete the survey, the richer and more representative the insights we will get into our region. It would be fantastic to have a larger sample feeding back information on how we are performing, what challenges we are facing and how to work together to further develop the region.

We are committed to working on this project with you. The next wave will take place between 8th July and 19th August, and will be reviewing Q2 of 2019, April to June. Do get in touch if you and your networks can help us spread the Barometer message and contribute to increasing the response rate each quarter.

Take a look at the results in more detail on our Insights Dashboard, where you will also find the Scottish figures and some analysis.

To discuss the results or Insights in general email insights@visitabdn.com.