Visitors to London`s Theatre

Visitors from Overseas to London’s Theatre September 2010

Coming up… • • • • • •

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

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USA France Germany Spain Italy Ireland Netherlands Australia Canada Poland Switzerland Belgium Sweden Denmark Norway Japan India Austria Portugal South Africa

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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%

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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

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Denmark Brazil Norway New Zealand South Korea Greece Malaysia Austria Canada Australia Netherlands USA Portugal Singapore South Africa

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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

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• …cost of Sterling has fallen Jul-10

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Source: Ipsos MORI, VisitBritain

Price of Tickets and General Expense are main reasons for not going more often, but… 120

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Source: VisitBritain

Cost of Sterling presents an opportunity • From Aug 2007 to Aug 2010 Sterling has fallen…

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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)