What is the potential for accessible tourism in Scotland?
2 June 2023
Estimated to be worth £15.3bn expenditure per annum in the UK visitor economy, the 'purple pound' is identified in the Destination Tourism Strategy, The Framework for Growth, as a significant market opportunity for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Through work commissioned by VisitAberdeenshire, 56 Degree Insight are currently working with tourism businesses in the area, providing bespoke advice and consultancy to help them to optimise their research and insight gathering to better understand their customers. In discussions with one of the businesses that have taken up this opportunity, Dalriada Luxury Lodges located just outside Stonehaven, it became clear that there was a need for more information and understanding of the needs of those with different types of impairment to help them as a businesses provide the best in class experience in this area.
56 Degree Insight is keen to help by increasing the amount of information available, and as a starting point, in April, a question was added about impairments in the respondent's household to the Scottish Tourism Index. In this and subsequent surveys, they will be able to analyse tourism patterns amongst those with different types of impairment.
This first analysis illustrates that the demand for holidays is just as high amongst most with impairments as it is the wider population, and that there is a real potential amongst the domestic markets, especially amongst those with mobility impairments.
Read the full findings here