10 June 2020

Dear all

Welcome to this week’s round up of data and insights across VisitScotland’s network of contacts and sources. As lockdown measures continue to ease across a number of markets, our weekly tracker of the UK market has some positive signs that confidence is beginning to grow, albeit still a number of concerns around hygiene, physical distancing and cancellation measures.

In our market updates, we’ve added a new social listening section to relevant markets, whereby we highlight some of the conversations trending around holiday intentions. And as well as keeping you up to date on the latest developments easing lockdown restrictions, we’ve got new examples of how different organisations are aiming to provide reassurance that they are Covid-safe.

Look out for our new series of webinars specifically for Scottish Tourism businesses offering marketing support and insights as we look at early steps towards recovery – find out more here and register for our upcoming webinar for the experience sector on 11 June hereand the UK Staycation market on 16 June here.

And as always, follow Malcolm Roughead on Linked in for his latest weekly blog.

Stay safe

Vicki

For the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis to be durable and resilient, a return to ‘business as usual’ and environmentally destructive investment patterns and activities must be avoided. Say the OECD (Source). Unchecked, global environmental emergencies such as climate change and biodiversity loss could cause social and economic damages far larger than those caused by COVID-19.

To avoid this, economic recovery packages should be designed to “build back better”. This means doing more than getting economies and livelihoods quickly back on their feet. Recovery policies also need to trigger investment and behavioural changes that will reduce the likelihood of future shocks and increase society’s resilience to them when they do occur.

Central to this approach is a focus on well-being and inclusiveness. Other key dimensions for assessing whether recovery packages can “build back better” include alignment with sustainable transport, factoring in resilience to climate impacts, slowing biodiversity loss and increasing circularity of supply chains.

For tourism, the above analysis from the OECD is equally applicable. Up to the beginning of 2020, tourism was evolving towards experiential and responsible. Concerns of overtourism, disenfranchisement of communities and the sustainable cost of travel were heard vocally in the media, expressed physically by travellers and measured empirically through environmental indicators. Destinations around the world were working to address and rebalance towards responsible tourism. For Scotland the STA Scottish Outlook 2030 strategy included reference to the points above.

As COVID-19 has paused and reset society, tourism as a sector and industry can look to rebuild a resilient and durable future which will carry an enduring legacy beyond today.

Vicki MillerDirector of

Marketing & Digital

10 June 2020

COVID-19 UK Consumer Sentiment Tracker – Week 2

• The national tourist boards of Great Britain have commissioned a weekly tracking survey to understand domestic intent to take short breaks and holidays both within the UK and abroad, with particular focus around the current barriers and concerns around travel and how these will evolve over time.

• The survey will address: the likelihood of U.K. residents to travel; when and where they plan to go; specific trip details such as accommodation type and activities undertaken and the type of reassurances they're seeking from the sector.

• The COVID-19 consumer sentiment tracker is based on a U.K. nationally representative sample of 1,500 adults aged 16+. This sample is then ‘boosted’ in Scotland and Wales to ensure sufficient base sizes for separate nation analysis. The survey will be repeated across a 13 week period. This summary details week 2 of the tracking with fieldwork running from 25th-29th May. A summary of the UK wide results can be seen below and Scotland specific insights will be available in the next few days at the link below https://www.visitscotland.org/research-insights/trends/uk-holiday-intentions

Key Summary (UK respondents)

The main shift from the week 1 report is the rise in proportion of adults expecting to take a domestic short-break or holiday by September. This has increased +3% to 22% and this is a statistically significant rise and a positive sign.

• 29% believe the worst has passed regarding Covid-19. This is a statistically higher proportion than week 1 (24%)

• However, there’s still little expectation that things will be returning to normal anytime soon, with just 30% expecting ‘normality’ by September and 53% by December.

• The ‘Appetite for Risk’ score is fractionally up at 2.3 (based on a 1-4 scale on how comfortable people claim to be at doing selected activities). There is an expectation that this score will rise over time as people gradually become more at ease with the idea of, for example, eating in a restaurant or using public transport.

• Only 25% consider themselves fairly or very confident they would be able to take a holiday or short-break during the peak July/August period this year. Key reasons driving this relative lack of confidence include concerns around travel restrictions imposed by the government (50%), fewer opportunities to eat or drink out (47%) and fears about actually catching Covid-19 (44%).

• As a result, 41% expect to be taking fewer domestic short-breaks and holidays respectively,compared to last year.

• Positively, more people compared to last week do believe they will be taking a domestic short-break or holiday by this September (22% vs 19%)

10 June 2020

• In terms of region to be visited between now and September, South West leads (17%) followed by North West (12%) and then Scotland and London (11% each) though Scotland retains its second place for the period post September.

• This translates to an evenly matched Top 3 in terms of destination type, with traditional coastal/seaside towns, city/large towns and countryside/village all achieving 28% share.

• Still focusing on the June-Sept period, hotel/motel/inn is the leading type of accommodation people expect to be staying in (37%), followed by private home with 33% (which could include staying in a friend/relatives home or a commercial rental like Airbnb) and then caravan/camping on 30%.

• People are seeking additional reassurances from hotels, led by enhanced cleaning regimes (82%), booking incentives (79%) and social distancing measures (76%). Interestingly, the single most important factor is having the ability to cancel the booking free-of-charge if required.

• As restrictions lift, outdoor areas and activities (e.g. beaches, trails, theme parks) look set to attract higher than usual levels of visitors than normal, while predominantly indoor activities/venues (e.g. restaurants, spas, museums, galleries) are likely to face a lengthier period of subdued demand.

The full report with dashboard can be seen at https://www.visitscotland.org/research-insights/trends/uk-holiday-intentions

Paris region’s priorities for recovery: Ile-de-France is preparing its phased reopening of tourismwith a strong focus on reassuring visitors, social distancing measures and the creation andpromotion of thematic routes linked to nature and heritage. The food and agricultural sectors willalso be a focus.

A total of €15m will be spent on recovery, including €1.8m for the development of product andthe creation of nature and heritage-based routes. €3.5m has been allocated for fitting out andequipping tourist areas for safe, socially distanced reopening. And an additional €3m has beenearmarked to support tourism businesses adapt to the new normal.

In terms of promotion, the Ile-de-France also plans to market and celebrate its restaurants, foodand drink and the agricultural sector. Overall €1.8m will be spent on communication andpromotion of the French region, starting with domestic campaigns and moving to international in2021.

Ile-de-France is also going ahead with previously reported plans to recruit 1,000 TourismVolunteers (“Les Volontaires du Tourism), to welcome visitors and provide a friendly face when itcomes to encouraging compliance with social distancing measures. The volunteers are a keyplank of efforts to restore consumer confidence.

10 June 2020

MarketBusiness type

Company Activity

Canada Airlines Air Canada

Air Canada has released details of their CleanCare+ programme which is designed to reduce the risk of exposure to Covid-19 through measures such as mandatory pre-flight customer temperature checks, a health questionnaire and seat assignment policies (middle seat removed). All passengers will receive a pack with a mask, gloves, disinfectant wipes and bottled water on flights and meals will be pre-packaged. Air Canada is one of the first airlines to implement this level of programme.

China OTA trip.com

Trip.com has launched the “Stay Safe” programme. Accommodation providers can join the programme if there have been no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 reported in the hotel within the past 14 days, rooms are disinfected daily, and public areas are disinfected regularly. Accommodation providers who join this programme and provide incentives i.e. special rate, will be listed on the top of the page.

France DMO Albi Tourism

The local tourism board is offering an online concierge/info service to future tourists and locals to help them (re)discover the area. A short survey first identifies visitors’ needs then a video appointment is booked to discuss holiday plans and recommendations. More info: https://www.albi-tourisme.fr/fr/la-conciergerie-en-ligne.

The Albi tourist office is also offering weekly virtual city tours as well as a virtual tour created with Albicraft (a local video game company) in the world of Minecraft to reach a younger demographic and family audience.

Germany Airlines Lufthansa

Lufthansa are trying to minimise their guest’s fear of not being able to return home after a holiday in case another travel warning is put in place. They will offer a “Home-Coming Guarantee”, when this starts is yet unclear. More info: https://www.airliners.de/lufthansa-rueckholgarantie-passagiere/55815

USA Airports Various

Miami International Airport is using a new service, from the software developer Iinside, that monitors and evaluates social distancing on security lines. Pittsburgh International Airport has a robot, with a brain designed by Carnegie Robotics, that uses ultraviolet light to clean floors. The airport is also considering using the light to sterilise elevator buttons and the handrails on escalators and people movers. Both Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airports will soon use employees to test a screener that combines an infrared camera and artificial intelligence to read their temperature.

10 June 2020

• The ‘R’ Rate in the UK is reported to be between 0.7 and 0.9. • Covid-19 is reportedly in retreat in the UK, the number of recorded deaths among people testing

positive fell to the lowest daily level since before lockdown. • Reminder, the UK Government (England) moved to step 2 of easing lockdown restrictions on 1

June, including phased re-opening of schools and allowance to meet up to 6 people from separate households outside. Day trips to outdoor spaces are also permitted with no limit on distance. Step 3 (4 July if all criteria met) is when hospitality businesses such as restaurants, pubs and accommodation can begin to re-open.

• NHS Test and Trace service has been implemented allowing anyone who develops Covid-19 symptoms to be tested and contact tracing to be carried out.

• Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland administrations have outlined their own phased plans to ease lockdown and currently all in phase 1.

• In Scotland, people from 2 households (max 8 people) are allowed to meet outdoors within their local area. If criteria continue to be met, phase 2 will be implemented on 18 June where people can drive locally for leisure purposes and pubs & restaurants can open outdoor spaces. Phase 3 will see biggest impacts on the tourism industry. Driving beyond your local area for leisure purposes and meeting with people from more than one household indoors will be permitted. Pubs and restaurants can open indoor spaces with physical distancing/ increased hygiene and there will be reduced restrictions on accommodation providers. Public transport will be operating full services, but at reduced capacities.

• From 8 June all passengers arriving into the UK will be required to complete a contact locator form and self-isolate for 14 days, to help limit the spread of Covid-19. Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man are exempt due to the common travel area.

• OTA insight is showing increased domestic searches for Scotland for the coming months.• UK airline routes; Loganair relaunched 2 UK routes from Aberdeen on 1 June, easyJet will resume

several UK flights from 15 June, Ryanair are planning for 40% of normal schedule to commence from 1 July and BA domestic routes are planned to recommence in July.

• Increased hygiene measures are being implemented across transport operators (air, rail and ferry) including limited capacities, enhanced cleaning and mandatory face coverings.

• Research indicates travelling by car will be UK visitor’s preference initially due to flexibility in planning and ability to social distance.

• Free independent travel (FIT) is likely to recover faster than large group travel. • The Coach Tourism Association continues to liaise with UK wholesalers and coach operators with

advice and support. Many businesses have furloughed staff. Of those still operating, there are signs of interest in product development for future tours (2021).

• UK travel media is focused on domestic travel and interested to hear what Scottish businesses are planning for recovery.

10 June 2020

• Lockdown restrictions in Ireland moved to ‘phase 2 plus’ on Monday 8 June, accelerating the easing of some restrictions. The roadmap for reopening the country is currently being looked at with the intention of compressing phases 3-5 into 2 phases rather than 3.

• Under 'phase 2 plus' messaging is ‘Stay Local’, people can now travel anywhere inside their own county instead of being limited to 20km from home. Groups of up to 6 people can meet indoors or outdoors if they keep 2 metres apart and groups of up to 15 people can meet for outdoor sporting activities. Reminder, outdoor spaces and tourism sites (e.g. beaches, mountains) were permitted in phase 1 where social distancing can be maintained.

• Phase 3, planned for 29 June will now allow for bars, restaurants, hotels and B&Bs to reopen. Restrictions for domestic travel within Ireland will also be lifted.

• Reminder, a 14-day quarantine period and a Public Health Passenger Locator Form is mandatory for all passengers arriving at Irish ports and airports from any other country, including Irish citizens coming home. This will be reviewed on 18th June.

• Airlines are planning for recommencement of domestic routes and implementing increased hygiene measures.

• Travel media is focused on domestic trips/ holidays.

Social Listening – Global English (predominantly UK)VisitScotland is monitoring social media conversations using Brandwatch social listening tool. This gives us an understanding of discussion points, sentiment towards holidaying and view of holiday intentions. This tool does not monitor all social media conversations therefore insight should be understood as a guide or indication of main topics and trends on a subject.

• During 1- 7 June, we identified around 4.5K relevant conversations about holiday intentions from the UK.

• General chatter about holiday intentions decreased by 19% compared to the previous 7 days. • Online sentiment about holiday intention is largely neutral with little difference in volume of

negative and positive sentiment during this week. • The main conversations were about people talking about wanting to go on holiday at this time

of year, people hoping to go on holiday later in the year (September onwards), the 2 week quarantine for people returning from road to the UK and people questioning whether or when to cancel a booking due to Covid-19.

• Twitter makes up most of the online conversation about holiday intentions (74%). The trending hashtags were: #nextyear, #fullrefund and #bookaholiday.

• 20% of online conversation occurs on forums. The top forum this week is thedibb.co.uk (a holiday planning forum). Forum users ask questions and look for advice about claiming a refund for cancelled holidays and whether to cancel holidays for later in the year i.e. September or whether it is worth booking ahead to 2021.

10 June 2020

• Germany’s R rate reported on June 8 is 0.87.• The German federal agency for work reports the unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in April. In

March, Germany recorded the highest value of people working short time. Short-term work (as a form of furlough) is said to affect up to 11 million German residents this year.

• On June 15, Germany is to lift its travel ban for 29 EU and associated states, including the UK. This measure will be reviewed should the infection rate rise in any of the countries. On June 4, Austria reopened its borders with all neighbouring states except Italy.

• On the island Sylt (Germany), holidaymakers showing Covid-19 symptoms and needing to quarantine will be asked to return to home within a day to avoid overwhelming the island’s health care system.

• In the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, to avoid overcrowded beaches, visitors must register on an app to visit the beach. If space is available at the time requested, they are given immediate authorisation.

• The RDA Group Travel Expo in Cologne, initially planned in July, is now expected to take place at the beginning of August. The workshop format is still going ahead to enable meetings in person.

• German tour operators are starting to present the industry with their plans to restart with international tourism, the UK does not yet feature.

Social Listening - GermanyVisitScotland is monitoring social media conversations to gain an understanding of discussion points, sentiment towards holidaying and view of holiday intentions. This tool does not monitor all social media conversations therefore

insight should be understood as a guide or indication of main topics and trends on a subject.

• From 2 - 8 June there were over 1,000 relevant conversations about holiday intention in Germany. Chatter tripled during this period compared to the previous week, probably due to announcement on 3 June to lift travel restrictions on 29 European countries from 15 June.

• When talking about holiday intention, the main conversations are around staycation: discussions on where and when to go on holiday within Germany and frustrations over travel hotspots in Germany struggling with domestic over-tourism due to people not being able to travel abroad.

• Other popular topics are users sharing their frustrations over cancelled flight/hotels/trips and having difficulties in getting refunds, as well as questions about their upcoming trips abroad and whether or not they will be able to travel or should cancel their plans.

• Twitter is a popular site to discuss holiday intention (53% of total) followed by forums (35%).• Twitter users discuss and debate their views on the current situation, retweeting and sharing

content from news articles and expressing their opinion about lockdown measures, the disruption to holidays and future holiday plans.

• Forum users ask questions and look for advice about claiming a refund for cancelled holidays and whether to cancel holidays for later in the year. The most popular forum to discuss holiday intention is reklamieren24.de

• Online sentiment about holiday intention is neutral with an even split of positive and negative chatter. Positive conversations include people looking forward to a change of scenery/exploring different regions in Germany this summer and feeling optimistic about future holidays abroad. Negative conversations revolve around poor customer service experiences from travel companies, disappointment over cancelled holidays and over tourism at domestic hot spots.

10 June 2020

• The GNI (National Association for Independent Hotels and Restaurants) has published a nationwide sanitary protocol (FR) for the hospitality sector, approved by the French Ministry of Labour. This includes management to show clear commitment of compliance with the new protocol, staff training and hygiene guidelines for staff and customers as well as a circulation plan and floor markings in place to facilitate physical distancing.

• Transavia France is to resume its flight schedule from Lyon and Nantes airports on June 15 and on June 26 from Paris Orly and Montpellier airports with flights to several European destinations. This represents 25% of their flight schedule.

• Les Entreprises du Voyage (Trade Union for tourism sector) has launched a campaign called ‘Douce France – Toutes les envies de France sont dans votre agence de voyages’ (Sweet France – All your desires of France are in your travel agency) to support industry concerns that French will favour C2C platforms and OTAs to book their staycation holiday and that requests for European/international destinations will be fewer this year.

• According to a BVA survey for Les Entreprises du Voyage, 59% of French people are willing to go on holiday this summer. 51% have expressed an interest to stay in France and 8% mentioned going abroad. Destinations such as Greece & Canary Islands come first in travel intentions. Bookings remain low with only 27% having booked all of their holidays; 17% parts.

• For some tour operators, tourism is driven by what is on offer and this offering must be visible, reassuring and persuasive. Even if there is willingness to travel, we will need to wait until June 15 and for the lifting of travel restrictions in Europe to see a shift in consumer behaviour. However, recovery is not expected to happen before the autumn 2020.

Social Listening - FranceVisitScotland is monitoring social media conversations to gain an understanding of discussion points, sentiment towards holidaying and view of holiday intentions. This tool does not monitor all social media conversations therefore insight should be understood as a guide or indication of main topics and trends on a subject.

• From 2 – 8 June, there were 1,500 relevant conversations about holiday intention in France- a three fold increase compared to the previous week.

• The restriction to travel within 100km from someone’s home in France was lifted on 1 June, which may explain the increase in chatter about holiday intention.

• The main conversation themes were people: expressing their desire to go on holiday and be able to plan their next trip; talking about packaged holidays and discussing or looking for the best locations to visit in their next holidays.

• Most of online conversations take place on Instagram (53%) and Twitter (29%) where online users share pictures to illustrate memories of past holidays and top locations they would like to visit, as well as asking for advice on whether to book holidays in the next few months.

• People are looking forward to travelling/going on holidays again, and share destinations they would be interested in. Going for a road trip seems to be a trending topic.

• French holidaymakers show a positive approach (57% positive sentiment) towards going on holidays this summer (NB the main summer holiday period in France is July and August).

• Negative chatter (26% negative sentiment) is driven by customer's frustrations of cancelling/ postponing holidays, especially summer holidays, getting refunds from booked holidays and the uncertainty of being able to travel abroad soon.

10 June 2020

Netherlands• Dutch government will lift the travel restrictions for a number of European countries from June

15. The UK & Sweden are not included.• As of June 1, bars and restaurants have reopened for up to 30 guests inside and unlimited

numbers outside, provided people maintain a 1.5m distance. Cinemas, theatres and concert halls also reopened, subject to a 30-guest maximum, and face masks are mandatory on public transport for over 13.

• Dutch tour operators are staying positive. Some have managed to transfer all their bookings to next season and are focusing on 2021. Operators see the potential for nature and short haul destinations in the near future.

Belgium• Visitors and residents have to currently quarantine upon return. Travel restriction to the UK still

applies. From the 8th of June, schools, restaurants and cafes are open again in Belgium. • Belgian tour operators are staying positive. Some have managed to transfer all their bookings to

next season and are focusing on 2021. Operators new to Scotland are interested to develop the destination as they see potential for nature and short haul destinations in the near future.

Nordics• In the Norway, travel warnings are in place for all countries and a 10-day quarantine applies after

travelling abroad. This travel advice is in place until August 20. From June 15, this will no longer apply for travelling to Denmark and government is considering making further exceptions to certain EU countries by July 20.

• In Denmark, visitors and residents returning from abroad are strongly advised to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. On June 8, the country started phase 3 of lockdown easing with museums, amusement parks, cinemas, gyms and swimming pools allowed to reopen. Gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed.

• As of June 8, there is a temporary entry ban in place for non-essential travels to the EU via Sweden until June 15. Travel from another EU and associated country to Sweden is possible.

• Spanish government has extended its state of emergency until June 21, giving the right to autonomous communities to decide on the length of phase 3 in regions based on their own R rate. As of last week, most Spanish autonomous communities have moved onto phase 2. Phase 3 will start in some communities from June 15.

• From June 3, Italy is officially open to incoming visitors including the UK. Most regions won’t enforce specific measures such as quarantine, however some are requesting visitors provide accommodation booking confirmation (Sardinia) or to download a contact tracing app (Sicily).

• Following protests in Turin, Naples and Rome last week, Italian travel trade is calling government for further economic support for the tourism industry and to review measures such as physical distancing in accommodation and transport as it creates unnecessary anxiety for customers and is reducing capacity for providers.

• There is still an interest for practical information coming from Italian travel agencies. Meanwhile in Spain, travel agencies and tour operators are slowly reopening in some autonomous communities creating an interest for Scottish content to be shared on social media and newsletters to reengage with customers.

10 June 2020

Social Listening – Dutch speaking countriesVisitScotland is monitoring social media conversations which gives VS an understanding of discussion points, sentiment towards holidaying and view of holiday intentions. This tool does not monitor all social media conversations therefore

insight should be understood as a guide or indication of main topics and trends on a subject.

• During the last 7 days, there were 427 total mentions about holiday Intentions in the Dutch speaking countries, which represent a decrease of 15% compared to the previous period.

• Online conversations about holiday intention were people: expressing their worry to travel in June and wondering whether June holidays would be cancelled and discussing their issues with getting refunds for cancelled holidays.

• Also people are looking forward to go on holiday abroad from September onwards.

10 June 2020

• Reminder: The US Government is still advising against all international travel. • All 50 US states have begun to reopen their economies however approaches vary on a state by

state basis. • New York city begins to reopen after 78 days under a ‘stay at home’ order. It starts with

nonessential workers in construction and manufacturing going back to work and retail stores setting up curb side or in-store pickup. The next reopening phase will include hair salons, offices and indoor seating at bars and restaurants.

• In the US, 21 states, including California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Washington and others have reported an uptick in daily COVID-19 cases since beginning their reopening. California, specifically, recorded its highest single day of new cases this past Friday with 3,593 new cases.

• Analysis by Tourism Economics shows national weekly travel spending grew by 15% to $4.3 billion last week), (its highest level since March).

• MMGY Global has launched its new Travel Safety Barometer — a sentiment tracking tool created for the travel and tourism industry — to monitor American travellers’ perceptions of how safe it is to engage in specific travel behaviours as the country embarks on its reopening and recovery efforts. International travel currently holds a score of 22/100.

• Congress is currently debating another $3tn aid package and the renewal of several federal aid programs that are set to expire, including a temporary boost to unemployment benefits that will lapse at the end of July.

• Reminder: The US CARES Act directed $58 billion to US airlines out of the $2 trillion economic stimulus package. Airlines must not cut pay or jobs through Sept 30 as a condition of the grants.

• US Airlines are sharing details on enhanced cleaning procedures: Delta, American Airlines and United have all announced that they will require passengers to wear masks. Delta have announced that they will run at 60% capacity on flights for safety purposes and United, that they will inform passengers if flights are more than 70% full.

• American Airlines are extending its change fee waiver-the and is extending the offer for customers who purchase tickets by June 30, 2020, for travel through Sept. 30, 2020. customers will also be allowed to change their origin and destination cities, but travel must be completed by Dec. 31, 2021.

• United Airlines have launched a new health and safety campaign called ‘CleanPlus’. The initiative sets a new standard for the airline’s health and safety protocols, including promoting social distancing, using sneeze guards at check-in counters, and reducing commonly used touch-points by rolling out touchless kiosks in airport lobbies.

• Continued focus from intermediaries on ‘dreaming of future travel’ and inspirational content. Virtual Scotland content is also popular.

• Increased interest from tour operators requesting information on when Scotland will be open for business.

• Feedback from USTOA that many operators have seen high volumes of consumers move their booking from 2020 to 2021.

10 June 2020

• Reminder: PM Trudeau announced on 19 May that the CA-US Border will remain closed for a further 30 days, until 20 June. This is due to the large number of cases in the US and concern this spreads in Canada. A 14-day quarantine rule still remains in place for essential travelers arriving in Canada.

• Reminder: The number of Covid-19 cases in Canada continues to increase and has not yet peaked however, the growth is slowing. It's estimated that Canada's R rate is currently just over 1. The R rate has not changed/been updated in recent weeks so may not represent the true reinfection rate.

• Update: Further easing of restrictions are happening across the country albeit at different timings depending on provinces and territories. Still no inter-provincial travel permitted yet other than for essential work. Those arriving in Canada must provide basic information using the ArriveCAN mobile app, an accessible web-based form or paper form and undergo screening by a border services officer or quarantine officer to assess symptoms.

• Update – Airline refunds: Still on-going with no formal decision in place. WestJet have recently announced that they are offering refunds for flights from CA to the US/UK which were cancelled due to Covid-19, the first airline to do this rather than only offering the 24month travel voucher option.

• Australia is set for its first recession in 29 years as the full economic impact of the virus pandemic is felt. Official figures show that the economy shrank by 0.3% in the first three months of the year as Australia tackled the consequences of the bushfires and the early stages of the pandemic.

• There have now been over 6.1million downloads of the Covid-Safe App which allows for contact tracing but many states have not reported any new infections for some time and have had no need to use the app.

• Australia continues to plan for Trans Tasman travel bubble, currently not willing to commit to a timescale on this. This week we have seen New Zealand declare itself Covid free which has led to a relaxation of multiple restrictions. The New Zealand government has stated that Australia must be in the same Covid free position before they can open up travel between the two countries.

• Globally more and more countries are targeting Australian visitors due to their Covid-safe status. Countries including Greece, Israel and Japan have suggested they will open up borders for Australians. Currently the outbound travel ban in place in Australia only allows for essential travel, which does not include tourism.

• Qantas and Virgin Australia have regrounded their remaining international passenger operations after government funding for the handful of overseas routes they were flying came to an end. Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways have resumed regular flights connecting Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia via their Gulf hubs.

• Domestically, as travel restrictions start to ease across the country, Qantas and Jetstar will increase their domestic and regional flying in June and July 2020. Further flights will be added in July, in time for the school holidays, as states open their borders.

10 June 2020

HealthAs @7 June Beijing lowered its public health emergency response from level 2 to level 3 (of 4). Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are now all on level 3. Only Hubei province (the original epi-centre is on level 2). Three provinces are on level 4.

Aviation In a new programme of steady expansion, foreign airlines can resume 1 Chinese route from 8 June. If the airline has 0 cases of covid-19 on their flight for 3 weeks, they can then increase to 2 flights per week. If they are found to have brought in 5 or more cases, their route will be suspended for 1 week. If they are found to have brought in 10 or more cases, their route will be suspended for 4 weeks.

Consumer Sentiment69% of respondents in a Trip.com survey said they have a desire to travel between September 2020 and February 2021. (13% said they would like to travel in September this year; 30% said they have a desire to travel in October during the national holiday; a further 13% from October to the end of the year; and 13% said they would like to travel in Jan and Feb 2021 for Chinese New Year.)

Intermediary Insights Trip.com have launched their industry “Stay Safe” programme to inform and reassure consumers of health and safety measures being adopted by accommodation providers. Accommodation providers can join the programme if they need the following criteria:

1) Within the past 14 days, no confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 in hotel2) Rooms must be disinfected daily, and public areas must be disinfected regularly

Accommodation providers which joined this programme and provided incentives i.e. special rates, will be listed on the top of Trip.com's results page.

International Travel• China is on the list of 29 nationalities that will be allowed free (without quarantine or

health certificates) entry to Greece from 15 June.• Turkey also plans to open to Chinese visitors in June.• From May 16, Thailand removed mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and South Korea from

the list of dangerous disease zones – news of this was very warmly received on WeChat.• Singapore will open to selected business travellers from China in June.• Marriott has reopened all hotels in China, and the group say it has seen a recovery in

business travel. The world's third largest hotel chain has 350 outlets across China and says that occupancy rate is now at 40%.

10 June 2020

• Adara aggregates booking behaviour across a wide variety of hotel and flight providers and has reported leisure flight volumes over the past week in the EMEA area now rising to 33% of the level they were at the start of the year.

• Leisure hotel bookings have failed to rise at the same pace, while Business hotel bookings have now risen to 39% of the level they were at the start of the year.

• Over the past week there has been a breakout rise in leisure flight bookings for 31-60 days advance purchase tickets in the EMEA area, rising to 25% of the volume that was reported for 91+ days advanced bookings at the start of the year (the volume of 31-60 days leisure flight bookings at the start of the year was equivalent to 40% of the volume of 91+ days advanced bookings).

• Other lengths of advanced purchase tickets are also growing, with shorter lengths rising at an equally fast pace.

10 June 2020

• UK traffic to the site has increased 10% over the past week, which represents a 37% increase on the weekly average from the previous 4 weeks. However, this is still a -40% drop on the same week last year.

• International visitors have been driving significant spikes in returning traffic over the past few weekends, with last Sunday seeing a 12% lift in traffic from Germany, The Netherlands and Spain compared with the same Sunday last year.

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International Traffic to visitscotland.com YTD

Current Period Previous Period YoY +/-

10 June 2020

• Within the UK the number of individuals engaging with our Facebook channel has increased over the past week (rising 7% above the previous week) however this is still 29% below the average of the preceding 4 weeks.

010,00020,00030,00040,00050,00060,00070,00080,00090,000

01

-Jan

08

-Jan

15

-Jan

22

-Jan

29

-Jan

05

-Fe

b

12

-Fe

b

19

-Fe

b

26

-Fe

b

04

-Mar

11

-Mar

18

-Mar

25

-Mar

01

-Ap

r

08

-Ap

r

15

-Ap

r

22

-Ap

r

29

-Ap

r

06

-May

13

-May

20

-May

27

-May

03

-Ju

n

Face

bo

ok

Un

iqu

e U

sers

Total Facebook Unique Users

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

01

-Jan

08

-Jan

15

-Jan

22

-Jan

29

-Jan

05

-Fe

b

12

-Fe

b

19

-Fe

b

26

-Fe

b

04

-Mar

11

-Mar

18

-Mar

25

-Mar

01

-Ap

r

08

-Ap

r

15

-Ap

r

22

-Ap

r

29

-Ap

r

06

-May

13

-May

20

-May

27

-May

03

-Ju

n

Face

bo

ok

Un

iqu

e U

sers

UK Facebook Unique Users by Country

England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

10 June 2020

The marketing teams at VisitScotland continue to play a key role in keeping Scotland top of mind with potential visitors of the future; and supporting our intermediary partners in destination training and planning new tours to Scotland. Visit our dedicated marketing response page on visitscotland.org, which will be updated regularly. Recently:

• A marketing toolkit containing practical information such as VisitScotland recovery strategy and information about Scotland’s route map to easing lockdown was shared with travel trade contacts in response to recent requests

• Social media activity during May• PR coverage during May• Recent email activity

10 June 2020

VisitScotland has published this report in good faith to update stakeholders on its activity. VisitScotland has taken all reasonable steps to confirm the information contained in the publication is correct. However, VisitScotland does not warrant or assume any legal liability for the accuracy of any information disclosed and accepts no responsibility for any error or omissions.Images: © VisitScotland

VisitScotlandOcean Point One94 Ocean DriveEdinburghEH6 6JHT: 0131 472 2222business.communications@visitscotland.comwww.visitscotland.org

VisitScotland.org | Visit our dedicated advice page for up to date information and advice on Coronavirus (COVID-19) for tourism businesses, including:

- Latest COVID-19 information and resources- Tourism industry FAQs- VisitScotland's response to COVID-19

Dedicated tourism industry advice | Our experienced team of Industry Relationship Managers can be reached at business.advice@visitscotland.com to help with any questions you have about business operations or marketing at this time.

Financial support advice | 0300 303 0660 | Contact the dedicated Scottish Enterprise business support line. Open Monday - Friday between 8.30am and 5.30pm or go to findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/coronavirus-advice

Industry newsletter | Stay up to date with the latest regional and national news by signing up to VisitScotland's Tourism Insider newsletter at visitscotland.org/news

Social media | Stay in touch with the latest from VisitScotland on Linkedin or Twitter

• Contact business advice team: business.advice@visitscotland.com

• Travel trade enquiries: traveltrade@visitscotland.com

• Sharing virtual tours or web cams: content@visitscotland.com

• Information on new experiences you’re developing: marketing@visitscotland.com

• Advice regarding insights: research@visitscotland.com