40,000 drop in visitors at Edinburgh's summer festivals as proportion of tickets sold to non-Scots plummets

The Summer Festivals Scorecard report compiled by the City of Edinburgh Council and due to be considered by the council's culture committee next week, found the number of visitors fell by one per cent last summer to 3.85 million.

However, according to the study of Edinburgh’s 11 biggest festivals, held from April to August, the number of Edinburgh and Scottish locals attending events rose by 10 per cent and 22 per cent respectively, compensating for a drop in visits from people from elsewhere in the UK.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe boss Tony Lankester last summer warned over the rising cost of accommodation, which he said was impacting the ability of performers and visitors from outside of Scotland to be able to afford to stay in the city.

Meanwhile, Underbelly venue owners Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam also pointed to a trend for the Fringe becoming a “more Scottish festival” due to people living further away being priced out of staying overnight in Edinburgh.

Figures for the Fringe published in the report show the proportion of visitors from the rest of the UK was just 25 per cent - down from 36 per cent the year before. However, ticket sales overall were slightly up, compensated by a strong rise in the number of tickets bought by Scots.

The proportion of tickets sold to Edinburgh residents rose to 40 per cent from 35 per cent last year, while those bought by people from elsewhere in Scotland rocketed from 16.5 per cent to 22 per cent. The proportion of international audience members remained flat at 13 per cent.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival also saw a two per cent drop in the proportion of audience members from the UK outwith Scotland and an increase from 29 per cent to 32 per cent of tickets sold to people living in the rest of Scotland outside of Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh International Festival, however, which offers high-level professional performances of classical music, ballet and theatre, found its visitor numbers and geographical demographic spread had remained stable. A total of 44 per cent of its audience came from Edinburgh, 27 per cent from the rest of Scotland, 17 per cent from elsewhere in the UK and 12 per cent from overseas.

The report also showed hotel occupancy in the city centre fell to 90.6 per cent from 91.1 per cent during August.

Major stadium gigs scheduled during the August festivals season, including last year’s Oasis tour, were said to have pushed hotel prices higher.

The council report said: “Edinburgh’s eleven major festivals take place throughout the year, bringing cultural, social, employment and economic benefit to the citizens of the city and region.”