The Northumberland Coast AONB has many distinctive features that attract visitors as well as making it a special place for people to live. Its landscape of sweeping sandy beaches, rolling dunes, high rocky cliffs and isolated islands make it an attractive place to visit.

Tourism is very important to the area, particularly to the local economy. However, whilst visitors to the coast are a vital economic resource, they also put pressure on its unique natural and cultural assets. It is therefore important to have a strategy in place that considers the economic, environmental and social impacts of tourism, both for the benefits of visitors as well as the local community.

To help inform the AONB’s sustainable tourism strategy, a visitor survey was carried out from March to August 2013. The aim of the survey was to establish the activity and opinions of visitors to the Northumberland Coast AONB. A total of 1,391 responses were collected over the six month period. Of these, 1,029 were face-to-face interviews and 362 were returned self-completion questionnaires.

This document provides a summary of the 2013 visitor survey results. References have been made to the 2005 survey where appropriate to highlight any similarities or differences in results.

The work on the production of our sustainable tourism strategy has been funded by Leader Coast and Lowlands.

Visitors were asked to specify the main activity they had participated in during their trip to the AONB. The top three activities were going for a short walk, visiting attractions and going for a long walk. Again these three main activities were the same as in the 2005 visitor survey.

Chart 5: Main activity undertaken by visitors

9%

10%

11%

13%

16%

21%

Eating and drinking out

Beach activities

Sightseeing from car

Long walk (over 2hrs)

Visiting attractions

Short walk (up to 2hrs)

7%

0%

0%

0%

0%

2%

2%

2%

4%

9%

Other

Golf

Water sports

Theatre/music performance

Arts and crafts

Cycling

Visiting friends/family

Bird watching

Shopping

Eating and drinking out

7. Are they satisfied?Visitors indicated high satisfaction rates with 97% likely or very likely to visit the area again as well as recommend a visit to others.

Table 1: Likelihood to visit and recommend

To visit again To recommend a visit

Very likely 82% 87%

Likely 15% 12%

Unsure 2% 1%

Not likely 1% 0%

Very unlikely 1% 0%

Special features that made people want to visit the AONB included its beaches, scenery, coastline, castles, views, wildlife and beauty. The peace and quiet and ruggedness of the area were also noted as attractive qualities along with it being non-commercialised and unspoilt.

8. How willing are they to support sustainable tourism?Visitors were asked what times of year they would consider visiting the area. Between April and June was the most popular period (86%) but other times also scored highly which suggests willingness to visit outside the peak holiday season.

Table 2: Times of year respondents would consider visiting

Jan-Mar Apr-Jun Jul-Sept Oct-Dec Xmas/NY School hols only

33% 86% 78% 45% 17% 9%

Visitors were asked how willing they would be to carry out a number of sustainable tourism actions. Buying local food or products scored most highly whereas using public transport more and limiting the use of my car had the lowest levels of support.

Chart 6: Willingness to carry out sustainable tourism actions

2.96

3.18

3.45

Walk or cycle more

Use green or sustainable cafes or restaurants

Buy local food or products

1.98

2.05

2.82

2.90

1 2 3 4

Limit the use of my car

Use public transport more

Make a contribution to a conservation scheme or environmental fund

Use green or sustainable accommodation

Not at all willing to -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> Greatly willing to

Overall the survey has provided a useful insight into who visitors to the AONB are, what they do whilst they are here and what their opinions and attitudes are. As well as helping to inform the strategy the results provide good baseline figures for future monitoring of the area.

For more information on the 2013 visitor survey and the sustainable tourism strategy please contact the AONB Partnership:

Northumberland Coast AONB Partnership - County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 2EF

Tel: 01670 620306 Email: coastaonb@northumberland.gov.uk

Further information and the full visitor survey report can be found at www.northumberlandcoastaonb.org

Northumberland Coast AONB 2013 Visitor Survey

Photographs © G

avin Duthie

21%

27%

35%

6%

16%

13%

7%

4%

7%

4%

18%

15%

9%

5%4%

9%

1 night 2 nights 3 nights 4 nights 5 nights 6 nights 7 nights 8 nights plus

2005

2013

3. How long do they stay?In total 59% of the respondents were overnight visitors. The average length of stay was 5.64 nights, an increase from 2005 when the average stay was 4.71 nights. For visitors staying within the AONB the most common length of stay was 7 nights (35%) followed by 2 nights (18%) and 3 nights (15%). The difference between lengths of stay within the AONB area compared to 2005 can be seen in the chart below.

Chart 3: Overnight stays within the AONB

28%

36%33%

43%

1%

10%

22%

1%

6%

16%

16-24 25-34 35-44 45-59 60+

2005

2013

4. Are they repeat visitors?The vast majority of visitors were repeat visitors with 84% having been at least once before. Of these 34% had visited up to five times before and 50% had visited six times or more. This is a slight increase from 2005 when the number of repeat visitors stood at 80%.

5. What kinds of transport do they use?The vast majority of visitors (91%) used a car, van, motorbike or motorhome during their stay and almost one third (32%) had travelled by foot. For 77% of respondents the main form of transport they had used was a car. The next most popular answer was by foot at 13%.

6. How do they spend their time?Visitors were asked to list all the activities they had undertaken on their trip. The three most popular were going for a short walk, eating and drinking out and visiting attractions. These activi-ties were also the three most common in 2005.

Chart 4: All activities undertaken by visitors

41%

37%

32%

21%

14%

11%

7%5%

1%

15%

7%6%

2%1%

Staying overnight within the AONB

Day trip from home Staying overnight outside the AONB

Local resident Other Day trip from visiting friends or family

No answer

2005 2013

Summary of the 2013 visitor survey results

1. Who are our visitors?The highest proportion of visitors were staying overnight in the AONB (37%) closely followed by those on a day trip from home (32%).

Chart 1: Type of visit

The most common party type was couples (43%), followed by family (31%), friends (11%) and alone (7%).

The average party size for visitors was 3.48 people, made up of 2.98 adults and 0.50 children. The overall average party size is similar to the 2005 result of 3.44 people. The most common party size was 2 adults (53%). A total of 24% of parties contained children, down from 37% in 2005.

The vast majority of respondents were aged 35 or over (92%). The most common age group was 60+ which accounted for 43% of respondents. This is a significant increase in age from the 2005 results.

Chart 2: Visitor age

2. Where do they come from?The highest percentage of visitors came from the North East region (46%) follow by Yorkshire and the Humber (13%), Scotland (9%) and the North West (8%). The lowest percentage of visitors came from London, the South West and overseas (all 2%).

26%

28%

41%

44%

60%

72%

Shopping

Beach activities

Sightseeing from car

Visiting attractions

Eating and drinking out

Short walk (up to 2hrs)

13%

1%

2%

2%

6%

9%

10%

22%

26%

26%

Other

Golf

Water sports

Theatre/music performance

Cycling

Visiting friends/family

Arts and crafts

Bird watching

Long walk (over 2hrs)

Shopping

21%

27%

35%

6%

16%

13%

7%

4%

7%

4%

18%

15%

9%

5%4%

9%

1 night 2 nights 3 nights 4 nights 5 nights 6 nights 7 nights 8 nights plus

2005

2013