Press release -
Tourism visitor figures boost attributed to Borders Railway
New data has revealed that tourism in the Borders and Midlothian has received a major boost since the introduction of the Borders Railway.
The Scottish Tourism Economic Assessment Monitor (STEAM) statistics show a significant improvement in key tourism performance figures in the first half of 2016, compared to the first half of 2015 when the railway was not yet open. It is also the first time in 10 years that every category measured has improved.
The company which produces STEAM data believes the most likely source for the rise in tourism activity in the Borders and Midlothian is the railway.
Notably, the STEAM figures show:
Borders
Councillor Stuart Bell, SBC’s Executive Member for Economic Development, added:
“Tourism is absolutely vital to the Scottish Borders’ economy, and that is why this substantial rise in tourism activity in the first half of 2016 is so important.
“For the first time in a decade, the Borders have shown improved results in every STEAM category – the only area of mainland Scotland to do so for this period.
“The introduction of the railway has undoubtedly contributed to these figures.
“Passengers numbers at all Borders stations have exceeded predictions, and this has brought more staying visitors and day-trippers to the region.
“Working with partners in the Borders Railway Blueprint Group, the Council will continue to deliver a range of economic benefits and encourage businesses to take advantage of the many development opportunities available in the region, which has been opened up to a greater audience by the railway.”
Midlothian Council’s cabinet member for economic development, Councillor Jim Bryant said:
“We’re absolutely delighted the Borders Railway is introducing more people to Midlothian’s wonderful scenery and world-class attractions.
“We were always confident that Borders Railway would bring new jobs, more tourists and significant economic opportunities to the area. These figures are testament to the fact, these benefits are already underway.”
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf added:
“The reopening of the Borders Railway was a cause for celebration for residents of the Borders and Midlothian who had waited almost half a century to see services return to their area.
“We were always confident that, in time, it would deliver major economic opportunities and attract new investment. It is therefore very pleasing to see strong evidence that visits are up significantly, alongside spending, as a direct result of the railway.
“The popularity of the Borders Railway is undisputed. Over 1.2 million passenger journeys in its first year alone, and with additional seats on peak time services and more improvements and initiatives in the pipeline we look forward to seeing even more investment and interest in the area in the months and years ahead.”
Danny Cusick, Chair of the Borders Railway Blueprint Leaders Group and Director of Tourism at Scottish Enterprise, said:
“Midlothian and the Borders provide some of the best that Scotland has to offer and the area now benefits from one of the world’s most scenic and iconic rail journeys.
“We have always been confident that the line would attract visitors from all over the world so we’re delighted to see this evidence that Borders Railway is delivering on our ambitions.
“This latest data comes on the back of positive news from Borders College about students using the line and the service overall meeting its original passenger projections. We also know that businesses are experiencing the benefits of the line and look forward to even more developments in the area, supporting incomes and jobs for people in the region.”
VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead said:
“The re-establishment of the Borders Railway has been a great success and these figures show that there has been a significant boost to tourism in the area which is fantastic news.
“The re-opening of the railway line by HM The Queen in September 2015 was truly a historic occasion which shone the global spotlight on the Scottish Borders and Midlothian.
“Here is the evidence that this enormous tourism investment in southeast Scotland is having a real impact on the local economy, touching on every industry, business and community and we look forward to continuing our work with partners to make the Borders Railway a success.”
Alasdair Smart, the ScotRail Alliance’s tourism manager, said:
“We are proud to play our part in creating a positive Borders Railway experience, and it’s fantastic to see such significant growth in tourists and visitors to this beautiful part of Scotland.
“We will continue to support the line and the communities served by it through our involvement with a range of partners, including the Borders Blueprint Group.”
- ENDS -
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- SBC’s Executive report entitled Economic Impact of Tourism is available at its website.
Images from a photocall with Councillor Bell, ScotRail and local tourism businesses at Tweedbank station are available at SBC’s Flickr page. An image from Midlothian Council is also available in the same Flickr album.
STEAM is a well-recognised and long-running tourism economic impact modelling process and is used by all Scottish councils. It is produced by Global Tourism Solutions. More information is available from http://www.globaltourismsolutions.co.uk/steam-modelThe Scottish Tourism Economic Assessment Monitor (STEAM) quantifies the local economic impact of tourism, from both staying and day visitors, through analysis and use of a variety of inputs including:
- Visitor attraction numbers
- Tourist accommodation bedstock
- events attendance
- occupancy levels
- accommodation tariffs
- macro-economic factors
- visitor expenditure levels
- transport use levels
- tourism-specific economic multipliers.
VisitScotland
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
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- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
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