Youth hostels make room for improvement as visitors soar
Association launches campaign as it is ready to host 400,000 in 2017
IT is an often overlooked part of the tourism industry, forever associated with uncomfortable dormitories and budget backpacking.
But despite appearing to be the poor relation to boutique hotels and trendy “glamping”, youth hostels are enjoying a resurgence in Scotland and are looking forward to welcoming nearly 400,000 visitors next year.
The Scottish Youth Hostel Association (SYHA) is embarking on a new campaign to attract more young people to become members as it gears up for another bumper year. The organisation has 60 centres around the country, from the bustling centre of Glasgow to the isolated Highland hostel beside Loch Ossian, which no car can reach.
Things are changing in the hope of attracting more visitors than ever before.
Keith legge, the association’s chief executive, said: “The SYHA is certainly alive and well. The perception is we are still all wearing bobbly hats and knee-length socks and sleeping in dormitories, but nothing could be further from the truth.
“Things have been changing for a number of years, yet the perception remains that we are stuck in the past.
“There has been a massive investment and reorganisation during the past 10 years and we are responding to what our guests are looking for.”
Mr Legge said that while hostels would never rival the best hotels, they are delivering one vital component of the modern holiday experience that people demand.
However, while the organisation has modernised, the core ethos of the movement has not changed and the experience remains one of shared experience, with many of those who use hostels remaining young adventurous people looking to experience the great outdoors.
Mr Legge said: “We know that 70 per cent of our guests want their own rooms, and that is what we’re giving them.
“The shared spaces in the hostels, like the common room and the kitchen, remain. We are not changing our ethos of camaraderie and bringing people together in common spaces, but we are making things more comfortable.”
More than 60 per cent of the guests are under the age of 25, and the core group still contains school parties and groups such as foreign students, birdwatchers, hikers, university groups and archaeologists on field trips.
“At some of our more isolated hostels there is not space for rooms, even if we wanted to do it. But the type of people who use these are quite happy bunching up,” said Mr Legge.
“Most of our guests are not looking for fluffy towels and fitted luxuries. They are looking for smart modern facilities they can use as a base from which to explore.”
SYHA recently teamed up with the Scottish Institute for Enterprise and digital design students from Glasgow Caledonian University on a live project to design a promotional for the campaign to attract more young people .
The brief for the project included researching the target market on their current perceptions and knowledge of SYHA.