Tourism Talks in East Lothian

East Lothian Visitor Survey - sharing the findings

Last week we visited the Marine Hotel in scenic North Berwick to attend Tourism Talks, East Lothian Council’s annual tourism industry event which was chaired this year by Scottish Tourism Alliance chief executive Marc Crothall.

We were delighted to have the opportunity to to share the results of the East Lothian Visitor Survey which we recently completed as part of the JRS research consortium, working closely with Jump Research who also have significant experience in visitor research.

Duncan presenting at East Lothian Tourism Talks

The 2024 East Lothian Visitor Survey ran from Easter until the end of October, providing an updated picture on day and overnight visitors - who they are, what they enjoy doing during their time in the area  and their views on the area’s strengths and weaknesses.

Over this period we obtained feedback from 1,283 visitors using a combination of survey methods including on street face to face interviews (utilising Jump’s interviewer fieldforce) and an online survey promoted to visitors at a range of locations including attractions, cafes and accommodation providers.

This online element involved working in partnership with local businesses who agreed to promote the survey using materials such as posters and leaflets containing a QR code in return for receiving a personalised summary of the results.

Duncan and Jim with Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance

Using insights to identify opportunities for tourism businesses

 In our presentation we set the scene by describing some of the challenges faced by tourism businesses across Scotland, in particular the pressures caused by the increasing costs of living and costs of operating a small business.

 Despite this challenging environment, the survey results suggest a number of growth opportunities for tourism business in East Lothian. Comparing the 2024 survey results with previous waves undertaken in 2018 and 2021 (see below) illustrated the very high levels of satisfaction recorded by visitors to the area and the range of types of visitors coming to the area has also grown more diverse, including an increasing share of visitors staying longer and travelling from further afield.

 The survey feedback also confirmed the area’s key strengths included the welcome provided by locals, variety of attractions to visit and natural assets including beaches, wildlife to see and opportunities to take part in outdoor pursuits such as waking and water sports.

 Importantly the strengths of the East Lothian tourism product align well with growing demand areas in tourism as more of us seek destinations which provide an escape to nature and wellbeing benefits.

Find out more

The presentation of results we shared at the Tourism Talks event is available to view in full here and if you are a business based in East Lothian you can register on the Visit East Lothian website to access a more detailed report of the findings.

And if you would like to find out more about the approaches we took in the research or how we can help your organisation with similar visitor insight needs let us know, we’d be delighted to discuss.

Understanding audiences to inform the development of a new world class music venue in Edinburgh

Development work is underway for the Dunard Centre a new, world-class 1,000 seater music venue situated right in the heart of Edinburgh. The venue will be Edinburgh’s first new concert hall in over 100 years, located between the St James Quarter shopping mall and St Andrew Square.

The construction and operation of the Dunard Centre is the responsibility of IMPACT Scotland. Their vision is to create a world leading musical centre of excellence which will both inspire existing music lovers and ignite others to start their own musical exploration. So, while Dunard will become the home of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and a new venue for Edinburgh International Festival, their ambition is for it to become a ‘hall for all’, hosting live music all year around and across of all genres including rock, jazz, folk and blues, traditional and world music.

A programme of formative research to define and understand Dunard’s potential audiences

Construction of the Dunard Centre began in early 2023 and was the catalyst for the start of an extensive programme of audience research which would provide the information Impact Scotland needed to finetune its audience proposition.

Given the scale of this project and the wide range of research approaches to be used, we undertook this project as part of the JRS consortium, incorporating the broader methodological expertise of our partner agencies at Jump Research, Red Tree and SMG.

Over the last year we all worked closely together with Impact Scotland to complete an ambitious programme of research which addressed the following key areas:

• Defining the audience – which groups are most likely to visit the Dunard Centre – what are their demographics and what is their geographical catchment?

• Understanding the potential amongst warm audiences – which markets are most open to the concepts of the Dunard Centre and why?

• Understanding the potential amongst harder to reach audiences – given Dunard’s ambition to be a space for everyone, an equally important question was how to engage those who are initially less interest in the venue, understanding the potential barriers and how these can be overcome to ensure inclusivity.

Given the wide range of areas to be addressed by the research the JRS team delivered a programme of research which used a mix of methods, with each stage informing the subsequent element:

1. Workshop – a half day session involving the JRS team and Impact Scotland, visiting the site, discussing and aligning on the priorities for the project and sharing existing insights and hypothesis.

2. Desk research – a review of existing research covering a range of sources, from stats on cultural engagement in Scotland available from organisations such as the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland to in-depth studies regarding the benefits of live music. These insights built our knowledge and informed our planning of the primary research stages which followed.

3. Detailed audience survey – a survey of almost 850 residents in the South and East of Scotland, with a detailed questionnaire covering a range of related areas including music listening habits, live music attendance, the role of music and live music in life (occasions listened to, benefits gained, barriers to attendance) and interest in the Dunard Centre’s mission.

4. Audience segmentation – using the data collected in the audience survey we worked with Impact Scotland to create a market segmentation, identifying a targeted number of unique segments based on their current frequency of live music attendance, the music genres they favoured and their openness to attending live music in future. Each segment was profiled in detail to create a ‘pen portrait’ of who they are, their aspirations and the opportunities for the Dunard Centre to meet their needs.

5. Focus groups – a series of six focus groups with segment representatives, allowing for a longer, more a detailed exploration of their music listening and live music attendance habits, as well as canvassing  their opinions on how the Dunard Centre can best meet their needs

6. National population survey – a short survey of the Scottish adult population including the key ‘golden’ questions needed to allocate participants into the audience segments, allowing us to quantify the size of each audience across the overall population.

By following this staged approach over the last year the JRS team have provided Impact Scotland with the vital insights they require to make key strategic decisions as construction of the venue continues

Jenna Frost, Communications Lead at Insight Scotland commented that:

“As a charity with a small in-house team we need our agency partners to be expert, proactive and flexible – but most of all we need them to share our passion for bringing more music to more people.

“We were impressed with JRS’ credentials from our very first conversations, which set the tone for the twelve month project. Although representing different disciplines their integrated approach was effective; every team member was diligent and responsive. The bespoke segmentation solution they developed has given us a very practical way to group local and national audiences, identifying both what unites kinds of music fans, and what sets them apart. We will be using the insights in our public awareness and advocacy campaigns as well as to drive future planning across the organisation; I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend their energetic and experienced team to others.”

More details on the Dunard Centre and progress towards opening can be found on their website here https://dunardcentre.co.uk

If you would like to find our more about the approaches we took in the research or how we can help your organisation with similar audience insight needs let us know, we’d be delighted to discuss.

A partnership approach for the 2024 East Lothian Visitor Survey

We are delighted to have been commissioned by East Lothian Council to undertake the 2024 East Lothian Visitor Survey.

Combining the strengths of 56 Degree Insight and Jump Research

We’ll be undertaking the study as part of the JRS research consortium which 56 Degree Insight are a member of, working closely with the team from Jump Research who also have a significant experience in the tourism sector including numerous visitor surveys.

The survey launched over the Easter break and will run throughout the summer until the end of October,  providing an updated picture on day and overnight visitors - who they are, what they enjoy doing during their time in the area  and their views on the area’s strengths and weaknesses. The survey will also provide an opportunity to obtain visitor opinions on hot topics such as the potential impacts of the introduction of visitor levy.

Utilising a combination of survey methods

To maximise the number of visitors taking part in the survey and ensure as broad a range of views as possible are collected, the study will involve a combination of survey methods. Jump’s face to face interviewers will be out and about, conducting short interviews at key locations and events across the region while a more detailed online survey will be promoted to visitors at a wider range of locations including attractions, cafes and accommodation providers and via the Visit East Lothian website.

Later in the year we’ll also be undertaking a survey of tourism businesses based in the area to obtain their feedback on key topics affecting them.

Working in partnership with local businesses

The online survey element is a development from the approaches used in previous visitor surveys conducted in this area, with local businesses invited to promote participation in the survey by displaying details of the survey link using posters and other promotional materials (see below).

In return for their support businesses will receive a personalised analysis of the results including an anonymised summary of the responses provided by their customers and comparisons with the overall area profile. This personalised analysis will be available to any businesses receiving at least 50 responses from their customers over the season.

By following this unique partnership approach we’re ensuring that the insights generated will be valuable to local businesses. Also, on completion of the fieldwork we’ll also be working closely with East Lothian Council to share the wider survey findings and what they mean for the region via a suite of outputs including a summary infographic report and online presentation.

If you are business based in East Lothian or planning a visit…get involved!

If you are business based in East Lothian and would like to help promote the survey and receive your personalised customer analysis contact the team at East Lothian Council at visit@eastlothian.gov.uk to let them know.

And if you are visiting East Lothian, on a day trip, short break or holiday, tell us your opinions by completing the survey which is now live and available to complete here.

The appeal of Scottish food and drink continues despite on-going cost of living challenges

Earlier this year The Knowledge Bank (an initiative established by the Scottish Food and Drink partnership with aims to deliver vital market insights to the food and drink sector) commissioned us to undertake a survey of the Scottish population to provide updated insights on the factors impacting upon the population’s grocery shopping decisions, with a focus on food and drink made in Scotland, local produce and opportunities to shop local.

This research has now been published and is available to download on the Knowledge Bank portal, along with a wealth of other valuable market insights from across the Scotland Food and Drink Partnership.

Rising costs continue to have a significant impact on decisions

Perhaps unsurprisingly given high levels of inflation, over half of Scots stated that price and promotions have become more important to them when buying food and drink (78% and 71% respectively). However, it is also notable that freshness, avoiding unhealthy options and ease of preparation had also become more important for many in the face of increased costs (53%, 40% and 38% respectively).

How Scots shop and prepare meals has also changed in the face of increased prices. The ‘top 5’ most common actions taken to reduce spend on food and drink are as follows:

-       Planning grocery shops more carefully (42%)

-       Changing from buying branded products to supermarket own label (41%)

-       Switching to lower cost retailers (38%)

-       Planning meals more than before (34%)

-       Cooking from scratch more than before (33%)

Other actions taken to reduce energy costs when preparing meals were also recorded with around a quarter using more energy efficient appliances such as air fryers to cook with (24%) and a similar proportion batch cooking meals more often (24%).

The demand for Scottish produce continues

Despite the impacts of rising costs on food and drink choices, the survey found no decrease in the desire of Scots to buy Scottish produce and, in particular, food and drink produced locally. Indeed 82% stated that they would like to be able to buy more food and drink produced in Scotland, no change from the result when a similar question was asked in the 2022 survey.

While the ‘top 5’ items more likely to be chosen over other options if they were made in Scotland were salmon, smoked fish, soft fruit, Scotch whisky and milk, many other types of food and drink also have an enhanced appeal if their Scottish origins are promoted.

The most common reasons given for preferring Scottish produce over food and drink made elsewhere were a desire to support the local economy, the produce being fresher, a lower carbon footprint and expectations of higher quality.

However, to meet their demand for more Scottish produce, consumers stated that they would like to see greater availability in shops, clearer labelling of produce made in Scotland (on labels and in store) and more competitive prices.

Local shops for local people?

Our research also explored Scots views regarding using local shops when shopping for food and drink and the potential pros and cons of using smaller, independents over larger companies such as supermarket chains.

Encouragingly most Scots recognise that using local shops is important as it supports their local economy (86%), make the area a nicer place to live (82%) and can boost their sense of community (80%)

However, a number of potential concerns over using smaller local shops were also raised including the potential that prices could be higher than (69%), that the range available in store would be more limited (44%) and some practical concerns such as difficulties parking (26%) or there being a lack of suitable shops in the local area (32%).

While our survey showed that currently the majority of frequent shopping is undertaken in supermarkets and normally by car, it’s also clear that many Scottish consumers have a desire to support local independent shops, especially if the range of products available appeals, the price is right and shops are within easy reach.

Extracts from the recently published Knowledge Bank report:

If you’d like to access the research referenced in this article and many other resources provided by the Knowledge Bank you can sign up for full access here or register for the Knowledge Bank’s Scottish Provenance webinar on 22nd November to hear more.

Harnessing the Power of Provenance to help food and drink businesses flourish

The Knowledge Bank is a service operated by the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership, supporting the Scottish food and drink sector through the provision of market research, insights and knowledge.

At 56 Degree Insight we’ve been delighted to have the opportunity to work with The Knowledge Bank over the last few years, undertaking a range of research projects to collect insights on consumer and trade opinions, with research methods used ranging from in-depth one to one interviews with chefs to large scale surveys of the Scottish population.

A common theme that cuts across all of the studies we’ve undertaken for The Knowledge Bank is the importance of provenance and, in particular, the available of produce which is made in Scotland.

This is the theme of the video launched by The Knowledge Bank last week, featuring some of the key findings from the consumer research we’ve undertaken over the last few years, highlighting the high (but often unmet) demand for Scottish produce which is driven by perceptions of local produce being of better quality and more environmentally sustainable plus a desire to support local businesses.

It is notable that while 89% of Scottish consumers want to buy more Scottish produce and 53% are willing to pay more for local, as things stand Scottish brands only account for around 5% of food and drink sold in Scotland.

With unprecedented international events including Covid-19, Brexit and the war in Ukraine impacting upon the world’s food supply chains and rising consumer concerns over the quality and environmental sustainability of the food and drink they consume, the appeal of local produce is set to continue to grow. However, with food inflation at its highest levels since the mid 70s, many consumers may feel that they are forced to compromise when making grocery decisions.

Given the many uncertainties in the market we will continue to closely monitor Scottish consumer attitudes and behaviour through our work with The Knowledge Bank and our own self funded studies including our quarterly Scotland’s Viewpoint.

If you’d like to access the research featured in The Knowledge Bank provenance video in full and many other resources you can sign up for full access here or get in touch with Duncan or Jim at 56 Degree Insight and we’d be happy to help.

How do Scots engage, protect and benefit from our natural environment?

The latest wave of Scotland’s People and Nature survey launches this spring, providing updated insights on how the population is engaging with, protecting and benefitting from nature

In December we were delighted to be commissioned by NatureScot to undertake the latest wave of their Scotland’s People and Nature Survey (SPANS).

Scotland’s People and Nature Survey will measure how people living in Scotland use, enjoy and value the natural environment.  It will cover a wide array of topics, ranging from the details of visits taken to the outdoors for recreation (from local greenspaces to National Parks) and the health and wellbeing benefits gained from time in nature to the day to day actions we take to protect nature.

We’re especially pleased to be working on the new SPANS contract given our previous long history working with NatureScot and (their predecessor) Scottish Natural Heritage on surveys measuring how Scots engage with nature. Indeed, our experience dates back to before 2003 when (as young researchers working for System Three!) we worked with SNH to develop the Scottish Recreation Survey. The Scottish Recreation Survey ran continuously for 10 years before relaunching as SPANS in 2013 and collecting insights right up until the first Covid 19 lockdown began in March 2020.

With a large annual sample size (12,000), invaluable data on how the Scottish population engage with nature were collected over this period. Trends recorded included an overall growth in the volume of visits taken for outdoor recreation - especially visits involving time in close to home, urban greenspaces and an increasing share of visits motivated by health and wellbeing.

We found that these trends accelerated during the 2020 and 2021 periods of Covid 19 lockdown when NatureScot commissioned 56 Degree Insight to undertake three waves of research to measure how the population was behaving and feeling during the pandemic. This research showed how during these difficult times many of us increased our frequency of visits to local outdoor places such as parks and path networks, relying upon these vital places as somewhere to escape to exercise, unwind, reconnect with nature and spend time with family and friends.

The 2023/24  Scotland’s People and Nature Survey will involve 12,000 online interviews undertaken between April 2023 and March 2024 providing updated insights on how the population is engaging with, caring for and benefitting from nature.

Look out for more updates on progress and results as they are published here or visit NatureScots’ measuring participation webpage here

Helping Veterans Housing Scotland to increase public support during a challenging time for charities

Over the last few months we’ve been delighted to have the opportunity to work with Veterans Housing Scotland.   Established in Edinburgh over 100 years ago Veterans Housing Scotland is a registered charity which provides homes for veterans who are disabled - their main aim is to provide safe and secure homes for veterans within a supportive community.

Veterans Housing Scotland commissioned us to provide then with population insights to help them to achieve their ambitions to raise awareness of the important work they do and to identify how they can increase support, a particular challenge given the economic uncertainties we are facing.

To obtain these insights we surveyed a representative sample of just over a 1,000 Scottish adults in early September 2022, asking a wide range of questions covering general attitudes towards homelessness and veterans, current and planned levels of charitable giving and awareness of and interest in supporting veterans charities with a focus on opportunities for Veterans Housing Scotland.

All charities are facing cost of living challenges…

We found that the vast majority of adults living in Scotland had given to charity at least once in the last year (78%). Indeed a core of just over a third of Scots (35%), typically gave to charity every month and the average amount donated per person per year was £88 (and somewhat more amongst certain population groups including families and members of the most affluent social grades).

However, with rising costs of living, charities face a significant challenge. As shown below we found that with increasing living costs, half of Scots expected that the total amount they would donate to charities in the next 12 months would be less than in the last year. In contrast just 10% expected the amount they would give to increase.  Worryingly, some of the groups who had previously given to charity most often are the most likely to expect to reduce their donations – this includes people in the more affluent socio-economic groups, people who are working full time and people with children in their household.

Addressing homelessness remains a high priority…

More positively, we found that tackling homelessness remains high on the list of priorities for most Scots. Asked to rank a range of issues in order of importance, homelessness was ranked third most important on average (with mental health and tackling poverty ranked as 1st and 2nd) and when considering the types of charity they were most inclined to support in 12 months those organisations which help the homeless were ranked amongst the most important.

To understand the factors driving these high levels of concern, we explored attitudes towards homelessness in more detail. We found that over four in five Scots (83%) agreed with the statement ‘taking steps as a society to reduce homelessness is in everyone’s interests’ while 85% agreed that  ‘people are often pushed into homelessness by circumstances beyond their control.’

Furthermore, around 1 in 3 Scots have had personal experiences or are close to others with personal experiences of homelessness.

How to increase support for Veterans Housing Scotland at a challenging time for everyone?

Our research explored awareness and views towards homelessness amongst veterans in detail. More than half of the population (57%) were aware that historically homelessness has been a particular issue amongst military veterans and the vast majority rated this as issue which is very important to address (73% provided a rating of 7+ on a scale from 0 to 10).

In the context of these high levels of concern, our research tested a range of ways in which Scots could support Veterans Housing Scotland, including donations or volunteering time or skills. This analysis has allowed us to identify the groups most open to supporting their charity and by gaining feedback on alternative brand and communications options we have been able to provide recommendations on the marketing approaches likely to be most effective.

Find out more

If you’d like to find out more about the work undertaken by Veterans Housing Scotland and how you can support their aims, please visit their website www.vhscot.org.uk

Also please get in touch with the team at 56 Degree Insight if you’d like to hear more about our work in the charitable sector or how we can help your organisation using the approaches we’ve followed in this study.

Measuring Social Value

Located in County Down, the Mourne Mountains are the most dramatic mountain range in Northern Ireland and include Northern Ireland’s highest peak Slieve Donard at 850m (2,790 feet).

The Mournes are a landscape and habitat of international importance, located at the heart of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and designated as an Area of Special Scientific Interest. They are also a popular destination for outdoor recreation providing a place for locals, day visitors and tourists to enjoy walking, mountain biking, nature watching and many other pursuits.

Mournes Community Renewal through Nature Project

Our client, the National Trust works with Northern Ireland Water, Woodland Trust and the Mourne Heritage Trust to collectively care for large areas of the Mourne Mountains.  This group of organisations is working together to develop a more holistic and collaborative approach to how they care for the parts of the Mournes owned by the National Trust and Woodland Trust, as well as those owned or managed by public bodies (see map below). 

A survey of users and organisations

To inform this project 56 Degree Insight have been commission to undertake a survey of individuals and organisations who live, work, take part in recreation or use this land in other ways.

The survey is part of wider programme of engagement with the local community and key stakeholders which will provide a detailed insight into issues impacting the land and how to maximise the potential to contribute to quality of life and well-being, mitigate the climate crisis and provide sustainable economic benefits – all while safeguarding the precious and fragile environment from which these derive.

Measuring social value
Our survey is using an online approach to cover a wide range of areas to better understand the profile of individuals and organisations that use the Mournes, the activities they take part in, the quality of their experiences, motivations for visits and their views on priorities for the future of the land.

A key focus of our work is to establish the social value of the Mournes by measuring to what extent users obtain benefits relating to a wide range of areas including health, wellbeing, learning, nature connection and community cohesion. Once fieldwork is complete these results will be applied to data from other sources relating to annual visit numbers and the monetary value of benefits to obtain an estimate of the total social value of the area.

On writing the survey is still live with fieldwork continuing until Monday 26th September. Interim results are already providing valuable insights on how the area is used, the benefits it brings to locals and visitors to the area and their feedback on the future of the area. Final reporting will take place in October.

Find out more
If you’d like to find out more about this survey, our approaches to outdoor recreation evaluations or methods we can use to measure social value, please get in touch

And if you’ve visited the Mournes in the last year or are an organisation operating in the area please take part in the survey by clicking on this link! https://bit.ly/Mournes2022

The impacts of the housing crisis on business in Skye and Lochalsh

During the last 4 months we’ve been working on an important study, commissioned jointly by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Lochalsh & Skye Housing Association, SkyeConnect Tourist Destination Management Organisation and The Highland Council, which has sought to measure the impacts of the lack of affordable housing in Skye and Lochalsh on businesses, in particular their efforts to recruit staff.

The study has involved a mixture of approaches including an online survey of 143 businesses and ten one-to-one in depth consultations with a range of organisations operating in the area (including representatives from several larger private sector companies, the NHS and housing organisations).

The survey results were published earlier this month, revealing that the scale of the problem is significantly worse than public agencies had previously estimated. Headline findings from the research included the following:

• Between 1300 and 1700 job vacancies are currently unfilled because of the lack of accommodation.

• 2 in 5 businesses are currently experiencing recruitment problems with the most significant issues amongst businesses with 5 employees or more

• 29% of businesses have offered a job to an individual who has decided not to take the role. Accommodation issues were mentioned in 50% of these cases

• 1 in 5 people employed in businesses in the area live outside Skye and Lochalsh and 1 in 4 don’t live in their own home

• 25% of businesses expect the number of positions they need to fill to increase over the next three years

• 65% expect recruitment of permanent posts to get harder and 58% expect the situation to worsen in relation to seasonal posts

Our report concluded that the housing shortage is already impacting on the local economy with many businesses forced to reduce the services they deliver or choosing to not invest in the growth of their business. Looking ahead, the chronic lack of supply of affordable housing is constraining economic growth and limiting the ability of businesses to respond to development opportunities across the area.

However, respondents to the study also highlighted that there are many potential solutions to the problems including more investment in all forms of affordable housing. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and government policy needs to be adaptive and sensitive to remote and island needs.

As shown below the release of the report has generated much interest in the press. Our clients for this project will now use the results from the survey to lobby Governments and other public and private sector agencies for the investment they feel is required to alleviate the housing crisis and protect the economy of Skye and Lochalsh.

We look forward to continuing to support our clients for this project in the sharing of results. If you would like to find out more about the research please get in touch.

A return to face to face surveying as we launch the 2022 Canal & River Trust Visitor Survey!

We were hoping for sunshine over the weekend as we began fieldwork for a major new visitor survey on behalf of the Canal & River Trust.  Working with our face to face fieldwork partners Walnut we’ll be undertaking over 100 days of face to face interviewing with visitors to a selection of the Trust’s visitor attractions across England and Wales during May and June. Eight of their main attractions will be included, including Anderton Boat Lift, the Tees Barrage, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct near Wrexham and their museums in Gloucester, Ellesmere Port and Stoke Bruerne.

After a long period of restrictions on face to face interviewing we’re delighted to be back in the field (or should I say on the towpath..). The survey will invite visitors to provide their feedback on their experience at the attraction, what they enjoyed most, what could be improved and their reactions to the possible options for enhancing the visitor experience. We will also capture valuable information the profile of who is visiting Canal & River Trust sites including demographics such as age and life stage and visit details such as transport modes used and whether visitors are on holiday or a day out.

With over 2,000 interviews due to be completed with visitors over the period, the survey will provide a wealth of new insights for each attraction and the ability to compare results by key visitor segments. These insights will be used by the Trust to increase the benefits gained by those who visit their sites (including learning, health, wellbeing and happiness), increase diversity of those visiting and ensure that the attractions are maximising the benefits to the communities they lie within.

If you’d like to find out more about the Canal & River Trust and their work click here - https://canalrivertrust.org.uk

To hear more about the survey get in touch with the team at 56 Degree Insight.

Tracking business performance and confidence in the Cairngorms and Moray & Speyside

Over the last year we’ve been working with Cairngorms Business Partnership to undertake their Cairngorms Business Barometer, a quarterly survey of businesses operating in the Cairngorms National Park tracking a range of areas including numbers of customers, levels of turnover and expectations for the future. In late 2021 we were delighted to be commissioned by Visit Moray Speyside to work with them to launch a similar survey - the Moray Speyside Business Barometer - in their area with the first wave of this new survey completed last month.

Both surveys involve the quarterly completion of a short online questionnaire amongst a sample of businesses, providing details on levels of business during the last 3 months, expectations for the future, general levels of business confidence and the impact of a range of ‘barriers’ on levels of business. The survey approach also allows for the inclusion of a set of ‘hot topic’ questions on a subject of particular interest at that point.

Reflecting the nature of the economy in both areas, while participating businesses are largely involved in the tourism industry, the types of businesses participating is wide ranging, including accommodation providers, retailers, hospitality businesses and food and drink manufacturers. In return for participating, businesses receive rapid access to the survey reports and a personalised summary of the results comparing their own performance and outlook with the averages for businesses across their area.

We published the 2022 Quarter 1 results from both of the Barometers this week, reporting on how businesses in each area had performed during the first three months of the year and their expectations for the rest of 2022 and beyond.

In both surveys the results provided a fairly mixed picture. With the relaxation of Covid restrictions and international tourism markets starting to return, business levels have certainly improved for most in comparison to the same time last year. And in both surveys most businesses indicated that they expect increased levels of business this year and levels of confidence for the short (3 months), medium (12 months) and longer term (24 months) are all slightly above the averages normally seen for this time of year, even pre-pandemic.

However this post pandemic optimism is tempered by growing operational concerns over rising supplier and energy costs, with many businesses already experiencing significantly increased costs and nearly all anticipating hikes during the next 12 months. Staffing concerns are also continuing to present a significant challenge for some businesses as a combination of factors mean that many struggle to fill vacant positions.

Click on the links below if you’d like to find out more about the Cairngorms Business Barometer or Moray Speyside Barometer (or to find out how to take part if you are a business based in either area!) or get in touch with us if you’d like to hear more about the surveys or opportunities to  establish up a Business Barometer in your region.

https://www.cairngormschamber.com

https://morayspeyside.com/barometer/

Provenance, sustainability, country of origin and trends impacting on the foodservice channel – The Chef’s Perspective

Introduction 

In late March we were delighted to be invited to present at The Knowledge Bank’s Foodservice Channel conference at the EICC, sharing the findings of research which explored the views of chefs on the trends impacting upon their menu and ingredient choices.

The study involved a range of research approaches including 14 in-depth interviews with chefs from a variety of types of establishments across Scotland, a focus group with student chefs and a UK wide online survey of over 200 chefs.

Adapting to survive 

We heard from our chefs about how difficult the last two years has been and how their businesses have changed their ways of operating to survive. However, as we emerge from the pandemic many of the chef’s we spoke to told us how changes initially made as a result of Covid-19 restrictions would be continued longer term as they’d been welcomed by customers and/or they provided more profitable ways of operating.

These changes included simplified menus, offering eating at home options, reduced opening hours and, for some, a diversification into new areas such as takeaway coffees or bakery. The pandemic has also driven some hospitality businesses to adopt technology in ways that they would not have considered before, for example at table ordering via a smartphone app, providing additional menu information via QR codes or increasing the use of social media to stay engaged with customers and local communities. 

Food and drink trends here to stay 

The research also uncovered a number of other interrelated trends which began before Covid but accelerated during the pandemic and look set to continue into the longer-term future. These included…

• Environmental sustainability – a vital area, increasingly important to many chefs and consumers and driving a number of the other trends seen including veganism, awareness of food miles and provenance and concerns over packaging.

• Plant based and vegan – an area of rising demand predicted to continue to grow fast, in part because of rising concerns over the environment but also due to customers becoming more aware of the health benefits of the food and drink they consume and the origins of ingredients.

• Rising awareness and concerns over allergens – a general increased desire amongst consumers for transparency over the ingredients in the food and drink they consume and new legislation such as Natasha’s Law.

• Health and wellbeing – growing in importance both in terms of consumer awareness of the health benefits of the food and drink they choose to consume but also a growing importance of promoting wellbeing amongst staff working in the hospitality sector.

• Experiential dining – many of the restaurateurs and caters we spoke to were increasingly looking to provide diners with a unique experience which would leave them with lasting memories.

• Provenance/ slow food – we heard how customers are also seeking more authentic food, made with love, made by smaller local/community producers and with a clear provenance.

• Booming interest in food and drink – all of these trends are set within the context of consumers taking more interest and caring more about the food and drink they consume. This trend is driven by both social media and the significant numbers of programmes on television about cooking, baking, food production, etc. Customers are much more knowledgeable than before, more appreciative and adventurous but also more demanding!

The importance of Provenance

One of the key areas we focused upon in the research was Provenance. After being provided with a short definition of food provenance (“knowing where food was grown, caught or raised, how it was produced and how it was transported”) 3 in 5 of the chefs included in our UK wide survey indicated that this was something that was very important to them when they were making decisions on ingredients to include on menus.

When asked to explain why they felt this way, responses included including a desire to support local producers, the pride in using quality produce with known provenance and the promotional value of being able to tell a story around menu items.

The in-depth interviews provided an opportunity to explore this area in more detail; we found that promoting high quality produce with a clear provenance often reflected a chef’s own personal or business ethos, including a desire to operate an environmentally sustainable business.

Many of the chefs also valued the importance of building positive, trusted relationships with other businesses in their local area, particularly those that shared their values. 

Also, when we talked to our Scottish based chefs about food and drink produced in Scotland response was almost entirely positive with Scottish produce felt to offer many benefits.

First and foremost, we heard how offering Scottish produce on the menu would meet their customer’s demands. For Scottish residents this appeal existed due to a combination of practical reasons, such as an expectation of greater quality and freshness, and more emotional reasons such as a sense of pride and desire to support producers in the local community. For visitors to Scotland, Scottish produce also provided a way for them to try something different from the norm, enhancing their visit experience.

Our chefs provided lots of examples of trusted relationships with local suppliers and producers and all of this added to the appeal of buying Scottish and while buying local could be more expensive, this wasn’t necessarily always the case and there was a recognition that offering dishes which were labelled as Scottish or local could support higher pricing.

Find out more

This short article has summarised a few of the key results from this new research. If you’re involved in the food and drink sector in Scotland and would like to see more of the findings, please get in touch with The Knowledge Bank

If you’d like to have a chat with the 56 Degree Insight team about how our services can help your business to better understand your customers, get in touch.

As we emerge from the Coronavirus pandemic, how are Scots feeling about returning to cultural events?

Creative Scotland have just released the latest report from the series of surveys we have undertaken for them during the Covid-19 pandemic, measuring how the Scottish population has been engaging with arts and culture during this period and their hopes and fears for returning to events and venues as restrictions are eased. 

Fieldwork for this latest survey wave took place in February 2022 with 1,105 online interviews undertaken with a representative sample of the adult population, including a ‘booster’ sample of additional 100 members of the ethnic minority population. 

Consistent with the previous three survey waves (undertaken in 2020 and 2021) half of the population told us that since the pandemic had started they had really missed the opportunity to go to cultural events and venues and, since the re-opening of venues, many had already attended or had plans to attend events and shows with levels of interest highest for cinema, live music, theatre and live comedy.

However concerns around Covid-19 remain for many with 55% of the population continuing to feel worried about the potential health impacts of the virus for them and their family, some respondents stating that outdoor and larger venues are more attractive than smaller indoor ones and, at the time of the fieldwork, just over half (55%) indicated that they supported the idea of events only being available to those who had been fully vaccinated or just obtained a negative test result.  

But as we emerge from one crisis impacting the sector another is on the horizon. Our study also showed the increasing concerns and potential impacts of the rising costs of living– 48% of the population are worried about their household finances for the year ahead and many feel that they will be less likely to attend cultural events in future as they need to save money. Most notably around half or more stated that they may be less likely to attend cinema, theatre or live music due their tightening budgets.

If you would like to find out more about this survey and view the full report visit the Creative Scotland website now or get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss our research approaches and how we can help you.

Identifying tourism growth opportunities in Aberdeenshire

In March we were delighted to be able to present the final results of a programme of qualitative research which we recently completed for VisitAberdeenshire. 

The research aimed to provide VisitAberdeenshire with a detailed understanding of the views and opinions of potential visitors to their area, exploring a number of key areas including how the pandemic has changed attitudes to domestic travel, perceptions of Scotland, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen as a destination and the actions that need to be taken to achieve ambitions to grow the value of the sector. 

To obtain the in-depth understanding of consumers views and attitudes needed a qualitative approach was used with a total of six online focus groups conducting using Zoom amongst residents of the North of England and Scotland. 

The focus groups recruitment ensured that as well as speaking to people in our selected locations, we recruited a mix of people in different lifestages (from young independents, to family and empty nesters) and people with different levels of previous experience of the region – from recent visitors to those with limited awareness of what the region offers.

The insights from this research will be used by VisitAberdeenshire and their partners to guide the actions taken as they work towards the ambitions for the region – first and foremost the planning of marketing activities which will stimulate recovery in the area’s tourism sector as we emerge from the pandemic.

If you would like to find out more about this study or other research we’ve undertaken in the tourism sector or a qualitative research offer please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Helping Anglian Water’s customers to love every drop

Driving up customer satisfaction is essential for Anglian Water. Yet, as a water company which provides a service which many people don’t think much about, this can be a challenging ambition.

While the day to day customer service provided by Anglian Water undoubtedly plays a vital role in improving customer satisfaction levels (from fixing leaks and unblocking pipes to responding to call centre enquiries quickly), given the low levels of day to day contact the organisation has with the vast majority of customers, how the brand is communicated is also extremely important.

Recognising this Anglian Water’s communications seek to make it clear what the organisation does and what their brand stands for, seeking to move from a place where users of their services have little or no interest or knowledge in what they do to one where customers care about and appreciate what the organisation does. The ultimate aim of their communications is to help customers to understand Anglian Water’s brand purpose and the relevance this has to their own lives and those of others living in their community.

Brand tracking

We are delighted to have been working with Anglian Water for the last year to undertake analysis and reporting of their brand tracking research. This research programme involves quarterly ‘dips’ surveying a representative sample of customers from across the Anglian Water region. The survey tracks a number of key indicators including brand awareness, knowledge, advocacy and how well they are delivering against a number of strategic areas of focus such as sustainability, value and community engagement.

The research also allows us to test the effectiveness of Anglian Water’s communications (for example see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6TZaulQwI) to evaluate to what extent communications are reaching their target audiences, the messages being taken, how these are impacting on people’s opinions of the brand and any actions taken as a result.

Business impact

The results from the brand tracking are proving invaluable to Anglian Water by giving them the actionable insights they need to pursue their brand, comms and creative strategies. This has included identification of the key drivers of positive brand perception and customer satisfaction and a deeper understanding of how to connect the brand, comms and customer experience. 

If you’d like to discuss how 56 Degree Insight can support you in your brand and communications evaluation or would like to hear more about the work that we are doing in the utilities sector, please get in touch.

As restrictions ease will the pandemic have a lasting impact on how Scots engage with nature?

NatureScot have just released the third in a series of national surveys we have undertaken for them tracking the population’s behaviours and feelings relating to outdoor recreation and nature over the course of Covid-19 pandemic.

Fieldwork for the latest survey wave ran in September 2021 and involved over 1,100 interviews. Encouragingly, our survey found that even as restrictions eased in the summer and some aspects of life began to return normal, the increased levels of engagement with nature recorded during periods of lockdown continued for many people.

Indeed, two thirds of the population agreed that compared to pre-pandemic they were more likely to notice health and wellbeing benefits from spending time outdoors and a third of told us that their enjoyment of wildlife in their local area had increased.

However with the increased numbers of people enjoying the outdoors, many users also noticed an increased amount of litter. Almost half told us that litter had spoilt their enjoyment while 29% experienced a lack of public toilet facilities!To see more results from this survey click on the link below.

If you’d like to find out more don’t hesitate to get in touch.

https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1289-enjoying-outdoors-monitoring-impact-coronavirus-and-social

Finding solutions to business housing needs in Skye and Lochalsh

Next month fieldwork will go live on a new survey of businesses based in Skye and Lochalsh, seeking to find out to what extent a lack of affordable accommodation is making it difficult to recruit staff and to obtain the business community’s views on possible solutions to the problem. 

This important new study, which has been commissioned jointly by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Lochalsh & Skye Housing Association, SkyeConnect Tourist Destination Management Organisation and The Highland Council, follows on from similar studies undertaken by 56 Degree Insight during 2021 in Badenoch & Strathspey and Lochaber. These previous studies provided valuable evidence on the impacts of a lack of affordable housing in these areas including estimates of the proportion of businesses facing recruitment challenges because staff cannot find accommodation, the numbers of positions impacted and details on the types of accommodation most needed to address these problems.

The survey of businesses in Skye and Lochalsh will aim to gather similar evidence on the extent that a lack of housing is impacting upon recruitment and go further by asking participants to have their say on the best possible solutions - giving their own opinions on the actions that should be taken and their reactions to a range of potential solutions. 

While the core of the study will be an online survey of businesses, due to take place during February, a follow up series of one to one interviews will be undertaken with a selection of organisations to obtain more in depth feedback on the issues faced and the actions which need to be taken to resolve them.  This stage will provide us with the opportunity to engage in more detail with some of the larger employers in the area and potentially other stakeholders including land owners.

We look forward to launching the new survey soon. If you would like to find out more about the research or if you are a business based in Skye and Lochalsh and would like to take part in the research please get in touch!

Launching a new survey for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust

We are delighted to have been commissioned by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust to undertake an important new survey of residents of former coal mining communities across Scotland, exploring a range of areas from the population’s demographics to housing, fuel poverty, health, wellbeing and community cohesion.   

At its peak in the early 1900’s the UK’s coalmining industry employed near 1.2 million people but as the industry contracted large numbers of pits closed with a devastating impact on the communities that relied upon them.

The most significant job losses occurred following the miners’ strike in the mid 1980’s and since then mining has come to an end in most parts of the UK. While the mining industry has shed over 250,000 jobs since 1980s, alongside these direct job losses many other jobs have been lost in the communities which once relied so heavily upon this industry.

By the late 1990’s the 5.5 million people living in former coalfield areas continued to face significant challenges including a lack of employment opportunities, high levels of poor health and many people held little or no qualifications.   

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust

With this backdrop, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust was established as an independent charity in 1999 with the following mission:

“To create opportunities for social and economic growth, deliver a positive lasting impact and ensure former mining communities are not disadvantaged by the legacy of the past.”

To deliver this mission CRT focused their activities on the delivery of the following goals:

• Employment – increasing the number of people in work and creating the conditions for new job opportunities in communities

• Skills – growing the confidence, skills and qualification of the coalfield population

• Health and wellbeing – improving the health outcomes for the coalfield population and increasing the numbers of people taking part in healthy lifestyle activities.

In Scotland, CRT receive direct grant support from the Scottish Government and work in partnership with government and their agencies to achieve these goals. 

Working with partners CRT provide support to Scotland’s coalfield communities in a wide range of ways, from providing voluntary organisations with hands on support to help them to build capacity to the establishment of the ‘Hub’ in Kincardine, Fife, a flexible working space which provides an office and meeting space for the local community.

The Hub, Kincardine

Understanding Scotland’s coalfield communities

To support the planning of their activities in Scotland CRT identified the need to undertake a survey of residents of Scottish coalfield communities which would provide them with insights on the people who live in these areas, how they live and their views on life in these areas.

While data on these topics is available at a national and, to some extent, regional level in Scotland, the existing national surveys such as the Scottish Household Survey and Scottish House Conditions Survey do not provide data at the geographic levels of interest to CRT. 

Scotland’s coalfield areas

The 56 Degree Insight team are excited to have the opportunity to work with CRT to design and undertake this new survey which will launch in the new year. 

Questionnaire design is underway now; we will be aiming to provide detailed new insights which have not been available before – from details on the population profile such as their economic, health and wellbeing status, to details on housing conditions and more attitudinal measures on topics such as community engagement and satisfaction with local amenities. 

Survey fieldwork starts in January 2022 with the report due to be published by CRT in Spring 2022. We look forward to sharing the headline findings with you then.

If you’d like to discuss this research or how we can help you with similar requirements get in touch with Duncan or Jim at 56 Degree Insight.

Click here if you would like to find out more about the Coalfields Regeneration Trust 

Helping CalMac navigate to a new normal

A lifeline service during a time of crisis

It’s now over a year and a half since Scotland went into its first full lockdown to reduce the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic. Throughout this period our client Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) has continued to provide an essential lifeline ferry service to residents of islands on the west of Scotland.

During the first lockdown which began in March 2020, CalMac reduced its timetable to an essential lifeline service for use by only those who really needed to travel such as NHS workers and those responsible for the delivery of essentials such as food. Their timetable reduced to less than 30% of its normal capacity and at the height of the lockdown passenger numbers dropped to less than 5% of normal volumes.

During this period CalMac also introduced many other changes to ensure that the vulnerable island communities they served were protected from infection. This included a move from cash to card only payments, a limited food offering and a requirement for passengers to wear face coverings in all inside areas. Also, to ensure that physical distancing requirements could be met, some passenger areas were reconfigured, capacity was less than in ‘normal times’ and a change of rules was made on some routes to allow passengers to remain in their vehicles during the crossing.

While there was a degree of easing for some time during summer 2020, restrictions were reintroduced in full in late 2020 when Scotland entering a second full lockdown.  This second lockdown remained in place until April 2021 when the ‘stay at home’ rule was firstly changed to ‘stay local’ and by the end of the month non-essential travel beyond home local authority areas was allowed again. 

While at this point CalMac were able to resume their summer timetable, ongoing physical distancing requirements until early August meant that capacity levels remained below normal, and passengers were asked to continue to book travel in advance and build in extra time when arriving at ‘turn up and go’ routes.

While some uncertainty continues, easing has since continued with most remaining major restrictions lifted in August when the country moved to ‘beyond level 0’. However, on writing some guidance impacting travel remains in place, most notably advice to work from home whenever possible and a requirement to wear face coverings on public transport. 

Getting back to normal?

While the first lockdown seemed a temporary change for all of us, the second lockdown, and the likelihood that some restrictions are likely to be retained for a long time to come, is leading to many businesses re-examining their operations in the knowledge that behavioural change among consumers may be long lasting as our working and home lives continue to readjust. 

CalMac is no different so they are looking to gain a clear understanding of the requirements of their customers.  While various surveys and external sources such as our Scottish Tourism Index have provided them with an understanding of the needs of tourists and how these may impact upon the leisure side of the business, CalMac identified the need to better understand the views and changing requirements of commuters and islanders as we emerged from the pandemic. 

A survey of non-leisure passengers to inform future strategy

Given this context we were delighted to be commissioned in spring 2021 to support CalMac in the collection and analysis of insights which would help provide them with this understanding of their non-leisure market. 

The survey is very much a partnership, we have provided input on the initial questionnaire design, CalMac administer the online survey (promoting it via channels seen by regular customers such as social media) and we then undertake the data analysis and reporting of findings.

To date three waves of surveying have been undertaken to track changing passenger behaviours and aspirations as the restrictions were eased over the summer of 2021.

Across the 3 waves of surveying conducted so far, over 1,100 passengers have provided their input, including details on their usage of CalMac before the pandemic, currently and expectations for the future and their feedback on changes required to improve services now and in future. This feedback ranges from comments relating to the ongoing Covid 19 related protections to more ‘business as usual’ feedback on matters such as timetabling and ticketing.

Results are reported to CalMac quickly after the fieldwork completes allowing them to stay in touch with passenger needs around current topics such as capacity, reliability and the on board catering offer, as well as longer term subjects such as changes in commuting, leisure or shopping behaviours.

If you would like to find out more about the surveys we do in the transport sector or relating to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic please get in touch.

Helping address the housing crisis in Badenoch and Strathspey

Introduction

Recently, 56 Degree Insight have been working with local organisations and Chambers of Commerce in various parts of Scotland to understand the scale of the housing shortage in some parts of the country which is limiting economic sustainability and growth in these areas. Work undertaken in the first area covered - Badenoch and Strathspey - has just been completed, and a Housing Summit took place in Aviemore today and the press release reproduced below from Cairngorm Business Partnership provides further details and the response from the Scottish Government Ministers involved:

Kate Forbes, Highland MSP and Cabinet Secretary for Housing address Cairngorms housing Summit

Business leaders, public sector and community representatives came together today to discuss the housing crisis in Badenoch & Strathspey with Kate Forbes, Highland MSP who is also Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy and Shona Robison, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government.

The summit at Macdonald Aviemore Resort and led by the Cairngorms Business Partnership brought together some of the significant employers in the area and leaders from Highland Council, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Highland Housing Alliance, Communities Housing Trust, Government Officials, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and representatives of the local community.

The summit discussed work underway to help people, who want to live in, work in and care for the area, find homes.

Ms Robison, who opened the summit, commented “Good quality, affordable housing is essential to help attract and retain people in Scotland’s remote and rural communities. As part of our £3.4 billion Affordable Housing Supply Programme we have delivered more than 6,000 affordable homes in rural and island communities between 2016-17 and 2020/21.

Building on this, we are now working to deliver 110,000 affordable homes across Scotland by 2032, of which 10% will be in our remote, rural and island communities. This will be backed by a Remote, Rural & Islands Housing Action Plan – we now want to engage with community organisations and those in the public and private sector to ensure it delivers for people in these areas.”

The results of a recent business housing demand survey, conducted by 56 Degree insight, were released at the summit. The results found that:

• two in three businesses state the lack of affordable housing has inhibited their ability to recruit new staff (68%)

• 39% indicated that this was having a ‘major impact’ on their business.

• over half of the businesses (59%) expected the issues to worsen if no action was taken.

• the meeting heard that, right now, there are 180 vacancies in Badenoch and Strathspey listed on the Indeed website alone. Survey results suggest that around 50 of these will not be filled due to a shortage of suitable homes.

The survey was commissioned by Highland Council and the Cairngorms Business Partnership. The Scottish Government, the National Park Authority and the Highland Council have undertaken to take the results into account when assessing housing needs analysis for Badenoch and Strathspey and therefore funding and allocations for public sector supported housing.

The summit also discussed an innovative scheme being led by the Cairngorms Business Partnership (CBP) to improve the prospects for local employees looking to rent homes in Badenoch and Strathspey. In a pilot partnership with Highland Council and the Highland Housing Alliance (HHA,) with support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the CBP will establish a not for profit, business led, organisation that will offer rent void guarantees to HHA and in return properties will be allocated based on local employment needs. The initial pilot for 4 homes in Aviemore is expected to be available for occupation in summer 2022.

Commenting on the scheme, Mark Tate, chief executive of the Cairngorms Business Partnership, commented “The lack of affordable homes for people who want to work in, live in and care for the National Park, has long been a problem. This past summer it has severely impacted business recovery. This pilot clearly demonstrates that businesses are prepared to make a contribution to help alleviate the problem and ensure new mid market rent housing is available for people working locally. We very much see all of the work we are discussing here today as work that we can replicate across the National Park and can be useful for many rural communities beyond that”.

Convener of Highland Council, local councillor and Aviemore resident, Bill Lobban added “The biggest issue facing our community is the provision of affordable housing. Our economy is almost exclusively tourism based so we do need accommodation for tourists but we also desperately need homes for the local people who live and work here many of whom serve the tourists who come here in their droves. There has to be a balance and currently that balance has shifted far too far away from the provision of affordable housing and we must redress that balance as a matter of urgency.”

Finally the summit heard, from the Communities Housing Trust who have been commissioned by the CBP with support from HIE, about a longer term ambition to develop a community of around 80 homes from short term seasonal worker accommodation to homes for people to build, buy, buy to rent and rent of varying sizes built around a community of local people; fitting for a National Park delivering economic, community and environmental sustainability. This scheme has the ambition of keeping at least 80% of those homes for local employees and people who want to live, work and care for the area in perpetuity.

There then followed a positive discussion about how these schemes can be improved further and a commitment from all parties to build on these solutions in a way that allows them to be scaled and replicated across the National Park and further.

Xander McDade, Convener of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: “The availability of affordable housing is an issue of profound importance to the communities and businesses of the National Park, something which is again coming across loud and clear from our consultation on the next Park Partnership Plan. Having recently increased the affordable housing requirement to 45% in key settlements, we welcome today’s announcements and look forward to working with partners on substantially increasing affordable housing as set out in the draft National Park Partnership Plan.”

Closing the meeting Ms Forbes commented “I am delighted that the Housing Minister, Shona Robison, is spending time with businesses to seek to resolve this major issue.There are tools at our disposal, in terms of building and securing more housing, but we need to make sure it is the right kind of housing for those who are most in need.”