BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES - A CITY FOR ALL SEASONS: WINTER
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Business
Opportunities
A City for All Seasons: Winter
+
What do our winter visitors want?
Where do our winter visitors come from?
Edinburgh’s Winter Product Calendar
Case Studies & Inspiring Ideas
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 1
Contents
Foreword by Robin Worsnop 2
Edinburgh’s Winter Visitor Profile 5
Edinburgh’s Winter Connections 9
Edinburgh’s Winter Product 11
Case Studies 15
Opportunities for Business 17
Next Steps 18
Links and Other Resources 19
Foreword................
Robin Worsnop, Chair, Edinburgh
Tourism Action Group (ETAG)
Edinburgh is a world-class city,
successfully competing as one of
Europe’s top visitor destinations,
providing a unique and compelling
year round visitor experience. On
any given night there’s enough
happening in Edinburgh to fill the
event calendars of many other
major cities for an entire year.
Edinburgh boasts an extensive
programme of year round events
incorporating live performances, Yet Edinburgh’s tourism success blockbuster exhibitions, to the
exhibitions, plays, musicals, masks seasonal disparities. city centre’s transformation into
sporting events and festivals. From Occupancy varies month on a winter wonderland, winter in
comedy shows to ceilidhs, ballet month, with the August festival Edinburgh is a perfect time for
to modern dance, jazz to opera, to peak in demand contrasting visitors to enjoy a city break.
mainstream club nights, it’s safe to sharply with bookings between
This ETAG Business Opportunity
say that Edinburgh has something November and March.
Guide has been prepared to give
for everyone. Winter in Edinburgh can Edinburgh businesses information
As a tourism destination, be a wondrous time, yet its and ideas about how to harness
Edinburgh has an outstanding tremendous potential remains the opportunity to develop,
track record. Over the last two largely untapped. Edinburgh is deliver and promote new visitor
decades, the volume and value world-famous for its Hogmanay experiences that exploit the city’s
of tourism in the capital have celebrations, but the October wide range of existing winter
grown dramatically. In 2010, visitor to March season, which attractions and activities. The
spending reached £1 billion per offers some of the best city guide is aimed at encouraging
annum, compared to £250 million experiences in Europe, is often businesses to work together to
in 1990. Employment in tourism overlooked. From the Scottish create a joined up experience
now accounts for about 12% of the International Storytelling Festival, which will attract visitors and
city’s workforce. to international rugby and increase visitor spend.
2 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter
Introduction
Did you know?
90% of winter visitors
would recommend
Edinburgh as a
place to visit
“This is a city of shifting light, of Did you know?
changing skies, of sudden vistas.
There are six other
Business Opportunities
Guides with information and
A city so beautiful it breaks the facts on Edinburgh tourism;
download them here www.
heart again and again.” etag.org.uk and discover
how your business
could benefit
Alexander McCall Smith, 2006
Introduction..............
Edinburgh 2020 is all about
“creating a thriving,
profitable tourism
industry and delivering
high levels of economic,
cultural and social benefit
to Edinburgh and
Scotland as a whole”
This means making the most of what
Edinburgh offers all year round – not
just in the summer season -
maximising the city’s capacity at all
times, particularly in the quieter
months between October and March.
To achieve this, all businesses need to
get on board and work together to
develop and promote product offers
and experiences that meet visitor
expectations and make the most of
the city’s great range of attractions,
festivals, restaurants, shops and bars.
Inspiring ideas…
This guide offers you ideas and tips on
how to gain competitive advantage by Promote a winter return to summer visitors. Someone who’s
understanding the winter visitor and enjoying their summer stay in the city may be easily tempted
identifying opportunities to drive new back again – take every opportunity to let them know what
business and enhance the quality of makes Edinburgh a wonderful winter experience.
your visitor experience.
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 3
Edinburgh Accommodation
Did you know? Occupancy 2012 Hotels B&B/Guest House
100%
Between October and March...
80%
Visitor
attractions
draw over two 60%
million visitors
40%
87% of visitors
stay in the city 20%
overnight, whilst 13%
explore Edinburgh
on a day trip Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
There are 693,000 AVAILABLE ROOMS 2012 Hotel/Lodges B&B/Guest House
unsold hotel 150,000
room nights
120,000
64% of Edinburgh
accommodation 90,000
bookings are
made online
60,000
30,000
Edinburgh’s
cultural venues
combined present more
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
performances over the
period than at any other
time of the year
Accommodation used October 2012 to March 2013
Two thirds (67%)
Hotel - 44.85%
of visitors are on a
Sources: STR and Edinburgh Visitor Survey, 2012/13
leisure trip/holiday; Budget Hotel - 18.03%
12% are visiting friends
or family and 11% are With Friends/Relatives - 10.61%
here for a specific B&B/Guest House - 8.79%
event or occasion
Hostel - 5.91%
Serviced Apartment - 5.91%
Rented Apartment - 4.39%
Other - 0.9%
University College - 0.61%
4 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter
Edinburgh’s Winter Visitor Profile
Did you
know?
Edinburgh is the
UK’s ‘Number one
destination’ for
domestic short
breaks
Did you know?
Winter visitors are more
likely to research their
visit online before they
arrive (guidebooks come
What attracts winter a close second as an
information source)
visitors to Edinburgh
and what do they want?
It’s easy to see why Edinburgh is
the second most visited city in the Motivation to visit Edinburgh October-March
UK. A rich history and heritage,
Historic city 70%
amazing architecture, diverse
attractions, entertainment that Castle 50%
spans the spectrum from comedy A previous visit 31%
to West End hits (and everything in Attractions 31%
between), award-winning Museums 25%
restaurants, and superb shopping Friends / Relatives in the city 23%
– Edinburgh’s got it all.
Pubs / bars 22%
Here are some crucial facts Shopping 20%
and figures that we need to Personal recommendation 20%
factor into our thinking... Restaurants 18%
Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site status 16%
31%
Art galleries 14%
A specific event being held in the city 13%
Edinburgh’s reputation as a Festival city 9%
Other 8%
Edinburgh was my arrival / departure destination
of visitors have been as part of a wider trip to Scotland 8%
here before, so marketing Nightlife 5%
to your previous Outdoor activities / sports 4%
customers is important
Special promotion on accommodation in the city 4%
Special promotion on travel / transport to the city 4%
20%
An exhibition being held in the city 2%
Inspiring ideas…
come here on a personal
recommendation (we Promote your offers via a dedicated “Winter In Edinburgh” page on
your website, so winter visitors can find them quickly and easily
need to make sure
people’s stay is worth
Include information about and links to key winter events and
talking about for all festivals on your site, so people can see why a winter visit is even
the right reasons) more attractive than they first thought
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 5
Edinburgh’s Winter Visitor Profile
Winter visitors’ main reason for visiting
Edinburgh (October 2012 to March 2013)?
Leisure trip / on holiday 67%
Visiting friends or relatives 12%
For a specific event 11%
Business / conference 4%
Other 4%
Shopping trip 2%
Where do visitors find information pre-visit? 4% 4%
6%
7% 32%
TripAdvisor
www.visitscotland.com 10%
Guidebook(s)
10%
I did not use any information resources
www.edinburgh.org 10% 31%
Other website
Visitor Information Centre
VisitScotland brochure 22%
Smart phone / iPhone app
Other 29%
Social media (e.g. Facebook / Twitter) 22%
Newspaper / magazine
22%
Advertising leaflet
Source: Lynn Jones Research: City of Edinburgh Council,Edinburgh Visitor Survey 2012/13
What do visitors do when they get here?
11%
Walking around the city 13% 90%
Shopping 15%
Going out to restaurants
25%
Visiting attractions
Going out to pubs / bars
Visiting museums 30%
Visiting art galleries 76%
Visiting exhibitions
An excursion out of the city
City bus tour 48%
Organised walking tour
Attending an Edinburgh Festival event (5%)
Watching a sporting event (5%)
60% 75%
Participating in an outdoor sporting / leisure activity (4%)
Going to concerts (4%)
Attending a cultural event (4%) 65%
Going to the theatre (4%)
Participating in an indoor sporting / leisure activity (2%)
6 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter
Edinburgh’s Winter Visitor Profile
Which attractions and galleries do they visit? What characterises
our October -
Edinburgh Castle 72% March visitors?
National Museum of Scotland 32% Most of them (60%) are female
National Gallery of Scotland 30%
39% are under 35 years
St Giles Cathedral 29% old (compared to 36% in
Palace of Holyroodhouse 26% the summer months)
Arthurs Seat 22% 45% of visitors come
Scottish Parliament 20% from overseas; 40% come
from England and 9%
Scotch Whisky Experience 17% are from Scotland
The Real Mary Kings Close 15% Their top reasons for visiting the
Camera Obscura 12% city are its history and the Castle
Royal Yacht Britannia 12% During the off peak season,
Museum of Childhood 10% typically 50% of visitors
are coming to Edinburgh
I did not visit any attractions / galleries on this visit 9%
for the first time.
National Portrait Gallery 9%
9% of visitors quoted Edinburgh’s
Scottish Gallery of Modern Art 9% reputation as a festival city for
Edinburgh Dungeon 7% motivating them to visit in the
winter months – this increases
Royal Botanic Gardens 7%
to 20% in January, thanks to
Other 7% the Hogmanay celebrations
Edinburgh Zoo 6% In the winter months, more
Our Dynamic Earth 5% visitors cite bars, restaurants
The Georgian House 2% and shopping as reasons to
visit Edinburgh – these factors
Gladstones Land 1% become increasingly important
to them during December (on
average 20% of people say
these are what attract them,
typical age profile of October – March visitors? increasing to 30% in December)
Off peak respondents are
16-24 14% 25-34 25% 35-44 17%
more likely to use websites
45-54 15% 55-64 16% 65+ 4% compared to peak visitors,
who favour a guidebook. This
means that businesses and
tourism bodies need to ensure
their websites are up-to-date
and appeal to winter visitors
The use of TripAdvisor by
visitors significantly increased
(from 34% to 40%) in January,
February and March 2013
Off peak respondents are
more likely to stay in budget/
mid-range accommodation
or stay with friends or family,
suggesting a need for more
competitive off-peak pricing
Winter visitors (between
October and March) are
typically staying in the city for
an average of three nights
Source: Lynn Jones Research:
City of Edinburgh Council,
Edinburgh Visitor Survey 2012/2013
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 7
Edinburgh’s Winter Visitor Profile
Did you know? KNOW YOUR MARKETS
There’s never a bad time to visit Edinburgh: it For latest information on what international visitors
all depends on what visitors want from their are looking for from a visit check out the VisitBritain
visit. Winter in Edinburgh can be magical, website: www.visitbritain.org
with cold, crisp sunny days and beautiful,
clear nights. And remember the words of For information, market intelligence and insights
Billy Connolly: “there’s no such thing as bad on the latest trends, try Tourism Intelligence
weather, just the wrong clothes!”. Emphasise Scotland: www.tourism-intelligence.co.uk
the city’s many galleries, museums, shops,
bars, cafes and restaurants that provide a great For details on the latest VisitScotland marketing
experience even if the weather isn’t great. opportunities, contact your tourism advisor or visit
http://marketingopps.visitscotland.com
8 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter
Edinburgh’s Winter Connections DID YOU
KNOW?
Where are our winter 38% of winter
visitors arrive by
customers from?
plane, another
37% travel here
by train
Edinburgh Airport is Scotland’s busiest, with an ever increasing range of air
routes. Even in winter, Edinburgh is served by numerous airlines, bringing
international and UK passengers to the city for business and leisure.
DID YOU KNOW?
In winter there are only slight changes to timetables, with frequent international
You can see when your guests
and domestic flights from the following countries and destinations:
are due to arrive – and help
them plan their journey home
Country Airports & Airlines – by using Edinburgh Airport’s
Austria Innsbruck: Inghams (Austrian) / Salzburg: Jet2 live flight time feed: www.
edinburghairport.com
Belgium Brussels: Brussels Airlines, BMI Regional
/ Brussels (Charleroi): Ryanair
Czech Republic Prague: easyJet, Jet2
Denmark Copenhagen: easyJet, BMI Regional, Norwegian
Egypt Sharm El Sheikh: Thomson
France Chambery: Jet2 / Grenoble: easyJet / Paris (Beauvais):
Ryanair / Paris (CDG): Air France, easyJet, Flybe Arrivals from UK airports
Germany Berlin: EasyJet / Bremen: Ryanair / Cologne: Germanwings Airport Airline
(till Jan 5th) / Dusseldorf (Weeze): Ryanair / Frankfurt: Birmingham Flybe
Lufthansa / Hamburg: EasyJet / Munich: easyJet Bristol easyJet
Greece Athens: easyJet / Paphos: easyJet East Midlands Flybe
Hungary Budapest: Jet2 Exeter Flybe
London City British Airways
Iceland Keflavik: easyJet CityJet
Italy Milan: easyJet / Rome (Ciampino): Ryanair London Gatwick British Airways
Malta Malta: Ryanair easyJet
London Heathrow British Airways
Netherlands Amsterdam: easyJet, KLM Virgin Little Red
Norway Oslo: Norwegian / Oslo (Torp): Ryanair London Luton easyJet
Poland Krakow: easyJet, Ryanair / Lodz, Poznan & Faro: Ryanair London Southend easyJet
London Stansted easyJet
Portugal Lisbon: easyJet
Manchester BMI Regional
Slovakia Bratislava: Ryanair Flybe
Spain Alicante: easyJet, Jet2 (till Nov 17th), Jet2 (from Feb Norwich Flybe
13th), Ryanair, Thomson / Barcelona, Fuerteventura Southampton Flybe
& Gran Canaria: Ryanair / Lanzarote: Ryanair, Cork Aer Lingus
Thomson / Madrid: easyJet / Malaga: Jet2, Ryanair Dublin Aer Lingus
/ Tenerife South: easyJet, Ryanair, Thomson Ryanar
Knock Flybe
Sweden Gothenburg: Ryanair / Stockholm (Skevsta): Ryanair
Shannon Aer Lingus
Switzerland Basel: easyJet / Geneva: easyJet, Inghams (Flybe) Kirkwall Flybe
Turkey Istanbul: Turkish Airlines Stornoway Flybe
USA New York (Newark): United Airlines Sumburgh (Shetland Flybe
Islands)
Wick Flybe
Belfast City Flybe
Visitors’ form of arrival
Belfast Intl easyJet
October to March
Cardiff Flybe
Plane 38%
Train 37%
Inspiring ideas…
Private car 13%
Public bus 5% Stay up to date with the airlines’
Hired car 3% latest promotions simply by
Private coach 2% signing up for their newsletters
and pass on news about deals
Ferry 1%
and offers to your visitors
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 9
Edinburgh’s Winter Connections
DID YOU KNOW?
You can search live
arrivals/departures boards
from station across
the country at: www.
nationalrail.co.uk
DID YOU KNOW?
48% of visitors arriving in
Edinburgh by train use the
East Cost service; 18% use
Scotrail and 11% use the
TransPennine Express
DID YOU KNOW?
GroupSave - this is a Scotrail
small party ticket where up
to 5 travelling together get
Rail 30% discount. This is valid
from Glasgow - Stirling -
Edinburgh is easy to reach by train. The East Coast Main Line is the fastest
Dunblane - Edinburgh.
intercity railway in the UK, connecting Edinburgh and London in just
five hours. Edinburgh has great rail links to other major cities too. York,
Newcastle, Inverness and Aberdeen are all around two hours away, whilst
the regular (every 15 minutes at peak-times) Scotrail service between
DID YOU KNOW?
Edinburgh and Glasgow has a journey time of just 50 minutes.
Interested in finding out
ScotRail also operates a daily overnight service, the Caledonian Sleeper,
more about promotional
between London (Euston) and Edinburgh.
opportunities with Scotrail
- visit www.scotrail.co.uk
Who goes where? or call 08457 55 00 33
East Coast - routes from London via the East Coast main line -
www.eastcoast.co.uk
DID YOU KNOW?
Virgin Trains - routes from Birmingham via the Lake District,
Carlisle and Lockerbie - www.virgintrains.co.uk Kids go Free – Scotrail offers
free child travel off peak, all week.
First TransPennine Express - routes from Manchester and Up to 2 children can travel with
Manchester Airport, via the Lake District, Carlisle and Lockerbie - each paying adult who purchases
www.tpexpress.co.uk/ a KGF ticket. There are also some
great added value offers at a range
Cross Country Trains - routes from south west England via of attractions across Scotland,
Birmingham and Newcastle - www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk including Our Dynamic
Earth in Edinburgh.
ScotRail - operating over 95% of all services in Scotland, an ideal
way to travel around on arrival - www.scotrail.co.uk/
10 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - WinterEdinburgh’s Winter Product
Inspiring ideas…
Do you know when the school
holidays take place around Europe?
Use this web site to find out: www.
schoolholidayseurope.eu/
Dates for your Diary ...
Inspiring ideas for topical ties-ins
There are numerous celebrations and festivities during the winter and off-
peak period, why not plan something special for your visitor to celebrate? Or
perhaps you can create a themed offer or event to generate new bookings?
Remember, it’s not just the “big” For example, did you know about include the Pro12 tournament and
occasions like Christmas that the exclusive evening tours The Heineken Cup, plus the
offer opportunities to put an offered at The Palace of stadium is host to Edinburgh
event or offer together to tempt Holyroodhouse. These strictly Rugby’s home games.
visitors – think creatively and use limited edition evenings give
events like Burns’ Night or St guests the chance to explore a
Top Ten Edinburgh Apps
Andrew’s Day to showcase the real Royal residence, including a There are loads of great apps to help
best of Scotland, or offer a literary sneak peek into rooms not visitors get the most from their
tie-in to celebrate RLS Day - normally open to the public. Edinburgh experience. Make it easy
perhaps a party hosted by some Exclusive Evening Tours at the for them by recommending some
of his most famous characters? Palace of Holyroodhouse are on your website. Find below some
The possibilities are endless. The available on 14, 21 and 29 suggestions of available apps:
only limit is your imagination. December 2013. www. The Edinburgh Book Trail
royalcollection.org.uk
Halloween, RLS Day, Burns Night, Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh
Christmas Day, New Years Eve, St Events Alexander McCall
Andrews Day, St Valentine’s Day, Keep up to date with events in Smith’s Edinburgh
Mother’s Day, World Heritage Day Edinburgh via www.visitscotland. Edinburgh World Heritage City
com and www.list.co.uk
Insider information makes for Lonely Planet Edinburgh
inspiring ideas… Rugby City Guide
Make sure you find out about Winter is rugby season, with Edinburgh Secrets
interesting offers and numerous great games scheduled Walking Through
opportunities and share them with to kick-off in the capital. It’s a great Time - Edinburgh
your visitors. Sharing insider chance to welcome visiting fans or Edinburgh City Guide
information and tips helps them help your visitors get to a match.
Grassmarket Global Treasure
do something out of the ordinary, There are over 25 games due to
take place at Murrayfield between Edinburgh - Cool Places
making their experience in
September and April. Highlights Travel Guide
Edinburgh extra special.
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 11Edinburgh’s Winter Product
DID YOU KNOW?
Dark Road is a world
Homecoming Scotland 2014 premiere by Ian Rankin
Scotland welcomes the world for the Year of and Mark Thomson. It
Homecoming Scotland 2014. A year-long programme is Ian Rankin’s first play
of events will celebrate the very best of Scotland’s food – a crime thriller, set
and drink, our fantastic active and natural resources as in Edinburgh
well as our creativity, culture and ancestral heritage.
VisitScotland provides a toolkit as a one-stop shop Traverse Theatre
for tourism professionals, media, event organisers
and tourism businesses. It contains a range of The Traverse Theatre is Scotland’s new writing
marketing tools and materials to help you promote theatre. From its conception in 1963, it has embraced
Homecoming Scotland 2014 and capitalise on the a spirit of innovation and risk-taking that launched
opportunities the year presents. www.visitscotland.org the careers of many of Scotland’s best-known writers.
Throughout the year it presents the best in high-
Filmhouse Cinema quality new writing as well as hosting its annual
Filmhouse is a three screen independent cinema that dance festival and new writing festival.
shows a wide range of films from all over the world.
Their programme spans the spectrum from quality Ideas to try: Would any of your visitors
crowd-pleasers and family films to more art house be interested in theatre tickets? Why not add
works, restored classics and retrospectives. the Traverse to your list of entertainment
Every winter they show a selection of festive recommendations? Would you like to be placed
favourites and Christmas classics, and offer winter on their brochure distribution list? The Traverse
warmers in their popular Café Bar. Marketing Team is always keen to work with
external organisations on reciprocal campaigns
and would be delighted to consider various ideas.
Inspiring ideas… Contact the Traverse Theatre on 0131 659 7111
Could you team up with the Filmhouse, or another
independent cinema or arts venue – to offer a
special package that ties in with their programme?
Inspiring ideas…
Many visitors want to see a show when they’re in town
The Queen’s Hall – help make it easy for them by having a list of local
The Queen’s Hall isn’t just home to the Scottish theatres and shows. Maybe you can arrange deals with
Chamber Orchestra, it also plays host to a range of some venues or perhaps you can work with them to
concerts from classical to classic rock (and everything create themed packages that tie into specific shows?
in between). Between October and March they
typically host around one hundred events including Edinburgh Literary Events:
their famous Christmas Concert programme. Literary events and festivals take place all year round
at venues across Edinburgh: from storytelling and
poetry events to exhibitions, book festivals, book
launches and author readings. There are typically 90
literary events held every week in Edinburgh.
Inspiring ideas…
Do you already work with City of Literature? If so,
then why not think about how you might benefit
from a closer working relationship with them? If
you don’t already work with them, then why not
discover how the City of Literature could help you
tap into new markets?
Join the City of Literature free weekly “Whats On”
e-bulletin for the latest news about literary events
City of Literature has a great toolkit to help businesses
to develop literary tourism experiences and promote
them to your visitors – why not see how it could
benefit your business?
12 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - WinterEdinburgh’s Winter Product The city’s seasonal calendar
Month Event Venue Event Start Date
Dark Road Lyceum Theatre Theatre Play 25-Sep
Dunsinane King’s Theatre Edinburgh Play 01-Oct
Fiddler on the Roof Festival Theatre Edinburgh Musical 01-Oct
Live_Transmission – Joy Division Reworked Usher Hall Concert 01-Oct
Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra Usher Hall Concert 06-Oct
Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain Queens Hall Concert 06-Oct
Disney’s The Lion King Edinburgh Playhouse Musical 11-Oct
Our House - The Madness musical Festival Theatre Edinburgh Musical 15-Oct
October 2013
Scottish International Storytelling Festival Scottish Storytelling Centre Festival 18-Oct
Survival of the Fittest West Princes Street Gardens Event 20-Oct
New Writing Festival Traverse Theatre Festival 21-Oct
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra Usher Hall Concert 21-Oct
Crime and Punishment Lyceum Theatre Theatre Play 22-Oct
Independent and Radical Book Fair Out of the Blue Drill Hall Book Fair 23-Oct
Race for Life – Edinburgh Twilight Holyrood Park Charity Walk 26-Oct
To Sir With Love King’s Theatre Edinburgh Play 29-Oct
The Staves Queens Hall Concert 30-Oct
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Usher Hall Concert 31-Oct
– A Halloween Special!
The Samhuinn Fire Festival Royal Mile Festival 31-Oct
Winter Warmer Edinburgh Holyrood Park Charity Walk tbc
5 Nations Fencing Tournament Pleasance Sports Centre Sport 02-Nov
Eat Pray Laugh Barry Humphries’ Farewell Tour Festival Theatre Edinburgh Musical 05-Nov
Mansfield Park King’s Theatre Edinburgh Play 05-Nov
Traverse Dance Festival Traverse Theatre Festival 05-Nov
Villagers Queens Hall Concert 05-Nov
Scotland V Japan Murrayfield Sport 09-Nov
November 2013
Previously – Scotland’s History Festival Various Festival 13-Nov
Scotland V South Africa Murrayfield Sport 17-Nov
Mahler Chamber Orchestra Usher Hall Concert 20-Nov
St Andrews Square &
Edinburgh’s Christmas Festival 22-Nov
Princes Street Gardens
Fiddle 2013 Queens Hall Music Festival 22-Nov
Scots Fiddle Festival Queens Hall Concert 22-Nov
Scotland V Australia Murrayfield Sport 23-Nov
A Christmas Carol Lyceum Theatre Theatre Play 28-Nov
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas The Musical Festival Theatre Edinburgh Musical 29-Nov
King’s Panto 2013 Peter Pan King’s Theatre Edinburgh Panto 30-Nov
The 11th Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival tbc Film Festival tbc
West Port Book Festival West Port / Grassmarket Festival tbc
The Polar Bears Go Wild Traverse Theatre Play 05-Dec
December 2012
Scottish Gas National Short Course
Royal Commonwealth Pool Sporting Event 13-Dec
Swimming Championships
The Sixteen Usher Hall Concert 15-Dec
Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook Queens Hall Concert 16-Dec
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Various Festival 29-Dec
Afore The Bells Hogmanay Ceilidh Queens Hall Ceilidh 31-Dec
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 13Edinburgh’s Winter Product The city’s seasonal calendar
Month Event Venue Event Start Date
BUPA Great Winter Run And
Holyrood Park Sporting Event 04-Jan
International Cross Coutry
January 2014
Scottish Ballet Hansel And Gretel Festival Theatre Edinburgh Ballet 08-Jan
Paul Carrack Queens Hall Concert 11-Jan
Long Day’s Journey Into Night Lyceum Theatre Theatre Play 18-Jan
Scottish Chamber Orchestra Queens Hall Concert 18-Jan
Academy of St Martin in the Fields Usher Hall Concert 20-Jan
War Horse Festival Theatre Edinburgh Play 22-Jan
British Dance: Edition 2014 Dance Base Dance 30-Jan
Manipulate - Visual Theatre Festival Traverse Festival 03-Feb
February 2014
Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story King’s Theatre Edinburgh Musical 10-Feb
Noël Coward’s Private Lives Lyceum Theatre Theatre Play 14-Feb
Tonight’s The Night The Rod Stewart Musical Edinburgh Playhouse Musical 17-Feb
Dial M For Murder King’s Theatre Edinburgh Play 18-Feb
Scottish National Jazz Orchestra Queens Hall Concert 22-Feb
Siberian State Ballet Edinburgh Playhouse Ballet 25-Feb
Singin’ In The Rain Festival Theatre Edinburgh Musical 25-Feb
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert Edinburgh Playhouse Musical 03-Mar
Allan Stewart’s Big BIG Variety Show King’s Theatre Edinburgh Variety 05-Mar
Centenary Concert Usher Hall Concert 06-Mar
Tord Gustavsen Queens Hall Concert 07-Mar
Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra Usher Hall Concert 09-Mar
March 2014
West Side Story Edinburgh Playhouse Musical 12-Mar
Ellen Kent Opera- Nabucco,
Edinburgh Playhouse Opera 13-Mar
La Boheme And Aida
Kilomathon Scotland Charity Event 16-Mar
Eternal Love King’s Theatre Edinburgh Play 18-Mar
Northern Ballet - A Midsummer Night’s Dream Festival Theatre Edinburgh Ballet 20-Mar
Union Lyceum Theatre Theatre Play 20-Mar
Robin Cousin’s ICE Festival Theatre Edinburgh Ice Show 26-Mar
Edinburgh Book Fair tbc Book Fair tbc
Red Bull Hill Chasers City Centre Sporting Event tbc
Exhibitions Venue Start Date
Rodin’s The Kiss Scottish National Gallery 23-Feb
Tickling Jock: Comedy Greats From Sir Harry Lauder To Billy Connolly Scottish National Portrait Gallery 23-Feb
Peter Doig No Foreign Lands Scottish National Gallery 03-Jul
Witches & Wicked Bodies Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art 27-Jul
Pietro Testa: Master Draughtsman And Printmaker Scottish National Gallery 17-Aug
Exploring The Lion King City Art Centre 28-Sep
Kabuki: Japanese Theatre Prints National Museum of Scotland 04-Oct
Walter Geikie City Art Centre 19-Oct
Allan Ramsay At 300 Scottish National Gallery 19-Oct
Viviane Sassen: In And Out Of Fashion Scottish National Portrait Gallery 19-Oct
Citizen Curator City Art Centre 26-Oct
ARTIST ROOMS Louise Bourgeois, A Woman Without Secrets Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art 26-Oct
Edinburgh Art Fair Corn Exchange 15-Nov
Exhibition: High Spirits: The Comic Art Of Thomas Rowlandson Queens Gallery 22-Nov
The Scottish Colourist Series: J.D. Fergusson Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art 07-Dec
Mammoths of the Ice Age National Museum of Scotland 25-Jan
Tickling Jock: Comedy Greats From Sir Harry Lauder To Billy Connolly Scottish National Portrait Gallery 23-Feb
Alt Photo 2014 Various 01-Mar
14 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - WinterCase Studies
DID YOU KNOW?
There are over 400
DID YOU KNOW? restaurants in Edinburgh,
Edinburgh has spread out as follows -
five Michelin stared New Town: 155, Old Town:
Restaurants – more 115 South Side: 67,
than any UK city West End: 58, Leith: 40
outside London
itison.com and
The Old Course
Hotel, St Andrews
Case Studies itison is officially Scotland’s
leading deals and events
service with more than
Working together can lead to amazing things. Below are 600,000 members across
the country. Headquartered
some success stories that came about when businesses
in Glasgow, with offices
and organisations got together to create something in Edinburgh, Dundee
special. These inspiring examples don’t just show what’s and Aberdeen.
possible; they show just how well it can work.
They support hundreds
of hospitality and tourism
Previously… Scotland’s History Festival businesses in Scotland
and the rest of the UK to
‘Previously...Scotland’s History Festival’ is one of Edinburgh’s maximise their seasonal
newest festivals. With the support of 52 partners they staged the highs and lows by running
UK’s largest history celebration. The festival took place over 18 strategic deals and events.
days (from 13th till 30th November). Robert Louis Stevenson Day
(13th November) is the festivals ‘curtain raiser’ and has already In January 2013 itison worked
become a firm fixture in the calendar. Genealogy events are with the five star Old Course
amongst the most popular events in the programme and they Hotel, St Andrews to run
are looking at ways to expand this element of the programme. a deal which would drive
overnight guests to the 144
The Numbers Ideas to try room hotel between January
and March: a three month
232 events, over 18 days How could you work with off-peak season for the hotel
Previously… Scotland’s History between Christmas and the
Total audience 5,909 Festival to develop packages, start of the golf season.
create offers and joint marketing
181 events were free efforts to grow your business? The deal sold out at 1,000
Actually host an event? overnight stays for two
Ticketed events, prices people within 5 hours.
ranged between £3 and £20
More than 65% of purchasing
No of events’ ranged from Contact: Susan Morrison / Ian members upgraded their
6 to 19 events per day Harrower: www.historyfest.co.uk stay to include dinner.
19% of vouchers sold were
Inspiring ideas… unredeemed and therefore
100% profit on these went
Creating a range of gift vouchers for winter experiences not only helps to The Old Course Hotel.
your customers give presents to friends and loved ones, but also helps you
generate bookings in the quieter months and offers the opportunity to For further information
upsell. It’s important to plan way ahead and be promoting vouchers three visit www.itison.com or
or four months ahead of Christmas for the January to March period. call 0141 222 2266
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 15Case Studies
#Blogmanay Inspiring ideas…
#Blogmanay is an award-winning Think about your food & drink offer - traditional Scottish winter
warmer dishes will attract visitors. Experiencing Scotland
social media campaign, produced by
is a Scottish Enterprise food and drink consultancy service
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay as a means for tourism companies. For more information visit http://
of generating mass digital content www.scottish-enterprise.com/your-sector/food-and-drink/
across multiple social media platforms, foodanddrink-how-we-can-help/experiencing-scotland.aspx
encouraging people from around
the world to experience winter in Develop connections with your local restaurants and bistros, so
Edinburgh through photographs, video, that you can help make sure your visitors get a table.
tweets and blogs to inspire them to
visit Scotland. Last year #Blogmanay Great restaurant deals - let your visitors know about the offers
produced impressive results with 22 around to get them here and give them a great value experience
travel bloggers from around the world
reaching over 3.7m people and created A shopping spree is an important part of almost every travel
programme and Edinburgh is a great place to shop. For the
over 82 million twitter impressions with
January sales encourage visitors to come on overnight visits or
#Blogmanay content. days trips by offering special offers and rates to fill your rooms
in January. Edinburgh has a great range of food markets and
This year #Blogmanay is looking to independent shops as well as iconic shopping destinations like
exceed these results further, showcasing Jenners and Harvey Nicols.
the very best that Edinburgh and
Scotland has to offer to a global digital
audience. #Blogmanay can be used Ideas from further afield...
by anyone to reach a global audience,
increasing your businesses profile
Inspiring success stories from around the world –
and digital footprint. They want every why not see if they inspire you to try something new?
tourism attraction, hotel, restaurant Broadway week
and businesses across the country to
Working with the Broadway Theatres, New York & Company
use the ‘#Blogmanay’ hashtag across
created the Broadway Week to increase visits to the theatres in
their social media platforms (Twitter, off peak periods. Broadway Week offers two-for-one tickets to
Facebook, Instagram etc), generating New York City theatre for specific weeks in January and February.
the biggest social media campaign ever Participating shows included the 2012 Tony Award-winning Best
produced in Scotland. Musical Once, the high-flying Disney musical Newsies and the
Broadway revival of Annie.
Visit www.edinburghshogmanay.
com for full details on #Blogmanay, “This winter we encourage New Yorkers and visitors to take
creating your own social media advantage of this two-for-one ticket savings opportunity and
experience some of the best theatre in the country for an
platforms and how you can invite
extremely affordable price” – George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company.
international travel bloggers to your
business or attraction and be at the This is the fifth staging of the Broadway Week, which is returning
heart of the #Blogmanay campaign. after a successful campaign in September.
For details on Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Get into London Theatre
and how to get your business Now into its 13th year, Get Into London Theatre (GILT) is an
involved with #Blogmanay contact: annual initiative to fill theatre seats at off peak times (www.
Alan Thomson – Edinburgh’s getintolondontheatre.co.uk/). GILT offers fantastic ticket deals to
Hogmanay Communications over 40 top London shows. 2013 was a fantastic success with
Manager – Unique Events, al@ over 75,000 tickets sold.
unique-events.co.uk; 0131 561 3383
January in Amsterdam
For details on Edinburgh’s Christmas January is not the best time to go to Amsterdam, but even in
2013 and how your business can the middle of winter the city looks amazing and attracts a lot of
get involved contact Ruth Fisher – visitors. Amsterdam hotels in January always make some
Edinburgh’s Christmas Producer – special offers or decrease the rates. Even deluxe and five star
Underbelly ruth@underbelly.co.uk properties make room sales and promotions and offer luxury
accommodation for moderate rates.
16 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - WinterOpportunities for businesses
VisitScotland
Brilliant Moments Campaign for the free listing simply need to
VisitScotland creates and manages complete a short online enquiry
multi million pound advertising form at www.visitscotland.org.
and marketing campaigns that More information on the Brilliant
successfully attract visitors to Moments campaign will be
Scotland. Its new campaign available on www.visitscotland.
‘Brilliant Moments’ will be org from November but for more
launched towards the end of information on updating your
November this year. web entry or to offer a prize,
please contact Susan Nisbet Insider info
Brilliant Moments will focus on the
thrill of being there, the thrill of on 0131 472 2089 or Alasdair
something wonderful happening Maclauchlan on 0131 472 2093. Alive after 5 returns for 2013
that makes a lifelong memory – – throughout November
from seeing a hole-in-one at the
Marketing Edinburgh and December there will
Ryder Cup, to experiencing an Marketing Edinburgh will be be late night city centre
encounter with an otter in the promoting Edinburgh as a shopping between 5 and
Highlands, to finding yourself in leading Christmas and New Year 7pm every weekday evening,
Edinburgh for Hogmanay. destination across key winter getting later each week until
months, working with Essential Christmas, giving visitors
All campaign activity will direct Edinburgh, Underbelly and Unique and locals alike the chance
people to find out more on www. Events. The target audience is to enjoy more of Edinburgh.
visitscotland.com. To get involved, local residents and short stay
update your free of charge main visitors from across Scotland and
entry on www.visitscotland.com, North East of England (they focus Using Social Media
and if appropriate, list an offer on on VisitScotland segment profiles Social media is now one of the
your entry. Depending on activity, W2 / W4 / C5). most important marketing tools
we sometimes take a selection of for tourism businesses. Sites
Find out more about the
the best offers and feature these such as www.tripadvisor.com
VisitScotland segment profiles:
in online advertising. Additionally, are usually a first port-of-call for
www.visitscotland.org
we carry out a lot of promotional visitors looking for reviews on
activity where we work with Contact Marketing Edinburgh potential destinations, so it is
carefully selected partners (such www.marketingedinburgh.org on important that your business is
as Waitrose/John Lewis) to offer 0131 473 3666 mentioned – preferably positively
prize draws to their databases – and that you respond quickly
and online users - we’re always Inspiring ideas… and courteously to any feedback
looking for prize providers for (good or bad).
these opportunities. @VisitScotland has over 50,000
followers, so include them in Social media has a huge influence
Web Site Listing tweets that will be of interest on travel bookings. Of those who
Winter visitors are more likely to to visitors used social media to research
research their visit online before travel plans, only 48% stuck
they arrive. VisitScotland gets @edinburgh has up-to-date with their original plans: 33%
over 14 million unique visitors to news about what’s happening changed their hotel; 7% changed
their website each year, so having in the city and they engage destination; 10% changed resorts;
a listing on www.visitscotland. regularly with locals and and 5% changed airlines.
com that links to a web booking visitors to promote what is
page can really boost your happening in the city. Could
business, especially as the listing you link to these on your own
is free. New businesses signing up website or social media page?
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 17Next Steps Why is it important to think about the way you market and attract customers in the winter period? Well, there are nearly 700,000 unsold hotels room nights between October and March and we know that galleries, theatres, arts venues, restaurants, cafes, bars, guest houses, bed and breakfasts and hotel accommodation could earn more by attracting more visitors to the city. Tourism organisations, including ETAG, have a role to play but so do individual tourism, cultural and hospitality establishments, in promoting what’s on “off-peak” and making sure more reasons to visit are communicated to potential guests. Try some of these ideas to help increase your business in the winter period: »» Look for like minded businesses and develop collaborative marketing activity to promote winter breaks in Edinburgh – link with galleries and restaurants for instance to offer more to your guests »» Sign up to the mailing lists of your local restaurants and bars. When you hear about special discounts you can pass the information on to your visitors »» Populate your web site with things to do and winter events »» Look at your pricing and develop offers that will promote you and increase your custom »» Advise your guests to bring winter weather clothing to maximise their benefit from a winter visit »» Direct mail past guests with offers and things to do »» Use TripAdvisor and other web sites to maximise your profile and presence online »» Consider how you can make offers and promotions relevant to your customer – consider how you gather information on your customer’s interests or profile so that communication on offers can be tailored »» Understanding consumer behaviour is integral to the success of businesses, and in today’s ever evolving world, it is always essential to be ‘in the loop’ with trends within the tourism industry. For more information on consumer and insights on the latest trends, go to www.visitscotland.org 18 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter
Links and Other Resources
To help you get started, here are some useful organisations and contact details:
Venues Marketing Contact Tele No E-Mail
City Art Centre Graham McColl 0131 529 4442 Graham.mccoll@edinburgh.gov.uk
City of Edinburgh Council Chris Wilson 0131 529 3795 chris.wilson@edinburgh.gov.uk
Events Team
Edinburgh Filmhouse Graeme Davies 0131 228 6382 graeme.davies@cmi-scotland.co.uk
Festival Theatre / King’s Theatre Nick Parr 0131 622 8089 nick.parr@edtheatres.com
Historic Scotland Lisa Robshaw 0131 668 8952 lisa.robshaw@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Lyceum Theatre Shirley Monteith 0131 248 4821 Smonteith@lyceum.org.uk
Museums & Galleries, City Ruthanne Baxter 0131 529 3957 Ruthanne.Baxter@edinburgh.gov.uk
of Edinburgh Council
National Galleries of Scotland William Snow 0131 624 6265 wsnow@nationalgalleries.org
National Museum of Scotland Jane Ferguson 0131 247 4042 J.Ferguson@nms.ac.uk
National Trust of Scotland Laura Cheyne 0844 493 2412 lcheyne@nts.org.uk
Palace of Holyroodhouse Joanne Butcher 020 7839 1377 joanne.butcher@royalcollection.org.uk
Queens Hall Andy Catlin 0131 622 7385 andyc@queenshalledinburgh.org
Scottish Rugby Union Zoe Paige 0131 346 5032 Zoe.paige@sru.org.uk
The Edinburgh Playhouse Dean Mohammad 0131 524 3320 deanmohammad@theambassadors.com
Traverse Theatre Claire Doohan 0131 659 7111 claire.doohan@traverse.co.uk
Usher Hall Tessa MacGregor 0131 221 6334 tessa.macgregor@usherhall.co.uk
Festivals Marketing Contact Tele No E-Mail
International Storytelling Festival Lindsay Corr 0131 556 9579 Lindsay@scottishstorytellingcentre.com
Previously ...’ Scotland’s Susan Morrison info@historyfest.co.uk
History Festival / Ian Harrower
Edinburgh’s Christmas Ruth Fisher 0131 561 3399 ruth@underbelly.co.uk
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Alan Thomson 0131 561 3383 al@unique-events.co.uk
Tourism Organisations
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group
www.etag.org.uk
Scottish Enterprise
www.scottish-enterprise.com ETAG
Visit Scotland ETAG organises a wide range of business events, from short
www.visitscotland.org Business Briefings giving an insight into new developments
Marketing Edinburgh in the City, to full day workshops on hot topics like making
www.marketingedinburgh.org the most of social media.
Tourism Intelligence Scotland To keep up to date with the latest information, events,
www.tourism-intelligence.co.uk developments and business opportunities in the tourism
City of Edinburgh Council sector visit www.etag.org.uk
www.edinburgh.gov.uk
City of Literature Trust This guide has been produced with financial support from Scottish Enterprise.
www.cityofliterature.com Copy written, designed and produced by Business Tourism Solutions, 2013
Edinburgh World Heritage PHOTOGRAPHY
www.ewht.org.uk Cover image (middle), Edinburgh Castle p7 and Jenners p8:
www.scottishviewpoint.com
Essential Edinburgh
War Horse p3, & White Christmas p17: Festival Theatre
www.essentialedinburgh.co.uk
Traverse Theatre p12: Jeremy Abrahams
Greater Grassmarket All other photography courtesy of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
www.grassmarket.net www.edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com
Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter | 19Edinburgh 2020: The Edinburgh Tourism Strategy »» The Vision for Tourism in Edinburgh in 2020 Edinburgh is a world class city, competing successfully as one of Europe’s top visitor destinations, investing in its tourism assets, products and services to provide a unique and compelling year round visitor experience. »» Achieving the Vision The Aims: The Strategy has a primary aim: To increase the value of tourism to the city creating a thriving, profitable tourism industry and delivering high levels of economic, cultural and social benefit to Edinburgh and Scotland as a whole. And a supplementary aim: To enhance the city’s image and reputation by developing tourism in ways which will greatly strengthen perceptions nationally and internationally of Edinburgh as an outstanding city - truly a world class city - in which to live, work, study and invest, as well as to visit. Objectives: Supporting the Aims are three clear objectives to be achieved by 2020: Objective 1; increase the number of visits by one third by 2020: The target is to increase the number of visits from 3.27m visits to 4.39m visits, generating an additional 4.15 million visitor nights. Objective 2; increase the value of every visitors’ spend by 10% by 2020: The target is to increase spend from £310.40 to £341.44 per visitor trip. Combined with increasing the visitors by a third this will generate an additional £485 million per annum by 2020, taking the total visitor spend from £1.01bn to £1.5bn in today’s prices. Objective 3; reduce seasonality across the sector: The target is to achieve 50% of the additional growth during the months of October to March and reduce the current 40:60 split in visits to 43:57 between October to March and April to September www.etag.org.uk 20 | Edinburgh Tourism Action Group / Business Opportunities: A City for All Seasons - Winter
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