A destination analysis of Lancashire and Blackpool, looking at Lancaster and Blackpool, the Lancashire and Blackpool sub-region, and rural Lancashire covering the Ribble Valley, Pennine Lancashire and Forest of Bowland.

1. Lancashire and Blackpool Market and Destination Profile

3. Destination Profile

5. Tourism expenditure and employment NW L&B Blackpool Lancaster Tourism expenditure (£m) 13627 2911 1015 267 Regional share of all tourism expenditure (%) 21 7 2 Tourism expenditure per capita 2025 2057 7135 1994 Tourism expenditure - commercial accommodation (£m) 4526 1432 712 154 Regional share of tourism expenditure in commercial accommodation (%) 32 16 3 Expenditure in commercial accommodation per capita 673 1012 5005 1146 Employment 215277 54161 23515 4542 Tourism employment as % of population 3.2 3.8 16.5 3.4

6. Spend per capita in Lancashire and Lancaster is on a par with the region – spend per capita in commercial accommodation is slightly higher. Per capita spend in Blackpool is significantly higher.

7. Tourism as an employer is slightly more significant in Lancashire than the region as a whole, but considerably more significant in Blackpool.

8. Lancashire accounts for over two fifths of the region’s accommodation stock. About a fifth of the region’s establishments are in Blackpool. Yield per establishment is lower in than the regional average. NW L&B Blackpool Lancaster No of establishments - Serviced 5090 2288 1792 110 - Non-serviced 4922 843 416 125 - Total 10012 3131 2208 235 % of regional establishments 31 22 2 No. of bedspaces - Serviced 185270 80623 60640 3679 - Non-serviced 155298 59401 14505 12035 - Total 340568 140024 75145 15714 - % regional bedspaces 41 22 5 Average size serviced establishment (bedspaces) 36 35 34 33 Yield per establishment (£k) 452 457 323 653 Yield per bedspace (£k) 13.3 10.2 9.5 9.8

9. Image and Perceptions

12. Blackpool is a NW key brand – second only to the Lakes.

13. … particularly among Style Hounds.

14. Blackpool is also competitive among other resorts – of those tested only Bournemouth was higher in appeal. From this set of destinations, Scarborough is its main competitor. Among respondents that had visited Lancashire it was the second highest rated – 61% would consider it cf 82% for Blackpool. Scarborough, however, had less appeal to Style Hounds but had stronger appeal to Traditionals and Habituals.

15. Lancaster is not in the premier league of heritage towns.

16. ...but, like other heritage towns, it has more appeal to Traditionals and Functionals.

17. Rural Lancashire, like Lancaster, has a weaker appeal than its peers. Like other rural destinations, it has a stronger appeal among Cosmopolitans and Traditionals.

18. Leisure Visitors – Staying and Day

23. In the NW and Lancashire, families are more likely to take day trips than staying trips. Blackpool is attracting more young families – Lancaster empty nesters. * For day visitors, these age categories are slightly different. They are 35-45, no children and over 55, no children Lifestage UK Holiday trip takers Staying visitors (%) Day visitors (%) NW L&B Blackpool Lancaster Rural NW L&B Blackpool Under 35 - no kids at home 19 15 15 17 14 18 20 17 18 35-55 - no kids at home * 17 25 22 23 15 28 6 7 9 Young family 10 12 13 17 6 5 22 23 28 Older family 23 16 18 19 13 16 22 22 22 Over 55 - no kids at home * 30 32 31 24 52 32 30 30 23

25. Couples are also the main day visitor group. Among day visitors, Blackpool is tending to attract parties with children. Party composition (day) Day visitors (%) NW L&B Blackpool Alone 8 8 6 2 adults 40 36 27 3 or more adults 24 25 24 Group with children 28 32 42

28. Car is the overwhelming form of transport used by day visitors – in terms of public transport, Blackpool visitors favour bus / coach over train. Type of transport used (day visitors) Day visitors (%) NW L&B Blackpool Car 81 83 86 Motor bike 0 0 0 Taxi 1 1 2 Bus / coach 7 6 9 Train 10 9 3 Bicycle 1 1 0

29. Staying trips to Lancashire are most commonly two nights – except Lancaster, where it is typically one night. Length of stay (staying visitors) Staying visitors (%) NW L&B Blackpool Lancaster Rural 1 night 25 28 25 30 20 2 nights 30 31 31 23 35 3 nights 18 15 16 16 19 4 to 7 nights 25 25 28 30 23 8 nights or more 2 1 1 1 4 Mean 2.69 2.65 2.72 2.37 4.40 Mode 2 2 2 1 2

30. Scenery and familiarity are key factors in destination choice across the region. The following table shows average scores for different factors. These are based on a three point scale where 1= no influence, 2- some influence, 3= major influence. So, the larger the score, the more it was an influence. Subsequent slides look at destinations and themes in more detail. Reasons for choosing destination (staying visitors) Staying visitors NW L&B Blackpool Lancaster Rural For the scenery 1.90 1.54 1.48 1.53 2.06 It is a familiar location to me 1.82 1.91 2.06 1.73 1.81 Because of specific sights I wanted to see 1.80 1.82 2.05 1.53 1.70 Because it feels ‘away from it all’ 1.74 1.55 1.61 1.41 1.80 It was easy to get to from home 1.70 1.76 1.88 1.59 1.71 It is a good place for a specific activity I wanted to do 1.67 1.70 1.82 1.54 1.62 Because the event / occasion was there 1.66 1.77 1.87 1.55 1.57 It was a new location I hadn’t been to before 1.45 1.38 1.29 1.56 1.55 To see friends / relatives 1.45 1.40 1.30 1.50 1.53 Someone else chose the location 1.39 1.45 1.44 1.27 1.46 For the shopping 1.34 1.34 1.36 1.28 1.27 Because it had a specific hotel / accommodation I wanted to stay in 1.30 1.30 1.34 1.35 1.27 For the food 1.28 1.30 1.31 1.22 1.36 For the nightlife (clubbing and social drinking) 1.23 1.37 1.52 1.15 1.21 For the evening entertainment like a show or cinema 1.19 1.34 1.47 1.15 1.17 I was attracted by a promotional offer 1.19 1.27 1.30 1.17 1.21

32. Regional activities (i.e. activities outside the area a visitor was staying) showed a similar pattern but levels of activity were significantly lower. Regional (outside local ) activities (staying visitors) Staying visitors (%) NW L&B Blackpool Lancaster Rural General exploration / touring / soaking up atmosphere 15 13 13 19 17 Walking 12 10 9 13 16 Shopping 12 12 13 11 10 Visiting historical / heritage attractions 11 8 7 11 16 Eating out at restaurants 11 10 11 8 12 Visiting other attractions 10 11 13 14 12 Photography 6 6 5 5 12 Visiting artistic / cultural attractions 5 4 4 5 7 Spending time at friends / family’s house 4 4 4 5 7 Visiting clubs / bars 4 6 6 5 9 Wildlife / bird watching 3 3 1 7 7 Attending a show / specific event 3 4 4 3 6 Visiting theme parks 3 6 5 5 5 Spending time by a pool / on a beach 3 4 4 5 6 Other 2 4 3 11 5 Pampering / health and well-being 1 2 1 3 2 Golf 1 1 1 2 3 Extreme adventure 1 1 1 3 3 Cycling 1 1 1 3 3

40. Business Visitors

44. Most business trips are for only the day – Blackpool is attracting significantly higher proportions of staying trips.

45. Blackpool is more popular for conferences, company outings and other business trips, but there is less demand for seminars and training. Type of business trip % of respondents NW L&B Blackpool Meeting 32.1 32.7 22.9 Seminar 3.6 3.8 1.5 Conference 7.5 6.2 9.2 Sales call 5.3 6.5 8.5 Training 8.9 5.2 2.7 Trade fair / exhibition 2.7 1.6 2.3 Company outing 1.5 2.3 3.4 Sabbatical 0.5 0.4 0.0 Contract work 17.1 16.1 15.9 Work placement 5.1 5.9 5.6 Other 15.8 19.4 28.0

46. Trip timing – Blackpool more popular at end of week.

47. Significant proportions of business visitors are generated within the NW itself. While Lancashire as a whole is more likely to be hosting regionally generated business trips, Blackpool is more likely to draw from out of region – notably Yorkshire and the West Midlands. Origin of visitors % respondents NW L&B Blackpool Northwest 33.8 39.0 26.5 Yorkshire 13.5 18.6 22.1 London 10.6 11.7 13.1 South East 10.5 7.6 8.5 West Midlands 8.9 8.7 12.6 East Midlands 7.0 3.3 2.1 Wales 5.2 1.3 0.0 Scotland 4.2 2.8 4.8 South West 3.8 4.1 5.7 North East 2.1 2.4 3.1 East 0.4 0.3 0.8 N Ireland 0.0 0.3 0.7

48. While business visitors are most likely to be managers and senior officials, Blackpool is also attracting professionals, and high levels of personal service occupations. This group includes healthcare and childcare professionals, and leisure and travel service occupations – these groups are likely to be strongly associated with Blackpool’s leisure tourism industry. Occupation NW (%) L&B (%) Blackpool (%) Managers and senior officials 25.1 27.6 27.8 Professional occupations 16.7 16.2 10.0 Associate professionals and technical occupations 15.4 15.0 13.0 Administrative and secretarial occupations 5.4 5.1 3.9 Skilled trade occupations 12.3 10.0 9.3 Personal service occupations 5.3 8.8 22.0 Sales and customer service occupations 5.8 4.7 3.6 Process, plant and machine operatives 7.1 7.3 6.3 Elementary occupations 6.9 5.2 4.2

49. The main forms of transport are private vehicle, followed by train. Coach is slightly more important in Blackpool. Accommodation is typically a hotel, although guesthouse is also common in Blackpool. NB Sample for Blackpool is small – 35 respondents only. Mode of transport Northwest Lancashire Blackpool Private/ company car/ van 68% 66% 60% Hire car/ van 6% 5% 4% Train 19% 19% 21% Flying 2% 1% 3% Taxi 3% 2% 3% Coach 3% 4% 9% Other 4% 5% 3% Accommodation used Northwest Lancashire Blackpool Hotel 64% 62% 64% Guest house/ B&B 11% 19% 34% Residential conference centre 3% 4% 0% Stayed with friends or relatives 11% 6% 2% Other 12% 9% 0%

50. Both Lancashire and Blackpool attract a larger party size than average for the Northwest. Blackpool, in particular, attracts larger groups with more non-business visitors in parties.

51. Visitors to Blackpool are more likely to extend their trip for leisure purposes and are more likely to plan a return visit for leisure purposes. The average length of stay for a leisure extension was about 1.6 nights across all Lancashire and 1.4 nights for Blackpool.

52. Summary and Conclusions