The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Royal Highland Show is £54m money-spinner, says report
Survey: Organisers claim record visitor numbers for event
Scotland’s largest agricultural event – the Royal Highland Show – is worth an estimated £54 million to the Scottish economy every year, claims a new report.
The study, commissioned by show organisers the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, is based on a survey of visitors and exhibitors to last year’s show, tourism spend figures using VisitScotland statistics and information on accommodation costs from hotels and guest houses in June last year.
It estimated approximately 62,710 bed nights were booked as a result of people attending last year’s show.
Based on an average cost of £75 per night, this alone had a total economic impact of £4.7m.
Show manager David Jackson said last year’s show attracted a record 190,000 visitors and 94% of those surveyed said the event had a “great atmosphere” and 88% of the event’s nonfarming audience said there was a lot to see and do.
Almost two-thirds of visitors had attended the show five times or more and the number of people attending for the first time increased by 20%, added Mr Jackson.
He said: “The Royal Highland Show has yet again proven to be a major economic asset for Scotland and we continue to see increasing interest from exhibitors and competitors across the UK and abroad, who now recognise this to be an international event, with a solid reputation and genuine business opportunities.”
He added that 40% of exhibitors were from outside Scotland and last year’s event had more than 1,000 trade stalls.
“While sales are important to exhibitors, brand awareness is also key and our exhibitors know that the footfall the show generates will result in both income and brand recognition which are key to business success,” Mr Jackson added.