Visitors from Overseas to
London’s Theatre
September 2010
Coming up…
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London’s Importance to Inbound Tourism
London’s Top Inbound Markets
Importance of Heritage and Culture
Theatre Visitors from Overseas
Value Messaging
Importance of Word of Mouth
Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)
London’s Importance to Inbound
Tourism
• 14.2 million visitors in 2009
–
–
–
–
11 times Edinburgh
18 times Manchester
20 times Birmingham
50% of all staying visits in the UK
• Spent £8.2 billion (£580 average per visitor)
• International Hub
– Mix of short and long-haul visitors
– Higher proportion of Holiday visitors than UK average
• Olympic & Paralympic Games
Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)
London – Top Inbound Markets
2009 - Visits (000)
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2,000
USA
France
Germany
Spain
Italy
Ireland
Netherlands
Australia
Canada
Poland
Switzerland
Belgium
Sweden
Denmark
Norway
Japan
India
Austria
Portugal
South Africa
•
•
London relies on mature markets and always will
However, emerging markets such as Brazil, India, China, and Russia
are forecast to grow rapidly over the next decade
Source: Nation Brands Index 2009,
VisitBritain/International Passenger Survey
The importance of Culture & Heritage
• 57% of online population agree that Culture & Heritage is
a strong influence on their choice of holiday destination
(NBI)
– 15% disagreed
• Britain can capitalise
– UK is rated as 4th out of 50 nations for Culture
– 4th for Contemporary Culture
– 4th for Vibrant and Exciting Cities
• Culture & Heritage motivates £4.5 billion inbound spend in
the UK
– 100,000+ jobs
Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)
Figures are for visitors who only visited London
Theatre is a fairly common activity for
visitors to London from overseas
• One in six visits involves theatre (all journey purposes)
– One in four visits (holiday)
• Fairly even seasonal spread
• Over 2/3 of theatre visitors from overseas are on holiday
– 1/5 VFR
– 1/20 Business
• 64% Musicals, 25% Play, 3% Dance, 1% Opera (Ipsos
MORI)
Source: VisitBritain/Nation Brands Index
Musicals more appealing to females
and seniors
• Similar story for theatre/ballet/opera
Appeal of Britain’s Theatre, Opera,
Ballet
• Similar story to musicals in terms of age/gender
Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)
Figures are for visitors who only visited London
Females likely to drive decision to go
• 55% of theatre-goers from overseas are female
– likely to bring their partner
• Theatre attracts visitors of all ages…
65+, 5%
55-64, 12%
0-15, 4%
16-24, 18%
45-54, 19%
25-34, 23%
35-44, 17%
…But Older Age Groups Have a Higher
Propensity to Visit
• Amongst Holiday visitors, 29% of over 45s went to the
theatre in 2009 (vs 23% of under 45s)
• Due to aging populations, the proportion of visitors to
Britain aged 55+ has been growing for years, and should
continue
• In 1993, 12% of visitors were 55+ (18% in 2009)
• In 1993, 25% of visitors were under 25 (18% in 2009)
• The West End is well positioned to capitalise on
demographic trends, but must keep connection with
younger audiences too
– 44% of visitors to the UK were 25-44 in 2009
Musicals have highest resonance
amongst English-speakers
• Musicals have highest appeal in Norway, Denmark,
Sweden, Ireland
• Theatre, Opera, Ballet most highly regarded by
Nordics, Asian nations, and parts of Latin America
(NBI)
Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS)
Figures are for visitors who only visited London
League of London Theatre Visits
Proportion of theatre visits
0%
5%
10%
15%
Proportion of visits involving theatre
0%
20%
USA
Germany
Netherlands
Spain
France
Irish Republic
Denmark
Italy
Australia
Norway
Canada
Sweden
Switzerland
Belgium
Austria
• 1 in 6 theatre-visitors from
overseas is from the USA
10%
20%
30%
Denmark
Brazil
Norway
New Zealand
South Korea
Greece
Malaysia
Austria
Canada
Australia
Netherlands
USA
Portugal
Singapore
South Africa
•
Visitors from countries with
a high level of English,
visitors from Asia, and from
Brazil have a high
propensity to go to theatre
40%
Average Cost of Sterling for Inbound
Visitors
0
• …cost of Sterling has fallen
Jul-10
Jan-10
Jul-09
Jan-09
Jul-08
Jan-08
Jul-07
Jan-07
Jul-06
Jan-06
Jul-05
Jan-05
Jul-04
Jan-04
Jul-03
Jan-03
Jul-02
Jan-02
Jul-01
Jan-01
Source: Ipsos MORI, VisitBritain
Price of Tickets and General Expense are
main reasons for not going more often, but…
120
100
80
60
40
20
Source: VisitBritain
Cost of Sterling presents an
opportunity
• From Aug 2007 to Aug 2010 Sterling has fallen…
•
•
•
•
•
•
20%
22%
28%
17%
18%
18%
against
against
against
against
against
against
US Dollar
the Euro
the Australian Dollar
the Swedish Krona
the Norwegian Krone
the Danish Krone
Source: Ipsos MORI, TNS/VisitBritain
Theatre is a ‘Hidden Opportunity’
• For the majority of visitors to Britain, theatre is not the main
reason for the trip
– Theatre was main reason for visiting London for 13% of theatregoers from overseas
– 49% of theatre-visitors from overseas book on the day or one day
before the performance
• However, visitors from overseas who went to the theatre in
Britain are even more likely to recommend Britain than nontheatre-visitors
– Encouraging more visitors to go to the theatre once they have
decided to visit will result in more recommendations
• Word of mouth is the most common way overseas visitors find
out about theatre productions
• Growing importance of social media
Key Points
• High appeal to visitors with a high level of English
• More appealing for females and more senior age
groups, although many theatre visitors are younger
• The cost of sterling is a major opportunity relative
to a few years ago
• For the majority, theatre is not the reason to visit
Britain, but word of mouth drives recommendations
Source: Lynn Jones London Visitor Survey
Theatre is frequently mentioned as one of the
most enjoyable aspects of the trip, especially
the Globe and musicals
Attending a
performance at the
Globe Theatre and
standing in the 'yard'.
Fantastic!
- USA
We enjoyed the
theatre, specifically
Les Miserables and the
Lion King.
- USA
Being with my
grown kids and
'Spamalot' at
one of the
original
theatres! I just
want to go
back to see
theatre!!!
- USA
It was a Theatre
experience. I saw 9
shows in the 8 days USA
Monty Python's
Spamalot!!!!!!Denmark
The best was Billy
Elliot the Musical –
South Africa
Sources
• International Passenger Survey (Office for National
Statistics)
• Nation Brands Index (2007, GMI)
• Nation Brands Index (2009, GfK)
• The West End Theatre Audience (Society of London
Theatre, Ipsos MORI)
• Lynn Jones London Visitor Survey (2008-9)
• Visitor Experience Research (TNS/VisitBritain, 2007)