The Yorkshire Dales National Park Our Visitors Monitoring Report 2015
How many people visit the Yorkshire Dales National Park? It is not possible to say for certain exactly how many people visit the National Park as to do this would mean being able to count people coming in on every road and path into the National Park. This means that the numbers of people need to be estimated through indirect data: car park ticket sales, number of visitors to various attractions, occupancy rates at accommodation etc. All this various data is used to monitor trends in visitor numbers and the amount they spend through the Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor (STEAM) model. STEAM is not designed to provide a precise and accurate measurement of tourism in a local area, but rather to provide an indicative base for monitoring trends. In 2015, the STEAM model estimates that the number of visitors to the National Park was 3.62 million and that the total number of visitor days spent here was 4.73 million (this higher number is because staying visitors are here for more than one day). Visitor numbers - total Visitor days - total 3,641,844 3,588,096 3,526,395 3,354,877 3,507,000 3,718,000 3,615,000 4,836,671 4,765,543 4,606,466 4,403,801 4,546,000 4,882,000 4,731,000 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Visitor numbers - total 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Visitor days - total As can be seen there was a decrease in visitor numbers (down 3%) and the number of days spent in the National Park (also down 3%), in comparison to 2014. This dip in the number of visitors was expected following the massive publicity in 2014 associated with the Grand Depart of the Tour de France. Positively visitor numbers in 2015 were still above the levels in 2012 and 2013.
Staying visitors have a disproportionate affect on the local economy they account for 13% of visitor numbers but 33% of the days spent in the National Park, they provide 53% of the economic impact and account for 68% of direct employment supported by visitors. These balances between the impact of day and staying visitors have been reasonably consistent throughout the five years monitored through STEAM. Visitor numbers - share of total Visitor days 2015 - share of total 13% Visitor numbers - day 31% Visitor days - day visitors Visitor numbers - staying 87% 69% Visitor days - staying visitors Economic impact 2015 - share of total Direct employment supported 2015 Economic impact - day visitors Economic impact - staying visitors 53% 47% 68% 32% Direct employment - day visitors Direct employment - staying visitors
How important is this to the local economy? It has long been recognised that tourism forms a vital part of the economy of the Yorkshire Dales. The economic impact of visitors consists of more than simply the money they spend; it includes goods and services bought in by the businesses they visit and money spent locally by employees of tourism businesses. Overall, the tourism economy accounts for approximately a third of the economy of the National Park and it is likely it will become, or is already, the most important sector of the economy in terms of employment and economic impact. As measured by STEAM the economic impact of tourism rose consistently between 2009 and 2014, if you do not allow for inflation, but then saw a small drop in 2015 of 0.6%. However, when inflation is taken into account it is clear that the economic impact has been largely static apart from a dip in 2012 until 2014. In 2014 there was a real terms increase of 9.1% over 2013. Unsurprisingly the economic impact in 2015 has slipped back, but only by 1.7% and so 2015 still shows a real terms increase of 10.7% above 2012 levels. Economic impact - historic prices - TOTAL Economic impact - indexed to 2015 -TOTAL 184,310,000 190,050,000 198,770,000 200,210,000 213,530,000 239,350,000 237,880,000 224,160,000 222,760,000 221,700,000 214,860,000 221,870,000 242,000,000 237,880,000 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
What type of people visit the area? The information on the profile of visitors that come to the National Park is largely gathered through the Customer Survey a five yearly questionnaire survey. The majority of visitors are over 45 years of age, are of higher social grades and are of a white ethnic origin. The findings for 2013 below show the numbers and percentage of visitors, who were with each respondent, according to their gender and age band, (excluding the 2% who preferred not to say ). Age bands Overall Overall % Male % Female % Under 16 130 9% 5% 4% 16-24 47 3% 1% 2% 25-34 92 6% 3% 3% 35-44 163 11% 6% 5% 45-54 205 14% 6% 8% 55-64 254 17% 8% 9% 65+ 615 41% 17% 24% Base: 495 1506 702 804 In previous surveys the age and gender of just the respondent had been noted so this profile cannot be compared to previous surveys.
The vast majority of respondents in 2013 were from social grades ABC1 (75%), compared to the UK average of 53% of the population who are from ABC1 1. This corresponds closely to the findings from previous surveys. 1 http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/qs611ew/view/2092957703?cols=measures
The majority of respondents were from a white background (96%), or 99% once those saying prefer not to say were removed from the sample. This corresponds closely to the 2008 survey. Respondents were asked if they have a disability that limits their daily activity and then if anyone else in their party had any longstanding health issue or disability that limits their daily activity 2. In total 9% of all respondents said they had a long-standing health issue or disability that limits their daily activity (in 2008 this was 8%); with 10% saying someone in their party did (the survey in 2008 did not ask about anyone else in their party). 2 Figures for the UK population show 22% of adults have a physical or mental health condition or illness that they expect to last for 12 months or more ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey Jan-March 2013
Why do they visit the National Park? Visitors have been asked why they visit the Yorkshire Dales in a number of surveys and the replies have been consistent through the years. People are attracted to the area by its natural beauty and its great views. They love its sense of freedom, open space and the tranquillity they find here. Significant numbers of visitors also mention the walking in the area. These findings are shown below in the form of a word cloud the larger the word, the more often it was mentioned by visitors.
Where do our visitors come from? Unsurprisingly the majority of visitors come from the Yorkshire and Humber (34%) and North West regions (17%), although the reliance on these two regions has shown a decline from the 2008 survey. UK region Overall 2013 Overall 2008 East Midlands 6% 6% East of England 9% 5% London 3% 3% North East 9% 6% North West 17% 23% South East 6% 5% South West 5% 3% West Midlands 5% 3% Yorkshire & Humber 34% 44% Scotland 4% 1% Wales 1% 1% Northern Ireland 0% 0% Channel Islands 0% 0% Base 441 359
Although visitors from Yorkshire & Humber dominate the day visitor numbers with over halve of all people on a day trip coming from this region, the staying visitor market is much more spread across the regions. Overseas visitors are also important and formed 7% of all visitors in the 2013 survey, compared to just 2% in the 2008 survey. How are visitor numbers spread throughout the year? There are a number of sources of data that show the seasonal spread of visitors to the National Park car park ticket sales, numbers of visitors to National Park Centres and automatic road traffic counters. All these sources show a consistent trend over many years; an early season spike in numbers associated with Easter, a slightly quieter May and June followed by a busier summer period and finally a slow tail off into winter. The winter months of November through to February are by far the quietest period.
How do visitors get to, and travel around the National Park Like most countryside areas, the vast majority of our visitors travel by car to reach the area. This finding is again reinforced through the Customer Survey, and although the locations for the survey are primarily in car parks there is little doubt that the car does dominate travel modes. After arrival use of the car drops and the vast majority of visitors get about on foot for at least part of their trip.
What do visitors do when they get here? By far the most popular activity that people partake in whilst in the National Park is walking whether this is a short stroll or a challenging hill walk. Other less physical activities are also popular such as going to a pub, going shopping or to a visitor attraction or simply touring around by car.
Do visitors enjoy their visit? Respondents are asked to rate (on a scale of 1 to 6 with an additional option of don t know/ can t say ) how satisfied they were overall with their visit to the Yorkshire Dales. The bar chart below shows the findings for 2013, with comparative data from 2008 and 2002 shown on the different coloured blue lines. Satisfaction remains high and has continued to rise, with more visitors giving the highest rating now than they have done in the past (in 2013 77% of respondents were very satisfied, compared to 73% in 2008 and 51% in 2002). Visitors are also very positive about returning to the area, with 92% saying they were likely or extremely likely to return to the area in the next five years.
Conclusion 2014 saw a welcome increase in visitor numbers and a significant real terms increase in economic impact for the first time in several years. Whilst 2015 saw a drop in visitor numbers and economic impact following the boost by the Grand Depart in 2014, the decline was only small and figures for the year were still up on 2012 and 2013. The Customer Survey in 2013 showed that the profile of visitors has remained reasonably consistent over the last five years. It is pleasing to see that satisfaction levels continued to rise on what was already a high base.