Research Report Quality of Visitor Experience Survey: Hafod Prepared for: The Forestry Commission Quality of Visitor Experience Survey: Hafod Prepared for: The Forestry Commission Prepared by: BMG Research Date: April 2013 Produced by BMG Research © Bostock Marketing Group Ltd, 2013 www.bmgresearch.co.uk Project: 8189 Registered in England No. 2841970 Registered office: 7 Holt Court North Heneage Street West Aston Science Park Birmingham B7 4AX UK Tel: +44 (0) 121 3336006 UK VAT Registration No. 580 6606 32 Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Member No. B4626 Market Research Society Company Partner British Quality Foundation Member The provision of Market Research Services in accordance with ISO 20252:2006 The provision of Market Research Services in accordance with ISO 9001:2008 Investors in People Standard - Certificate No. WMQC 0614 Interviewer Quality Control Scheme (IQCS) Member Company Registered under the Data Protection Act - Registration No. Z5081943 The BMG Research logo is a trade mark of Bostock Marketing Group Ltd Executive summary Table of Contents 1 Executive summary ........................................................................................................ 3 1.1 Quality of Visitor Experience research .................................................................... 3 1.2 Hafod ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Perceptions of the site ............................................................................................ 3 1.4 Strengths of the site ................................................................................................ 4 1.5 Areas for improvement ............................................................................................ 4 1.6 Visitor profile ........................................................................................................... 4 2 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Background............................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Research programme ............................................................................................. 5 2.2.1 2010-2013 programme .................................................................................... 5 2.2.2 2012 programme ............................................................................................. 6 2.3 Report ..................................................................................................................... 6 2.4 Data reporting ......................................................................................................... 7 3 Visitor profile information ................................................................................................ 8 3.1 Visitor profile ........................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Group profile ......................................................................................................... 10 3.2.1 Size of group.................................................................................................. 10 3.2.2 Composition of group ..................................................................................... 11 4 Profile of visit ............................................................................................................... 12 4.1 Type of visit........................................................................................................... 12 4.2 Visitor origin .......................................................................................................... 13 4.3 Frequency of visits ................................................................................................ 14 4.3.1 First time visitors ............................................................................................ 14 4.3.2 Repeat visitors ............................................................................................... 14 4.4 Length of visit ........................................................................................................ 15 4.5 Activities undertaken ............................................................................................. 16 4.6 Length of time spent on activities .......................................................................... 18 4.7 Overall spending in local area resulting from visit ................................................. 19 5 Perceptions of the site.................................................................................................. 21 5.1 Overall rating of the site as a place to visit ............................................................ 21 1 Quality of Visitor Experience Survey: Hafod 5.2 Rating of Hafod as safe and welcoming ................................................................ 22 5.3 Reasons for ratings ............................................................................................... 23 5.4 Recommending the site as a place to visit ............................................................ 24 5.5 Favourite thing about the site ................................................................................ 25 5.6 Enhancing the visitor experience .......................................................................... 26 5.7 Factors interfering with the visitor experience ....................................................... 26 5.8 Cattle .................................................................................................................... 26 6 Site facilities ................................................................................................................. 27 6.1 Importance of site facilities .................................................................................... 27 6.2 Rating of site facilities (where used) ...................................................................... 28 6.3 Ratings of site facilities by perceived importance .................................................. 29 7 Information about sites ................................................................................................. 30 7.1 Sources used to plan visit ..................................................................................... 30 7.2 Visiting other attractions ........................................................................................ 31 8 Appendix 1: Questionnaire ........................................................................................... 32 2 Executive summary 1 Executive summary 1.1 Quality of Visitor Experience research BMG Research has been commissioned to undertake a Quality of Visitor Experience (QoE) survey on behalf of the Forestry Commission and from 2010-2013 will conduct approximately 10,000 surveys across fifty forest sites in England and Wales. In 2012, BMG conducted interviews at fifteen forest sites in England and Wales, including four high usage sites in England and eleven medium usage sites in Wales. This report summarises findings from 92 visitor interviews completed at Hafod in 2012; throughout the report, comparisons have been made between findings at Hafod and the straight average across the twenty five sites used in Wales to date (excluding Gethin, Llan Wynno and Cwm Saebran from Year 1 due to very low sample sizes of visitors). 1.2 Hafod Hafod Uchtryd, 12 miles south-east of Aberystwyth, located in Ceredigion, west Wales, in the Ystwyth valley is recognised as one of the finest examples in Europe of a Picturesque landscape. In the late eighteenth century, the Hafod Estate was designed in the ‘Picturesque’ style by Thomas Johnes (1748-1816) and became an essential destination for visitors touring Wales in search of ‘wild nature’. The paths, views, gardens and mansion were the subject of numerous contemporary accounts. Today the mansion has gone and Hafod lies within a working forest which is managed by Forestry Commission Wales, in partnership with the Hafod Trust, the estate is managed to conserve and restore the historic landscape, protect its important habitats, and provide access and enjoyment for walkers by recreating Johnes’s path network. Hafod has a range of activities available to visitors including dramatic woodland walks, waterfalls, wonderful views and horse riding. 1.3 Perceptions of the site The majority of visitors said that Hafod was excellent or very good (83%) as a place to visit, which was consistent with the average across sites in Wales (89%). Furthermore, the majority of visitors (88%) rated the site as either excellent or very good in terms of how safe and welcoming it is which was again consistent with the average across Wales (85%). The majority of visitors would recommend Hafod as a place to visit – over four in five (85%) provided a rating of 9 or 10 out of ten, in terms of how likely they would be to recommend the site to friends or family. This is higher than the average (75%). 3 Quality of Visitor Experience Survey: Hafod 1.4 Strengths of the site Visitors’ favourite things about Hafod were the beautiful scenery/views, peace/tranquillity/relaxation and walks/paths/trails available at the site. Visitors said that clear sign posting of paths and trails and car parking were particularly important when they were deciding to visit the site. Ratings for the majority of facilities were very