7

The tourism perspective

Introduction

The previous chapter was concerned with the supply side of the arts–tourism relationship, from the arts perspective. This chapter continues the same theme but from the tourism perspective (the right-hand half of Figure 6.1). The tourist industry has always taken an interest in the arts but there has been a particular interest in recent years. It was seen in Chapter 5 how the ETB had expressed concern in the early 1980s about the state of live entertainment in seaside resorts. There has been little obvious concern for this since and the attention has shifted to the ‘arts’ in the wider sense and to cities and to foreign tourists coming to Britain.

The structure and content of this chapter are similar to that of Chapter 6 but topics are regarded from the tourism studies perspective rather than from that of the arts. This chapter includes a discussion of:

  arts and entertainment as part of the range of tourist attractions;

  reasons why and the ways in which the tourist industry is involved;

  whether or not people do go to see arts and entertainment when they are tourists;

  a comparison of the tourists who attend the arts and entertainment and those who do not;

  the influence of the arts and entertainment on the decision of tourists to visit a particular place.

A classification of tourist resources

Many in the tourist industry see value in the arts as a means of encouraging tourists. They are seen as an attraction of a tourist destination. Tourist destinations may be analysed by examining a number of features of the destination: the ‘four As’ (see Figure 7.1):

  Attractions: the features that cause a tourist to visit. They have the ability (either by themselves or together) to attract visitors and may also be termed ‘primary tourism factors’.

  Amenities: features, such as shops and restaurants, that do not themselves attract visitors but which add to a destination’s attractiveness and may also be termed ‘secondary tourism factors’.

Figure 7.1   Components of the holiday destination

  Accommodation: its amount and quality are influential in determining numbers of tourists and is also a ‘secondary tourism factor’.

  Access: this can take many forms including number and quality of roads, car parking, number and frequency of air flights or train services and also cost of travel. This is one of the ‘additional tourism factors’.

It is not too clear how certain sights and sites become tourist attractions but they have been ‘marked’ somehow through guide books, films, books and a cumulative popular mythology as being significant (Britton, 1991). What might be considered by a tourist to be an attraction can be a local amenity for residents. Museums, art galleries, theatres and cathedrals may be patronized by locals as well as by visitors and classification as a tourist attraction is often problematic especially given that locals may feel they have a priority claim. Where attractions occur in ‘clusters’, in close proximity to each other, it gives added drawing power to a destination.

Putting any feature such as the arts into the ‘attraction’ or ‘amenity’ category depends on the motivation of the tourist. As noted previously, the arts can be a primary interest of a tourist and as such they are a major attraction of a destination. For other tourists, the arts are of lesser importance and they are not the attraction of a destination but an ‘amenity’ which makes the decision to visit more likely but is not critical. Thus arts appears under both attractions and amenities in Figure 7.1. It appears also under the fourth A, ‘accommodation’. Entertainment is often provided in hotels (and bars, clubs and restaurants) and hotel-based entertainment probably features in many tourists’ experiences. It may be relevant to the choice of destination, however incidentally (see later this chapter).

Whatever the significance of the arts and entertainment in attracting tourists, they may make a significant contribution to arts-peripheral tourist experiences. Holidays may have a focus of sun-bathing or visiting museums and historic sites but they invariably involve evening activities that complement these primary elements of the tourist trip. There is likely to be a demand throughout a holiday for visits to restaurants, bars and clubs, cinemas and theatres, usually in the evening. Going to the theatre is but one of these secondary activities. A 1991 survey is one of the few to provide information about evening activities. It showed that, for overseas visitors to the UK, ‘leisurely meal in a restaurant’ was the most common evening activity (75 per cent of visitors) followed by ‘strolling around’ and ‘visits to pubs’ and then ‘theatre or classical music concerts’ by a third of visitors. Visits to discos, night-clubs or to a pop or rock music concert were made by only a relatively low percentage of overseas visitors (BTA, 1992).

Entertainment may also feature however in many bars, clubs, restaurants and hotels as well as the more obvious and explicit visit to the theatre or concert hall. All of these ‘amenities’ are essential and critical elements of the holiday product so that their absence or perceived poor quality could affect the number of tourists though the significance of any one of them may be unclear.

A person away from home to visit relatives or friends may also look for evening entertainment as part of the trip and business travellers may look for diversions in the form of entertainment. It is widely expected that conferences and conventions will include a programme of entertainment for delegates and partners as a standard part of the experience.

Figure 7.2 shows the relationship between this classification of tourist resources and the classification of the arts-related tourist. For the arts-core tourist, the arts and entertainment will undoubtedly be an ‘attraction’. For the arts-peripheral tourist with incidental intent, the arts are less important than other attractions but could be either an ‘attraction’ or an ‘amenity’ dependent upon the strength of the intent. For the accidental arts-related tourist, the arts will not be an ‘attraction’ but could well be an ‘amenity’.

Figure 7.2   Relationship between ‘type’ of tourist and tourist resources

Jansen-Verbeke’s (1986) classification of tourist resources is important for differentiating between the ‘activity place’ and ‘leisure setting’ aspects of a destination. This draws attention to the fact that a town or city’s overall layout and character and the way-of-life of its inhabitants can be powerful elements in attracting tourists. The attraction of a destination can often be character and atmosphere that amount to more than the physical buildings or activities in them. Performances in theatres, concert halls and elsewhere (including on-street) can contribute considerably to this atmosphere as do cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs. It may be regarded as a fifth A – ‘atmosphere’ (see Figure 7.1) – which includes layout and character of a town, the way-of-life of its inhabitants and the whole feel of a place – its ‘buzz’, whether it is vibrant, exciting and sleazy or calm and refined. In the case of Amsterdam, for instance, it is the place as a whole and the free-and-easy atmosphere rather than any impressive individual buildings or attractions that are the appeal of the city (Ashworth and Tunbridge, 1990). Towns and cities where things are happening and there is plenty of night-life, in particular, may prove particularly attractive for tourists. The very presence of ‘fun things to do’ may draw tourists even though not all will go to the theatre or clubs or eat out.

This is especially evident in the fact that the existence of arts and entertainment may draw visitors even though those visitors have no intention of attending and do not in fact do so. The arts and entertainment are ingredients that symbolize a holiday atmosphere and identify a tourist area as such or as a particular type of tourist area. They are one part of the collection of attractions that need to be present if an area is to achieve a critical mass for viability as a tourist destination. Visitors may be drawn by this overall attractiveness. This indirect influence on the decision to visit is difficult to measure.

In a related way, the presence of ‘high arts’ that are prestigious may identify and give a sense of identity to a location. This may enhance the attractiveness to tourists even if they do not visit the event or facility. There is probably a tourist spill-over effect from an event such as the Edinburgh Festival. It creates an image of the city that is ‘attractive’ and increases general awareness of the city so that people visit it at non-Festival times.

Arts and entertainment can therefore feature as a tourist resource in several ways. Apart from the case where they are the main attraction they may occur in other tourist experiences, however incidentally or accidentally or even ‘unintentionally’ (see Figure 7.2). Some tourists may not make a deliberate decision to see arts or entertainment but experience it as a result of a visit to a club or restaurant or a stay in a hotel.

Any tourist destination (actual and potential) would therefore want to ensure the provision of arts and entertainment of the appropriate form and in the appropriate quantity and quality if it is to succeed as a destination. In the case of the UK as a whole it may be that the arts are a strength of the ‘product’ in which case this becomes even more important. This is also true for most seaside towns in this country. For destinations with other resources, such as climate and scenery that are attractions, the arts and entertainment become less important.

Reasons and involvement

Because of its significance in the tourism experience it is not surprising that the tourism industry has become involved in several ways with the arts and entertainment, including encouragement, using them in tourism products and direct provision. There are several components of the tourism industry (see Chapter 3) and each sector will have its own reasons for being involved with the arts and entertainment.

For commercial organizations it is obvious that the potential for earning profit is important but for other bodies such as local government and tourist boards this is less important. There is optimism about cultural tourism generally because it is regarded as:

  an additional market: it is ‘new’ and it exists in addition to (or instead of) other forms of tourism in that it satisfies motives not satisfied by the sea and sun based type of tourism. There is a demand for such a form of tourism which provides an opportunity for commercial exploitation.

  a growth market: not only does a demand exist, but there is a great deal of optimism that tourism related to culture generally and to the arts in particular will continue to expand.

  a ‘premium’ market which can be more profitable than mass-market, low-margin package holidays to the sun.

In addition it may be seen as having growth potential in the sense of there being groups of consumers with interest who have not been yet been targeted in marketing strategies. The arts as part of cultural tourism and as part of the activities of other tourists are also regarded favourably.

Tourist boards

It was seen in Chapter 6 that marketing approaches for encouraging theatre audiences could take several forms including marketing directly to tourists at a destination and also, more indirectly, marketing the destination itself. Tourist boards or visitor bureaux (and local councils) are involved with this second process. Tourist boards (local, regional and national) who encourage tourists to a destination have no direct involvement in arts provision and can only encourage the arts and entertainment industry to provide.

The tourist boards’ role is largely to facilitate the commercial activities of others. Part of this function is to identify the particular strengths of a destination that may be identified as being in the arts (see Figure 7.3). They also, through their market research, may identify a demand for arts-related tourism. In this way tourist boards provide assistance to the arts industry encouraging it to exploit the perceived advantages through product development and/or own marketing. Tourist boards may go further and provide advice and assistance in marketing or in product development. Tourist boards such as the BTA and ETB have recognized the link for many years (BTA, 1983) and encouraged the relationship in a number of ways. Following its report on seaside entertainment in 1984 (see Chapter 5) the ETB launched a major promotion ‘England Entertains’ in the following year. This was designed to encourage live entertainment. The ETB published the Arts Tourism Marketing Handbook in 1993 and, with the BTA, has organized a series of seminars bringing together arts managers, tour operators, travel agents and tourist boards. Additionally the BTA has published (1997) a ‘Tourism and the arts advice pack’ aimed at arts managers and a regular ‘Tourism and the arts’ newsletter. The BTA distributes promotional material through its overseas offices.

Figure 7.3   Tourism industry and the arts

The Festival of Arts and Culture was launched by the BTA in 1995 as an umbrella, or generic, campaign highlighting music, literature, theatre and art as a tourist attraction. This was basically a promotional campaign with the detail of what was being offered being left to the arts and tourism worlds. It is estimated that it generated an extra £150 million of spending by overseas visitors (Smith and Jenner, 1998).

Marketing strategies may focus in whole or part on the arts. It has already been noted that the UK may have a particular strength here and in heritage (see later this chapter). Other countries similarly have significant cultural assets that they utilize as tourist resources. The tourist boards would be likely themselves to feature these strengths in their own marketing of destinations.

Tourist boards may produce material aimed at the specialist arts segment – calendars of events, brochures and specialist maps indicating places of interest with artistic connections.

Some marketing campaigns are joint efforts between tourist boards, local government and local arts boards.

Local government

Local government will often be directly involved with the provision or financing of arts and entertainment (see Chapters 2 and 5). Regardless of that, it does have a responsibility for the well-being of its citizens and, as such, will encourage activities such as arts-related tourism that are regarded as being economically beneficial (see Figure 7.3). The arts may be regarded as a special strength of the destination in terms of tourism potential (as in many cities). In other cases, such as seaside tourist towns, it may be regarded as a necessary complement to several other strengths. Many local councils (especially in cities) have developed tourism strategies and arts strategies that are linked with each featuring the other. Tourism strategies include the arts as a tourist attraction and arts strategies include tourism as a particularly beneficial outcome (see Chapter 8). Such tourism strategies may take the form of encouraging others (the arts and entertainment industry) to provide the product and of offering assistance in marketing. It was noted in the previous chapter how arts managers distribute leaflets through the Tourist Information Centre network in the UK (a network financed by local government).

In addition, however, many local councils also accept responsibility for marketing their towns and cities as tourist destinations. For some, the arts will feature as a particular strength. Coastal local councils have been in the forefront of place-marketing of seaside towns, and cities have followed with city-imaging partly to attract tourists. Local councils may undertake place-marketing themselves but increasingly it is undertaken jointly with the private commercial sector. Local councils are, of course, not the only bodies to engage in these activities as tourist boards do so also. Local regional tourist boards in particular have a strong local council membership.

Local councils will encourage the arts in order to stimulate their economies and to create income and employment. They will also be interested in the potential of the market as:

  a quality or prestige market: the product, whether ‘high arts’ or pop festival, may enhance the status of the town, city or country and encourage civic or national pride;

  a profile-enhancing market: the product may have the ability to attract considerable media attention.

Both of these will be significant for their ability to stimulate not only tourism related directly to the arts product but also tourism at other times as well. They are considered important too for their potential in encouraging other economic development and ‘inward investment’ including the location of other non-related businesses in the area.

Tour operators, travel agents

Even if the competitive advantage of a particular place is in the arts and entertainment, it does not mean that an arts-related tourism product will be offered by commercial organizations. A specific involvement such as a tour operator providing or a travel agent selling arts-related products usually follows from the potential of earning profits and from recognition that the arts-related tourism market is a ‘new’ growth or a premium market (see above). Tour operators use the arts and entertainment product in developing a ‘package’ of performance tickets and accommodation (and sometimes transport), which is then marketed to the public (see Figure 7.3).

These commercial organizations are generally thought of as offering and selling sun- and sea-based packages for holidays to foreign countries. There do exist, however, a number of small specialist operators:

  Packages to foreign countries. Most of these companies are relatively small and specialize in a particular country or art form such as theatre or opera. The sort of package offered includes a 12 day visit to the USA taking in concerts at Tanglewood (Massachusetts) with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and opera at Glimmerglass (New York State). ‘Travel for the Arts’ is advertised as ‘the opera travel specialists’ and offers, for instance, packages to the Salzburg Festival, to the New York Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera Weekends and Aida performed in Egypt at the Pyramids.

Packages are not confined to theatre but also extend to pop and rock concerts. Mondial Tours, for instance, offered a package to see Tina Turner perform in Cologne (in 2000). This included coach (and ferry) travel, hotel accommodation and concert tickets with optional Rhine Valley cruise and wine tasting. Argon Events offer packages to concerts (such as Sting in Paris), sporting and cultural events and to European rock, pop and metal festivals such as Dynamo 2000 (Netherlands) and Gods of Metal (Italy).

  Packages to the domestic market: arts-related visits to places such as London, Stratford and Edinburgh. There are occasional offers to other centres, such as to the seaside town of Scarborough (Yorkshire) to see plays by Alan Ayckbourn. All of his plays are premiered and directed there by the author himself.

There are a number of independent operators who buy tickets and rooms from theatres and hotels (usually on a ‘sale-or-return’ basis) and offer prepackaged trips. Some maintain flexibility and avoid pre-booking by offering to obtain tickets and rooms for whatever show and in whatever hotel a client prefers. This is usually from a list of hotels with which relationships have been established. The London visits in particular include an option to include rail travel in the package.

The market for London visits is dominated by relatively large operators (though not in the league of the mass market outward package operators). Some are specialist arts tour operators such as Theatrebreak (‘your passport to the performing arts’). Others such as Highlife and Superbreak are short break specialists who also offer theatre packages in the cities in their programmes. Rainbow Holidays is a market leader for such short breaks and is also part of First Choice, one of the largest tour operators in the UK.

Both theatre and hotel companies also provide packages. The theatre company Stoll Moss, for instance, has offered packages to London of theatre tickets (not only Stoll Moss) and accommodation (3-star plus in central locations). The company has also operated theatre breaks on behalf of Thistle Hotels. Radisson Edwardian hotels have operated as ‘the official partners to SWET’ and through the associated company, Centre Stage, offered theatre and concert breaks in London using the Edwardian up-market hotels.

An associated development is that of ‘clubbing weekends’. The local tourist association in Leeds (Yorkshire) arranges weekend packages of hotel accommodation and guest list entry to six clubs including ‘Liquid’ playing ‘hip hop, funk and soul’ and ‘Majestyk’ playing ‘funky house, garage and disco mixed with a little soul’.

These domestic and foreign packages or offers are advertised in a variety of ways. Direct mail to existing clients is important but they also include advertisements in local and national newspapers and in the specialist arts press. Some are offered as part of a readers’ travel club or a more general readers’ discount club in association with the newspaper or magazine itself. One independent tour operator is part of an independent travel agency and has operated several of these clubs for magazines as well as operating its own ‘theatre travel club’ and ‘arts travel club’. A particularly important target is party or group organizers. They are usually enthusiastic amateurs rather than professional organizers and regularly organize theatre and concert visits for their own school parties, work groups, clubs and societies. They have the advantage of being a relatively small segment to target.

  In-coming tour operators (or ground handlers) offer arts-related packages (ready-made or tailored) to foreign visitors to the UK.

There are relatively few arts-related packages in this country offered by domestic tour operators largely because most domestic tourism is individually organized and is not in the form of inclusive packages. Most tourists are content to make their own arrangements (accommodation, transport and entertainment) for domestic holidays. Compared with foreign holidays it is a relatively easy task. Most of the interest in domestic arts-related tourism comes from destination marketing bodies and incoming operators and from the arts and entertainment providers themselves. Packages exist as the products of the arts organizations rather than of tour operators.

The reasons why arts organizations become interested in tourism have been considered in the previous chapter. Many have taken the initiative and offered packages of accommodation and theatre tickets. One of the earliest of these schemes was the Royal Shakespeare Company’s ‘Stop-over’. This scheme was administered by the RSC itself and offered tickets at the Stratford theatre, dinner and accommodation. Other similar packages such as that at Chichester Festival Theatre (Sussex) have been joint efforts between theatre and the local council and hotel association. It is more common for theatres or festivals to indicate in their brochures how accommodation might be booked along with a list of recommended and participating hotels that usually offer a reduced room rate. The hotel bookings are usually done directly.

Hotels

Hotels are in the business of providing accommodation (and associated services) but many also offer an arts-related product (see Figure 7.3). Entertainment in hotels (and in bars and clubs) is likely to appeal to many as it does not have the same overtones as going to the theatre. It is more informal and casual and, in many cases, it is on-site and free.

  Entertainment as a part of the hotel experience. The extent and nature of the entertainment will vary and in some cases it is offered as a regular activity in the hotel itself as a unique selling proposition. There is, for instance, a chain of UK hotels branded as ‘Entertainment Hotels’ (ex-Butlins Holiday Hotels) whose tariffs include accommodation, meals and ‘live cabaret every night’. Most hotels do not give quite the same emphasis as this but nonetheless it is common for hotels to offer some entertainment on the premises on a regular basis. In Blackpool, for instance, about one in five of all shows seen by holidaymakers were in hotels, pubs and clubs. It is also estimated that at least one in five of all hotels in the town provide some form of live entertainment. Apart from discos and live music for dancing, the entertainment was dominated by singers, live music, cabaret, variety acts and comedians (Hughes, 1999). It was usually provided as an addition, rather than in competition, to the entertainment available in the rest of the town.

The US ‘resort’, a hotel complex which is positioned as a destination in its own right, often includes some form of entertainment as well as many recreational and leisure activities such as golf, swimming or skiing, and gymnasium. A particular type of resort hotel, the casino hotel, puts an emphasis on entertainment. These are especially associated with Las Vegas (Nevada) where casinos are usually based in hotels that also provide live entertainment in order to attract and retain customers. In fact, most entertainment in Las Vegas takes place in hotel complexes.

  Arts (often music) breaks on an occasional basis, such as weekend breaks with the performances in the hotel. These can be on a one-off basis or as part of a more regular ‘Special Interests Weekend’ programme which might include, at other times, activities for gourmets or sports, literature, hobby and film enthusiasts.

  Accommodation as part of ‘theatre packages’ arranged by arts organizations or tour operators. Some hotel companies, as noted above, offer their ‘own’ packages.

Why do hotels do this?

  to fill empty rooms at weekends and during the slack season (summer in cities);

  to familiarize the public with the hotel group in the expectation of future bookings for other purposes;

  to reinforce the image that the hotels wish to promote – perhaps a classical string quartet recital for up-market country hotels or a folk music weekend for other types of hotel.

There is little reason however to believe that, generally speaking, people choose their hotels on the basis of entertainment offered. Nonetheless in Blackpool where hotel entertainment is widespread, hotel owners believed that it was important in the choice of hotel by holidaymakers there. They felt obliged to provide it because others were doing so. It also acted as a boost to bar revenue (Hughes, 1999).

Tourist activities

In order to decide whether or not tourists do go to see the arts or entertainment it is necessary to examine studies that show what people do whilst, for instance, they are on holiday or on business trips.

There are a number of reports and studies, usually carried out by tourist boards, which look at the arts (or theatre in particular) within the context of tourism. The material discussed in Chapter 6 was collected through surveys of audiences. In this chapter most of the information comes from surveys that have been conducted amongst tourists (see right-hand side of Figure 6.5). These will cover tourists who have attended the arts and also those who have not. They should therefore give a more complete picture. Tourists in general, when surveyed, are less likely to focus solely on the arts and will be able to assess the arts in their visit within the context of all of their activities and motives.

Relatively little is known about what holiday-makers do whilst on holiday but some indication of the relative importance of arts and entertainment can be gained from a breakdown of tourists’ expenditure. Domestic and overseas visitors to the UK spent 4% of all their expenditure on ‘entertainment’ (1998), compared with 35% on accommodation, 20% on shopping and 23% on eating-out (BTA, 1999a). On domestic trips within the USA ‘entertainment and recreation’ accounted for 7% of expenditure, compared with 35% on personal transportation, 10% on lodging and 21% on purchases (Waters, 1998). Inbound holiday tourists to Australia (1998) spent 2.6% of their total expenditure on ‘entertainment and gambling’ compared with 13% on shopping (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999b). Arts and entertainment are obviously only minor parts of total tourist expenditure.

Studies relating to activities include the following (see Table 7.1 for a summary of some of the more significant figures):

  Domestic tourists:

  Canada: the Canadian Travel Survey shows that attending cultural events (plays and concerts) occurred on 3% of trips and visits to museums or art galleries occurred on 4% in 1996. Shopping and sightseeing occurred on 28% and 22% respectively of trips (Statistics Canada, 1997).

  Australia: a survey of domestic tourism 1990–91 showed that eating out and swimming or surfing were the most popular activities (by 46% and 39% of tourists respectively). Heritage visits were made by 13% of tourists, museum visits by 6% and visits to live theatre by 3% (Spring, 1991).

Table 7.1 Proportion of tourists who attend the performing arts: summary of some of the studies

Domestic

  Canada (1996)
cultural events: 3% of trips

  Australia (1990–91)
theatre: 3% of tourists

  USA (1998)
cultural events or festivals: 10% of travellers

  UK (1997)
performing arts: 3% of holiday trips

  England (1985)
live entertainment: 38% of holidays

  Blackpool (1994)
seen a show: 71% of holiday-makers

International

  New York-New Jersey (1992)
concerts, plays or musicals: 29%

  Australia
performing arts: 12% of all international visitors (1994)
performing arts: 12% of all cultural visitors (1996)

  Britain (1995)
theatre: 32%

  London (1995)
theatre: 20%-31%

  US domestic travellers: a third went shopping during the trip whereas 15% visited an historic site or museum and 10% went to a cultural event or festival in 1998 (TIA, 1999).

  UK: the most popular activity on domestic holiday trips by UK adults in 1997 was ‘hill-walking, hiking, rambling, orienteering’ which occurred in 16% of all holiday trips (English Tourist Board et al., 1998). Visiting museums, art galleries and heritage centres occurred on 6% and visiting castles, monuments and churches on 14% of holiday trips. ‘Watching the performing arts’ occurred on only 3% of domestic holiday trips. This included ‘visits to theatre, concert, opera or ballet’. It is unlikely that respondents who had attended variety shows and similar holiday entertainment (perhaps in clubs and bars as well as theatres) would identify this with ‘watching the performing arts’. It is probable, therefore, that the extent of participation in entertainment is under-stated in this tourist board data. The list of activities in these surveys is limited and activities such as ‘shopping’, ‘beach activity’, ‘visits to pubs and clubs’, ‘window-shopping’, ‘just strolling’ are not identified.

  An ‘old’ survey dating back to 1985 is one of the few that specifically included entertainment though confusingly it used the word to refer to all forms of the popular arts and the high arts including opera, ballet, circus, disco, variety shows, ballroom dancing, watching sport, pop concerts, etc. (Research Surveys of Great Britain, 1985). The study related only to British holiday-makers in England. On over a third of holidays in England, holiday-makers had gone to see some form of live entertainment. This was more likely in the case of seaside holidays (49%) than for those visiting cities (24%) and more likely for those in manual occupations. The most popular activities were visits to discos and watching variety shows, each ‘seen’ on about a quarter of holidays when any live entertainment was seen. People were much more likely to go to variety shows (and most other forms of entertainment) when they were on holiday than when they were at home (only a third of those who went to see variety shows on holiday also went to variety shows when not on holiday).

  In Blackpool, the largest seaside tourist town in the UK, seven out of ten of holiday-makers had seen (or intended to see) live entertainment during their stay. A quarter had seen three or more shows during their stay. Those most likely to see live entertainment were those on longer stays, the older age groups and those on ‘main’ rather than ‘second’ holidays. Holiday-makers accompanied by children were least likely to see a show (Hughes and Benn, 1997b). Only about half of the holidaymakers went to the theatre when at home and a third went whilst on holiday but did not go at all when at home. This supports the view that, for many, live entertainment is a holiday rather than a non-holiday experience.

  International visitors:

  Overseas visitors to New York-New Jersey: some of the most important activities were shopping, eating-out and sight-seeing (each by over six in ten of overseas visitors) followed by visits to art galleries and museums and to historic places (about four in ten). Nearly three in ten went to concerts, plays or musicals (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 1994).

  UK visitors to USA: nearly 30% visited an art gallery or museum and 17% went to a concert, play or musical (Prohaska, 1995).

  International visitors to Australia: 28% of all international visitors to Australia had been to a museum or art gallery and 12% to the ‘performing arts’ during their stay in 1994 (Spring, 1995). Foo and Rossetto (1998) estimated that 60% of all international visitors to Australia visited at least one cultural attraction during their stay. Heritage buildings and sites (30% of all such cultural visits) and museums and art galleries (27%) were more popular than the performing arts (12%).

  International visitors to Britain, and to London in particular, are more likely to visit historic sites and houses and museums than the performing arts. Over six in ten overseas visitors to Britain visit heritage sites (including museums) during their stay compared with three in ten going to the theatre (BTA and ETB, 1996). The situation in London is similar but not identical: over half visit museums, over three-quarters visit historic buildings and between two in ten and three in ten go to the theatre (LTBCB, 1995). Theatre itself tends to be more popular than opera, ballet or classical concerts. Nearly one in three went to theatre compared with one in twenty who attended ballet or opera performances and one in ten who went to classical concerts.

  ATLAS: this was a ‘site’ or audience study and not a tourist study, but, for those surveyed, visits to heritage were more likely than were visits to the performing arts when on holiday. Just over half of those surveyed visited museums on holiday compared with just over 20% who attended the performing arts. Although not a tourist study, it does tend to confirm that heritage tourism is more important than arts tourism. It was also concluded in this study that attendance at the performing arts and heritage on holiday was similar to attendance when at home (Richards, 1996).

This finding in the ATLAS study contrasts with the conclusions of the much earlier survey of entertainment in England and the Blackpool study (see above) and also with Light and Prentice (1994) who concluded that ‘visiting heritage sites is something undertaken more when on holiday … than in the area of permanent residence’ (p.104). It may be that for some, such as the service classes, theatre-going and museum-visiting are part of usual (non-holiday) leisure activities. For others, perhaps the non-service classes in particular, this is not the case but it is a generally accepted part of being on holiday for them to go to see a show. It is seen as a holiday rather than a ‘home’ activity.

There is no clear picture about going to see arts and entertainment when on holiday, especially with respect to domestic tourists. Studies do suggest however that going to see arts and entertainment are activities that tourists participate in and, in some cases, the proportion that goes is high. Overall however it would seem that most people do not go to the theatre when tourists. Going to the theatre or concert hall may not be the most popular pursuit but nonetheless the arts and entertainment are significant tourism resources. ‘Heritage’, in the form of historic buildings (including churches) and sites, and museums and art galleries, is undoubtedly more popular with overseas tourists. The picture with respect to domestic tourists is not so clear.

It is possible too that there is a large number of visitors who visit both heritage and the theatre. Most tourist visits involve more than one activity and it is likely that a good many of those who visit historic sites also go the theatre and vice versa. The surveys do not indicate this connection and the extent of multi-activity.

Drawing-power: tourism perspective

Drawing power was examined in Chapter 6 from the evidence of audience surveys. Many of the audience surveys showed that the arts were an important influence on the decision to visit a destination (usually a city). Here, tourism surveys are examined to determine drawing power though once more there are only a limited number of surveys to draw on. See Table 7.2 for a summary of the more significant figures. Relevant studies include:

  New York-New Jersey: a survey of American and Canadian ‘travellers’ showed that for those who had not yet visited the area, the arts and sightseeing were of equal importance as a ‘main reason’ for a possible visit. They were each mentioned by 45% of travellers, theatre and musicals by 35% and museums and art galleries by 22%. The arts, however, were much more important than sightseeing for attracting repeat visits by those who had been to the area before. Arts was a main reason for 50% and sightseeing for only 22%; theatre and musicals 38% and museums and art galleries 18% (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 1994).

Table 7.2   Drawing power of the performing arts: summary of some of the tourism studies

  New York-New Jersey (1992)
theatre and musicals as ‘main reason’: 35%-38% of American and Canadian
travellers

  Australia (1996)
‘specific interest’ in cultural attractions : 28% of international cultural visitors

  Outbound from UK (1996)
particular interest in cultural activities: 40% of cultural tourists

  Britain (1995)
theatre as important or very important: 37% of international visitors

  UK (1997)
performing arts as main reason: 1% of domestic holiday trips

  London (1995)
‘possibility of enjoying’ musicals or plays encouraged the visit: 32% and 23%
(respectively) of overseas visitors

  England (1985)
live entertainment as most important reason: 15% of holidays

  Blackpool (1994)
entertainment as most important reason: 29% of holiday-makers

  International visitors to USA: an early study showed that several clusters could be determined. ‘Culture and comfort’ was a significant cluster and included tourists who were particularly interested in heritage, art and theatre. The cluster accounted for 18% of the market from France, 21% from Germany and 19% from UK (Prohaska, 1995).

  International visitors to Australia: were classified as ‘specific’ cultural visitors if they had a specific interest in visiting the attraction or if they worked in ‘culture’. They accounted for 28% of cultural visitors. (The questions posed related to the influences and motivation for visiting the attraction and not to visiting Australia though the discussion suggests that this is what is intended (Foo and Rossetto, 1998).)

  Outbound tourists from UK: a study of tourists showed that 69% participated in at least one cultural activity during their visit to a foreign country (Alzua et al., 1998). Of these, two categories were identified as placing particular emphasis on heritage and culture in choosing a holiday. These two (’heritage, younger, backpacker’ and ‘heritage, middle age, family’) accounted for 40% of the cultural tourists identified.

  International visitors to Britain: the BTA has asked about the importance of the arts in the decision of overseas visitors to visit this country since as early as 1978. In subsequent years there was not always reference to the arts in the annual Overseas Visitors Survey (OVS). The 1995 survey did compare the drawing power of the arts with that of other non-arts attractions and also included a further arts attraction, arts festivals, in the prompt list (BTA and ETB, 1996). Previous surveys had asked about the relative importance of each of the arts but without reference to any other type of attraction. The inclusion of these in the 1995 survey meant that visitors were asked to assess importance not in isolation but thinking also about the range of other attractions. Theatre was rated as ‘very’ or ‘quite important’ in the decision to visit by 37% compared with churches and cathedrals by 59% and historic buildings and castles by 70%.

  London: here too, heritage is more important than the arts in attracting overseas visitors (LTBCB, 1995). Over half of overseas visitors to London indicated that the ‘possibility of enjoying’ historic buildings had encouraged them to visit the city compared with a third who specified musicals and a quarter who specified plays. (The questions in the London surveys were structured differently from those in the OVS.)

  Domestic tourists in the UK: no particular activity is specified as the main reason for the vast majority (80%) of domestic holiday trips by UK adults in 1997 (English Tourist Board et al, 1998). In addition hardly any one of the activities identified in the annual tourist board surveys is apparently of great significance. ‘Hill walking, hiking, rambling and orienteering’ is the single most important ‘main reason’ at 47% of all domestic holiday trips. Watching the performing arts is the main reason for only 1% of such trips.

  In the 1985 survey mentioned earlier (Research Surveys of Great Britain, 1985) none of those interviewed mentioned, in an open question, that live entertainment had been considered when deciding where to go on holiday. It was only on a list of prompted factors that live entertainment assumed any significance in the decision to choose a particular holiday destination. For 15% of holidays it was the ‘most important’ reason. It was, however, more important for those holidaying at the seaside (22%). Other factors such as ‘interesting places in the area to visit’, ‘easy to travel to’ and ‘beautiful scenery’ were each rated more highly.

  In Blackpool, the largest seaside tourist town in the UK, nearly 30 per cent of holiday-makers rated entertainment as ‘the most important factor’ in the decision to visit the town (though the town does have an image associated with spectacular entertainment). This factor was mentioned by more people than was any other single factor. As such, it was the most popular ‘most important factor’. It needs to be recognized however that over 70 per cent of people considered a number of other factors to be the ‘most important factor’ for them. Entertainment was more important for older age groups, for those on longer stays and for those not accompanied by children on the holiday. Despite the fact that so many rated it as the most important factor (out of a prompt list of several possible factors), when asked to state how important it was, by itself, in the decision to visit, most (88%) rated it as only ‘fairly’, ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ important (Hughes and Benn, 1997b).

Tourism studies do suggest that the arts have the ability in themselves to attract some tourists to a destination who are therefore equivalent to arts-core tourists. Nonetheless, even though culture, heritage or the arts rate highly, for instance, in reasons for visits to New York-New Jersey or to Britain, theatre does not dominate as a reason.

Unfortunately, in published survey results, the views on drawing power are not usually linked to those who do participate in the arts/theatre but are views expressed by tourists as a whole (with exceptions such as Alzua et al. and Foo and Rossetto). It is obvious from the earlier part of this chapter that most tourists are neither arts-core nor arts-peripheral as most do not go to the theatre. For those who do go, the relative importance of arts-core and arts-periphery is not known because of this failure to link participation and drawing power. It cannot be assumed that all of those who expressed a view on the importance of the arts in the decision to visit also participated. It is in audience surveys that the link is made (Chapter 6) though, of course, they are not directly comparable with tourist surveys.

The role of theatre in domestic tourism is relatively unknown. This limited number of surveys suggests that, on the whole for domestic tourists, entertainment is of little importance in the choice of destination in comparison with other factors. Certain resorts in the UK have a more positive image than others among visitors in terms of live entertainment and, in those cases, arts and entertainment will be of greater importance. Most resort surveys do not, however, permit the assessment of the significance of entertainment in the choice of resort since reasons for visits are frequently classified as ‘been before’ or ‘like the area’ and do not refer to specific attractions.

Foreign visitors when rating theatre as important in the decision to visit often do not rate its influence as highly as other ‘attractions’ of a country. In the case of Britain in particular, heritage aspects are more important in terms of influencing the decision to visit (and in terms of actual places visited). The arts appear to be a significant draw and activity but not the most important. Within the arts, it is theatre that is more important (influence and participation) than concerts or opera and ballet. The role of the arts in encouraging people to visit a particular destination appears to be significant though not decisive. For some, of course, it will undoubtedly be the sole reason for the visit.

Tourist surveys cover people who don’t visit the theatre as well as those who do. As a consequence, it might be expected that they demonstrate that theatre is of less importance than is suggested in arts surveys. There are, however, a few problems with tourist surveys (see later this chapter).

Arts-related tourists

There is a common view that cultural or arts-related tourists, especially those who are arts-core, are highly educated, high income, high spending, frequent travelling, hotel-staying, older individuals (Leader-Elliott, 1996; Canadian Tourism Commission, 1997b; McDougall, 1998).

Although there are tourists who are drawn to a destination by the arts, it has already been noted that it is not easy to distinguish arts-core and arts-peripheral tourists as such, from tourist surveys. The New York-New Jersey study was an audience survey that showed that ‘arts-motivated’ visitors to New York-New Jersey only stayed an average of 2.9 days in the region compared with the average of 4.1 days for all arts visitors. The spend per day was also less at $137 compared with $146. These are tourists for whom the arts are the focus of the visit and it is perhaps not surprising therefore that the visit is shorter. Those who extended their stay because of the arts did so by an average of 2.3 days (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 1993).

The Policy Studies Institute study (Myerscough, 1988) concluded that arts-tourists (widely-defined) in London had a longer length of stay and a higher average spend per trip than did other tourists in London. The same study confirmed similar features of the Glasgow arts tourist and also that the arts tourists were older and more likely to be from service and professional occupations than were other tourists.

International cultural visitors to Australia (also widely defined) were more likely to be teachers, lecturers or students than were all inbound visitors. They also stayed longer in the country (average of 32 nights compared with 24 nights) and were more likely to be on their first visit to Australia (Foo and Rossetto, 1998). In Canada, cultural and heritage travellers (also widely defined) accounted for only 12 per cent of all domestic leisure trips but had an average stay that was longer than that of other leisure travellers (4.8 nights compared with 3.0 nights). They travelled further and average expenditure was greater (double that of other leisure travellers) (McDougall, 1998).

Some studies distinguish between different types of cultural tourist. Alzua et al. (1998) divided cultural tourists into five categories with two of them being particularly ‘strongly focused on cultural tourism’: cluster 1 ‘heritage, younger’ and cluster 5 ‘heritage, middle age’. Tourists in cluster 1 were typically young and highly educated and were frequent travellers. Cluster 5 were older and generally less well educated than members of the other four clusters. In terms of tourist spending, the two culture clusters spent less on average than, for instance, the resort and sun cluster (but more than the friends and relatives cluster). The two culture clusters were also more likely to spend longer away from home on their trips than the other clusters.

Although not identifying the cultural or arts related tourist as such, a study of domestic tourists in Australia suggested that the proportion of cultural activities in all tourist activities increased with age (Spring, 1991). Similarly cultural participation was more frequent for tourists with higher levels of education. There was not, however, the same obvious relationship with income as the highest proportion of cultural activities occurred in the lowest income groups.

From these studies it is evident that there is, in reality, very little information about the characteristics of the arts-related tourist. The common view that they are ‘high-spenders’ is not well documented.

Some problems with tourist surveys

Drawing power is a complex concept and these survey approaches may be too simplistic. As was suggested in Chapter 6, the exact nature of drawing power remains unclear and tourist surveys, as well as audience surveys, have limitations. Some of the issues are similar to those identified as being problems with audience surveys (see Figure 7.4):

  Tourist surveys do not usually link the people who go to the theatre whilst tourists with views on the importance of theatre in the decision to visit the destination. Arts-core and arts-peripheral tourists cannot be identified.

  Most, including the Overseas Visitor Survey (UK), do not distinguish holiday from non-holiday tourists. This applies to the business and friends and relatives tourists as well as to the concept of the instrumental, non-holiday visit that is undertaken solely to visit the arts (see Chapters 3 and 4).

Figure 7.4   Tourist surveys: some weaknesses

  There is not a clear picture for domestic tourism in particular of activities undertaken.

  Surveys have not been consistent in their coverage of importance or participation. Some surveys have related to broad categories such as ‘performing arts’ or ‘arts and entertainment’. The effect of having such broad categories is that it is difficult to identify attendance at theatre and its drawing power or to track influence and participation over time. The category of ‘theatre’ itself covers a diverse range of activity.

  Theatre may well be important to many visitors but surveys (like audience surveys) do not usually indicate whether the decision to attend related to a specific performer or production or to a more general wish just to go to the theatre. The relative importance of certain productions in particular in the decision to visit a destination as a tourist is rarely identified. Many productions in London or New York are not unique to those cities or countries and can be seen in many places. This suggests that it is not a case of specific demand (desire to see a particular show) as the show could have been seen elsewhere. It is, for some, a case of ‘seeing a show’ in London or New York both of which are attractive destinations for many reasons. Often the show may be irrelevant. The fact that theatres in London and New York theatre are numerous and concentrated in a small area means that there is a possibility of accessing a large number of shows within a stay (Travers, 1998). It also increases the likelihood of a visitor being able to see a show without prior consideration or choice.

Nonetheless demand in the West End or Broadway can, at times, be specific. There may, of course, be a desire to see a particular show or concert but specifically in London or New York. There may also be a desire to see a ‘West End’ or ‘Broadway’ production of a particular show even though that show can be seen elsewhere. There may too be a preference to see a West End or Broadway production of any show.

  As with audience surveys, the various ‘art’ forms are not always evaluated against a full range of other factors. In some they are evaluated against each other only and in others, against ‘non-arts’ activities. A restricted prompt list has limitations in indicating the relative importance of influences on the decision to visit.

  In respect of participation the very nature of the surveys (non-diary) has meant that rates include ‘intent to visit’ which may not, of course, turn into an actual visit.

  Where a full range of factors is included there is usually no indication of the relative ‘strength’ of each (see Chapter 6). For example, 40% may rate arts as the main reason for a visit to a destination and 30% may rate scenery but for those 40% how much more important is arts than scenery or any other factor?

  The studies do not always indicate what connections there might be between reasons for the visit (similar to audience surveys). They do not show whether theatre is an important reason in isolation or only with other arts. Joint availability may be critical. For example, heritage may be shown to be ‘very important’ to, say, 70% and arts to 25% but it is not known how many of the 70% also find the arts very important. They do not, either, indicate whether theatre and the arts are important only within a wider package of other attractions. More people may have rated heritage than anything else as important, but does the visit depend solely on heritage or on that and other factors? It may, in practice, be difficult or impossible to identify the relative pull of attractions. The absence of any one, such as theatre, may reduce the pull of others such as shops or museums and vice versa. It may be that it is a combination of attractions rather than any single attraction that influences the visit decision, but this will not be evident unless surveys are more discriminating and focused. It is more than likely that heritage exercises such an influence only because it is available in combination with other attractions such as theatre.

  As was noted in the discussion of audience surveys it is possible, confusingly, for people to rate the arts highly in the decision to visit a place even though they believe that the arts are not necessary to ensure a visit. A few tourist studies ask tourists what effect an absence of the arts would have had on the decision to visit. A survey dating back to the mid-1980s asked foreign visitors’ reactions to an imagined absence of certain features in Britain (BTA and ETB, 1985). If theatre had been absent from Britain then 58% of visitors would have come anyway but if historic buildings and towns were absent only 31% would have come and if scenery and countryside were absent only 20% would have come. Theatre would appear to have rather less influence than many other attractions.

In Blackpool, despite entertainment being the single most important reason for people choosing it as a destination, 84% of people would have come anyway in the absence of entertainment (Hughes and Benn, 1997). Entertainment was the most popular ‘most important’ reason but other attractions mentioned may, in combination, have had an overwhelming influence (71% found a number of other factors to be ‘the most important’). Similarly, many may rate arts or entertainment as ‘very important’ in the decision to visit a destination when asked to respond to a question asking about the importance in isolation. Many other factors could though also have been rated as ‘very important’ and it is the ranking and comparisons that are important but these are not determined.

None of the audience and tourist surveys demonstrates clearly the existence of arts-core or arts-peripheral (or incidental or accidental) arts-related tourists nor, as indicated above, whether interest is specific or general (see Chapter 4).

There are problems in determining drawing power but it is obvious that the influence of the arts and entertainment can range considerably from being the most important factors or resources (by themselves or with others) through being important but secondary factors (also by themselves or with others) through to being of no importance at all. Regardless of the influence in the destination choice decision, visits to arts and entertainment whilst on holiday are common. It was noted earlier that for some, attendance at arts and entertainment occurs even though they did not feature in the destination choice decision (the ‘accidental’ arts-related tourist). Similarly, for others importance in the destination choice decision was not followed by actual attendance, for whatever reasons. The OVS of 1995 demonstrated that ‘very large numbers of those reporting an arts sector as important simply do not attend’ (BTA and ETB, 1996: 35). This ‘non-attendance’ was greatest in the case of the performing arts whereas the reverse was the case for museums and art galleries: higher proportions visited them than had indicated they were important in the decision to visit. This presumably is because of the relative ‘ease’ of visiting museums compared with theatre, which has limited capacity. Even though visitors may have intended to go to the theatre they may not have been able to buy tickets or had changed their minds once here if only because of the relative prices of visiting a museum and going to the theatre. Participation and influence are not necessarily connected.