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4. Discussion of Issues Raised in Interviews

Introduction

4.1 We met and discussed this research with various individuals representing tourism, cultural and historical heritage, and transport: including policy makers, industry bodies and transport operators (see Appendix A for interview participants). The interviews were carried out as a combination of face-to-face interviews and telephone interviews where considered appropriate. In each case a venue/event specific interview proforma was used to ensure all areas of questioning were covered and responses were recorded accurately.

4.2 A number of issues were identified (which were explored in more detail in the case study research), including:

• Definition of cultural activity and the targeted audience for increased participation
• Potential tensions between economic development and social inclusion objectives
• Evidence for, and perceptions of, transport as a barrier
• Mechanisms in place for promoting public transport access, including incentives and funding
• Partnership working and communications
• Responsibility for promoting public transport access to cultural activity
• The human level - travel behaviour and motivations
• Opportunities to address the issues in the future

Definitions of cultural activity and the targeted audience, and potentially conflicting objectives

4.3 For the purposes of this research there appeared to be an issue over how cultural activity is defined, and who the target audience for increased participation is. This is an important issue, as it affects the priority given to access by public transport and makes it difficult to draw broad generalisations.

4.4 Scotland's Culture (Scottish Executive 2006b) identifies culture as a crucial part of Scotland's economic success and as being central to the well-being of its citizens. Cultural activity is defined as follows:

"In its widest sense, culture may now be said to be the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterise a society or group. It includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human beings, value systems, traditions and beliefs."

4.5 This broad definition, largely in line with that of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), presents the potential to consider any activity as a cultural one, with the focus on how an individual or community itself defines cultural activity. This notion of community ownership is being taken forward in the Government's cultural policy, specifically through the notion of cultural entitlements (discussed in Section 3).

4.6 Tourist activity has a clear relationship with cultural activity, but also differs in terms of the targeted audiences. The Scottish Government's tourism strategy, A Strategy for Scottish Tourism(Scottish Executive 2000), promotes a target of increasing revenue growth from tourism by 50% by 2015. From interviews with individuals within the tourism industry however, the baseline profile of tourists is generally higher socio-economic groupings. These groupings will continue to be targeted as they have money to spend. It could be assumed that these groupings will also be more likely to travel by car, either by private or hire car. This may also help to explain why transport is not perceived to be a major barrier by those representatives of the tourism industry interviewed (see section 5) - if the majority of people are travelling by car, then they simply do not perceive transport to be a barrier.

4.7 Whilst the issue of tourists generally fitting within the higher socio-economic groupings is perhaps peripheral to the need to remove transport barriers for all, regardless of income, and regardless of whether they are tourists or local communities accessing cultural activity, it is still an important one to raise, as it helps to understand the relative priorities and motivations of those planning and organising events and activities.

4.8 There are some examples however where tourism and cultural access objectives have been successfully meshed together - Highland 2007 is such an example, where the year of events not only caters for tourists, but a substantial programme is in place to enhance access to cultural activity by schools across the Highlands and Islands.

Evidence for, and perceptions of, transport as a barrier

4.9 Throughout the study, evidence was sought for the identification of transport as a barrier or otherwise to cultural activity participation. Whilst substantial research has identified transport as a barrier, the message is not a clear cut one.

4.10 In discussion with representatives of the tourism industry, the relatively consistent view from visitor research and personal experience was that transport is not one of the major barriers to attendance (this included Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland). However, this tends to be a view that emerges from research with existing visitors, and as the majority of visitors to attractions and sites covered by these tourism representatives tend to come by car (evidence supports this), it can be surmised that these individuals do not have a problem with transport.

4.11 Moreover, perhaps the more crucial issue is whether transport is a barrier amongst those who do not currently participate in arts or cultural activity. Some interviewees expressed the belief that transport is a barrier for many, and that it dictates the nature of audiences - these interviewees tended to be involved in cultural activity (for example Hi-Arts and Scottish Arts Council).

4.12 As Section 2 illustrates, lack of or inaccessible public transport is cited as a general barrier amongst those who do not or infrequently participate in cultural activity. This barrier is also linked to the location or availability of cultural activity, a further barrier cited by many. However, the research available suggests that transport is only 1 barrier, and other barriers are more commonly cited, such as time, cost and lack of interest.

Transport as a barrier for whom?

4.13 During the interviews for this research, organisations were asked if they had specific socio-economic groupings they were targeting to increase attendance and participation. In general, there does not appear to be substantial consideration of specific socio-economic groups, particularly amongst tourism representatives. However, within national cultural policy, there is a more focused approach on the following: older people, areas of multiple deprivation, black and minority ethnic communities and rural communities.

4.14 Research (discussed above) does highlight the groups who may be more excluded from cultural activity than others, and there is work ongoing to promote cultural activity participation amongst young people and children in particular. For example, Historic Scotland provides 70,000 free educational visits a year; within the context of 3.1 million visitors to Historic Scotland properties in 2006/07. Highland 2007, Imaginate; also sought to involve children and young people. Historic Scotland also works with the Black Environment Network to promote access to their properties by ethnic minority communities, and have an Interpretation Unit.

4.15 Discussions with key players, particularly in the Highlands and Islands (such as HI-Arts and Highland 2007 organisers), has highlighted the fact that transport in not only a barrier for audiences, but also for those performing and providing cultural activity opportunities.

4.16 HI-Arts state that touring costs in the Highlands and Islands is an issue, in that taking the artistic product out to arts centres and the network of village halls promoting events is costly, particularly where ferry journeys are involved (the price of fuel in more remote areas is also an issue here).

4.17 Highland 2007 organisers related their experiences of some bodies declining invitations to perform in the region due to the high costs of getting there and travelling around. One such body has been Scottish Bafta during Highland 2007. Furthermore, some organisations with a national remit have tended to charge more for providing activities and services in the Highlands and Islands than elsewhere in Scotland, although incidences of this is gradually declining.

Transport within wider audience development efforts

4.18 It is worth noting that improving physical access to cultural activity by transport is only one part of the wider efforts to develop audiences. Other efforts include creating resources online. A key tool in helping to develop audiences is the Area Profile Report. This is a tool which uses ACORN⁷ and Census data to help organisations build up an idea of who their target audiences may be within a specific catchment area, which is based on drive time analysis, information which should ideally assist with targeting of audiences.

4.19 The reports give information about the population in the area as a whole and then for each postal sector within that area. They provide information for a whole defined area (usually based on drive-time) and for each of the postal sectors in it comprehensive demographic and other information and an estimate of the number of potential arts attendees or museum visitors. When used with box office data on the numbers of ticket buyers for a particular venue or visitor survey data, they can identify opportunities for developing sales or visits.

4.20 These reports are available to not-for-profit organisations operating in the arts and cultural sector, to venues receiving work from funded clients of Arts Council England or the Scottish Arts Council or Arts Council Wales, and to local authorities for arts development purposes.

Mechanisms for public transport access to cultural activity

4.21 Various mechanisms were identified that promote access to cultural activity by public transport. Weaknesses that need to be addressed were also identified. The main issues covered were:

• Cultural activity providers
• Transport operators
• Incentives and funding for cultural and visitor activities
• Partnership working at the policy-making level

Cultural activity providers

Motivations

4.22 It could be argued that those providing cultural activity have at least some role to play in promoting public transport access to their activities (this is discussed further below). Much may therefore depend on the motivations of the provider, and the level of information on public transport modes given.

4.23 The motivations of providers of cultural and tourist activity is discussed briefly above, with the recognition that with regard to the tourist industry at least, revenue growth is key. The commercial imperative will also affect whether a provider takes the risk of subsidising transport to an event or site. The motivation to encourage visitors by any mode is often reflected in the provision of ample free car parking (except in urban contexts where travel demand management is a Council priority), which reduces the incentive for the visitor to travel by public transport.

4.24 A further issue to consider however is the provider's view on its duty to promote the use of public transport and the benefits that doing so could have for their visitor numbers. This is a cross-cutting policy issue, and one that is being incorporated into all aspects of government decision-making.

4.25 Within the Scottish Government Tourism unit, work is ongoing on 5 key themes in the delivery of the Tourism strategy, 1 of which is "sustainable tourism". However, the role of transport in sustainable development may not always be recognised by bodies out with the "transport" sector. As an example, the Environmental Policy (National Trust for Scotland 2004) contains an aim to eliminate or minimise the negative impact of the Trust's operations. However, transport for staff or visitors is not discussed as a way of achieving this aim, which instead focuses on reduction of consumption and waste. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the prospect of a new environmental policy came to light during discussions with the National Trust for Scotland for the purposes of this research, which will indeed encourage access by public transport. This new policy is not currently published on the Trust's website.

Information provision

4.26 The first port of call for many visitors is the source of information on the activity itself. Often this information can be found through an umbrella organisation, such as VisitScotland or National Trust for Scotland, or via individual sites, such as a Museum or Arts Centre. However, from a brief review of a selection of information sites, it was clear that information on how to access cultural activity by public transport is extremely variable and far from ideal.

4.27 Information can be in various forms - hard copy leaflets (which need to be updated regularly to avoid being out of date; although in many cases discussed in this research are updated annually); digital form (internet, mobile phone, digital TV, interactive portals); from the venue itself by telephone. Some examples from our review are given below.

4.28 Having information available on the internet is positive, although it should be remembered that not all the population has access to the internet. Indeed, a 2007 report concludes that young people, wealthy families and graduates use the Internet more than the elderly, poor or unqualified (National Statistics 2007). The same report states that one in 12 households across the UK still do not have access to the internet.

4.29 Some organisations provide information to visitors and members through hard-copy leaflets or brochures, such as Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland, which include information on how to access transport information and broad information on strategic transport networks. However, these rarely provide local, detailed bus information.

An example organisation: VisitScotland

4.30 VisitScotland.com is the official website of Scotland's National Tourism Organisation, VisitScotland. The "home" page provides a drop-down menu to "travel". Within this travel section of the website, information is provided to visitors in three categories - travelling to Scotland from overseas, travelling to Scotland from England and Wales, travelling around Scotland. Within the latter two categories, summary text on travel by train, by coach, by car, by ferry and by air is provided. Closer examination of the information on travel by coach for travelling within Scotland reveals hyperlinks to Scottish Citylink, National Express and Postbus Services, although no links are provided to any local bus services. Moreover, a short paragraph on local services appears to discourage travel by this mode, stating that to the north and south of the central belt "off the main routes, public transport services are few and far between, particularly in more remote parts of the Highlands and Islands"⁸ It is assumed that authors wanted to strike a balance between encouraging travel by public transport and setting realistic visitor expectations.

4.31 However, an array of links are given on the main Travel page to a range of useful information sources for public transport and other modes - including an interactive map whereby local transport information is available by region, a link to Traveline (a public transport information service, available both by telephone and website) ⁹, and specific information on cycling and walking around Scotland.

An example organisation - West Highland Museum

4.32 Information on this Museum located in the centre of Fort William is available on the internet ¹⁰. A category for "Visitor Information" is provided - however, this only provides a link to a map showing the location of the rail station, and road access to Inverness/Mallaig, and Glasgow and the South. No information is provided on local bus or rail services, and no link is given to any public transport information site.

4.33 Having spoken to the Museum as part of this research ¹¹, the Curator Manager confirmed that the Museum does not provide any additional information at a local level on how to access the site by public transport. The Museum is shown and advertised on a local Fort William Town Map, but to the Manager's knowledge, this Town Map does not provide information on local public transport services.

Example organisations - Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and the Burrell Collection, Glasgow

4.34 Kelvingrove Art Gallery in the west end of Glasgow has a low proportion of visitors arriving by car, at only 27% (1999 figures). In contrast, the Burrell Collection in Pollok Country Park on the south of Glasgow has a high proportion of visitors by car, at 88% (note, the Burrell Collection is explored as a case study in this research, reported in Section 5). As Figure 4.1 displays, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery is located well within the city with substantial public transport facilities and limited car parking provision. In contrast the Burrell Collection is located on the edge of the city in an area with sufficient car parking provision and limited public transport access.

Figure 4-1 Location map of Glasgow Museums

4.35 A visit to the website for Glasgow Museums provides more evidence for this contrast in transport provision.

4.36 Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is situated in a location that is highly accessible on foot (in a city park), and furthermore, is extremely well served by public transport, particularly bus, but also underground rail services. Indeed, the website ¹² advocates the use of public transport to access the site, as follows:

"Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is just over 2.5 miles from Glasgow city centre. Its central location means that parking space is limited, and travel by public transport is recommended. However, for those who need to travel by car, additional facilities have been provided."

4.37 In contrast, less travel information is given for the Burrell Collection on the Glasgow Museums website ¹³. There is no dedicated page on "how to get to", and travel information is provided in two locations: (1) On a general page with "Visiting us" information. Bus and rail information is still given, but in a more low-key approach (using a small, red font). (2) On a general page entitled "Access", which indicates car and coach parking is available, as well as a description of the location of the site, which states:

"The Burrell Collection is in Pollok Country Park. The nearest main road to the park is Pollokshaws Road. It takes about ten to fifteen minutes to walk to the Burrell Collection from the entrance to the park, and there are a number of sign posts along the way. A courtesy bus runs half-hourly from a bus stop just inside the entrance to the park and takes you to both the Burrell Collection and Pollok House. The bus is run by Glasgow City Council and is wheelchair accessible."

4.38 Whilst the difference in information provided by the Glasgow Museums website may reflect the reality, that Kelvingrove is more accessible by public transport and by foot than the Burrell Collection, it is interesting that the website takes a different approach in providing the same type of information on each.

Transport sector

4.39 Traveline Scotland¹⁴ is a public transport information service, available both by telephone and website. Many national bodies with a remit in visitor activity have a link to this website - for example VisitScotland, Historic Scotland, National Trust for Scotland.

4.40 Transport operators provide information on their services to the general public, in various forms (all of which should be within the Traveline system). However, operators do work within certain constraints when providing services:

• As the transport industry (bus and rail) is largely privatised and operated for commercial gain, a service should be profitable or at least have the prospect of making a profit before an operator will take a risk on providing it - this is relevant to providing new or additional services to cultural events and activity
• Bus operators have to go through a statutory 10 week period of notice before starting a new service
• Competition constraints, which any agreement between a single operator and commissioning authority needs to take into account
• In some areas, the Scottish Government's Bus Route Development Grant has been used to provide short term support (typically 3 years) to help establish new services in areas that would otherwise be considered unprofitable - this is an opportunity, although there have been some concerns that the scheme favours urban areas, as services receiving revenue support must be financially viable after 4 years, which is difficult for many rural services

4.41 Traveline now has a batch journey planning tool. This is primarily aimed at organisations to provide batch processing of journeys from multiple postcode origins to a single destination - supporting green travel planning. The tool provides a useful first step in exploring public transport options for large groups of people but, as a fully automated process can sometimes provide journeys that may be less than ideal.

4.42 Transport Direct¹⁵ also provides public transport journey planning on a national scale. The Transport Direct planner can be added as a pre-programmed link to any website only requiring the user to add their place of origin.

An example organisation - Lothian Buses

4.43 Lothian Buses is the major bus operator in the Edinburgh area, and is an "armslength" company of the City of Edinburgh Council. Lothian Buses' view is that they effectively serve cultural activity through their comprehensive bus network across the city. They try to promote various cultural sites and events through their information outlets where they are aware of them (for example, some cultural sites are marked on Lothian Buses network maps), but admit that there may still be opportunities to promote further activities, thereby increasing their patronage, but also promoting cultural activity.

4.44 An example of a proactive approach was a specific leaflet promoting the Roslyn Chapel, at the time of the film, The Da Vinci Code. This was an existing bus service that was enhanced with more buses - this service improvement began as a seasonal one, but is now year round given the demand to visit the site, particularly from North American tourists. The leaflet also includes information about public transport services to other cultural/tourist attractions.

4.45 Amongst the other initiatives that this operator pursues which link transport and cultural are:

• Edinburgh Bus Tours ¹⁵ - this umbrella title refers to a number of specific initiatives including Mac Tours City Tour (open top bus), the Guide Friday Edinburgh Tour, The Majestic Tour (which serves the Royal Yacht Britannia and the north of the city), City Sightseeing tour, Airlink (express bus service to Edinburgh Airport). The website also provides a link to the local Lothian Buses website for service and fare information
• Lothian Buses offer a Royal Edinburgh Ticket, a 2 day Tour Ticket which includes admission to Edinburgh Castle, The Palace of Holyrood House, The Royal Yacht Britannia and 2 days unlimited travel on all City Tour Buses and The Majestic Tour, at an adult cost of £34 (concessions £27, child £13)
• The Nightbus service runs all year round, although special Hogmanay Nightbus services are provided free of charge (paid for by the local authority)
• Lothian Buses work with the Royal Highland Show organisers annually to put on a dedicated service, which is a wholly commercial one

Incentives and funding for cultural or visitor activities

Green Tourism Business Scheme

4.46 The Green Tourism Business Scheme is run by Green Business UK on behalf of VisitScotland ¹⁷. This is a membership scheme, and eligible businesses must belong to one of VisitScotland's Quality Assurance Schemes in Scotland or a suitable equivalent in England. The scheme gives awards on 3 levels (Gold, Silver, Bronze) to businesses meeting assessment criteria. Members must pay to join the scheme. At April 2007, there were 650 members of the Scheme, which although small, is growing. The scheme has been running for some 11 years.

4.47 Sustainable transport access is one of the criteria assessed within the scheme, specifically, how businesses provide information on accessing their site by public transport. The following table sets out the criteria upon which applicant businesses are assessed with regards transport under this Scheme.

Table 4.1 Green Tourism Business Scheme

4.48 This is a comprehensive list of measures which covers the full range of non-private car based transport modes, for both visitors and staff.

Funding

4.49 The Scottish Arts Council has an Audience Development Fund. Projects requesting funding for transport are often asked to consider if this is the most appropriate solution to their audience development needs. Despite this, the Fund has been used to allocate money to some projects with a transport element, such as the North Edinburgh Arts Centre which had identified a need for transport for its elderly audience.

4.50 The company Highland 2007, which acts as a broker for the year of cultural activity in the Highlands and Islands in 2007, has provided funding (from the Scottish Government and other partners) in a number of areas. A region wide schools programme, "Highland Promise" is aimed at increasing cultural participation in schools. Each school is given a £20,000 budget and a menu of cultural opportunities, from which each school develops their own "cultural menu" of activity. Anecdotally, transport has emerged as one of the biggest problems for schools in the region in terms of increasing access to cultural activity. Highland 2007 also has funding streams for regional events and communities as part of the year of culture. No funding is specifically ring fenced for transport, but it is acknowledged that some may be spent on this.

4.51 VisitScotland provides Challenge Funding for groups of businesses to promote themselves; and transport could be an element within this, although there is no bespoke fund for transport.

Partnership working and communications

At a national level

4.52 Within the Scottish Government, communication channels are open between officers within tourism, culture and transport divisions, although these tend to be focused on specific outputs. As an example, tourism interests were reflected in the National Transport Strategy after dialogue between Divisions.

4.53 Over recent years, Ministers have promoted the cross-portfolio reach of cultural activity; working across all portfolios, they have sought to widen access to culture. For 2006, progress was reported in relation to the role of the Rural Community Transport Initiative in enabling rural residents to access cultural activities; improvements to the concessionary fare scheme in 2006 which gives older people and people with disabilities free national bus travel, and a new element in 2007 for 16-18 year olds and volunteers up to the age of 25; and provision of additional late trains serving the Edinburgh Festival.

4.54 Interestingly however, in discussion with a Scottish Government Cultural division representative it became apparent that there may currently be limited consideration of the "carbon footprint" of cultural planning policy, something which may need to be explored further in the future.

4.55 A Sustainable Tourism Partnership exists, which has replaced a previous Tourism and the Environment Forum. This Partnership is linked to the delivery of the national tourism strategy, and aims to promote sustainable tourism throughout Scotland. Transform Scotland represent transport sector views, although no permanent member of the Scottish Government's Transport Division sits on the Partnership. Represented on the Sustainable Tourism Partnership is a separate Sustainable Tourism Unit, a unit within VisitScotland, promotes green tourism, and gives examples of sustainable tourism cases with transport elements. ¹⁸

4.56 VisitScotland does not sit on any transport grouping as such, although contact with transport operators is made through the Tourism Innovation Group. This is a private sector-led grouping, "which aims to stimulate tourism operators into taking action to add to the quality, scope and success of tourism businesses, improving Scotland's competitiveness in tourism markets" ¹⁹. The group is funded by VisitScotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise, and has a membership of over fifty businesses. Upon inspection however, members of this grouping from the transport sector tend to have a tourism-related transport interest (for example Rabbies Trail Burners Ltd) as opposed to mainstream transport operators. In addition, VisitScotland work with key transport providers and have held a series of high-level strategic meetings with their representatives to address issues affecting transport and tourism.

4.57 The Scottish Tourism Forum is another grouping which potentially provides an opportunity for dialogue on transport and tourism issues - the Confederation of Passenger Transport is a Board Member. A Corporate Scotland and Infrastructure Implementation Group which is chaired by Iain Herbert of the Scottish Tourism Forum deals with all infrastructure issues affecting tourism, which includes transport. This group provides the opportunity for two-way communication between the industry and the public agencies on matters such as transport and tourism. However, transport operators interviewed say there is still considerable scope for improved communication, despite this.

4.58 It could be concluded that there are some mechanisms in place for meaningful dialogue between the tourism industry and the transport sector at a national level. However, from interviews carried out as part of this research, it is unclear how much is currently achieved by these mechanisms, and transport operators in particular argue more can be done to improve communications and shared understanding of the issues faced.

At a local and activity specific level

4.59 Highland 2007 has contractually agreed partners to assist with the accessibility of events throughout the year. These include Highlands and Island Airport Limited, Scotrail, Citylink and Calmac, as well as a car hire company. As an example outcome of this partnership working, event organisers are working with and subsidising Calmac to provide an extra ferry crossing from Oban for a festival in June in Iona. There is insufficient accommodation to cater for the anticipated level of visitors to the festival in Iona, hence it is imperative visitors can get back to Oban for an overnight stay.

4.60 In addition, Scotrail and Citylink are working in partnership with the organisers of Rockness in Inverness, at which 35,000 visitors are anticipated over 2 days.

4.61 Highland 2007 is also working with a local heritage bus group, Macbraynes, which is run by volunteers. This service will help with the transit of visitors to the Tattoo event in Fort George in July 2007. However, in a VisitScotland press release ²⁰ on the release of tickets for the event, no specific details of how to access the site by public transport is provided, although it states details of a bus service from Inverness will be announced shortly. The press release also states Fort George is approximately a 20 minute drive from Inverness.

4.62 There are various examples of First Scotrail working in partnership with specific bodies and organisations to enhance access by public transport. One such example is joint-marketing of the Scottish Snowdrop Festival, which took place between 1 ^st February and 11 ^th March 2007. The event was promoted by First Scotrail on their website and literature, and a brochure for the event by VisitScotland contained information on how to contact First Scotrail.

4.63 First Scotrail work in partnership with the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick to provide a "Rail and Entry Inclusive Offer" see Section 5.6 of this report for further information. An all inclusive price from Edinburgh for an adult (travel and entry to the Centre) costs £8 (fares valid until 19 May 2007).

4.64 The First Scotrail website ²¹ lists information on a range of events and attractions, such as the Arran Wildlife Festival in May 2007, Charles Rennie Mackintosh attractions, Word '07 University of Aberdeen Writers Festival in May 2007. This approach appears to be predominantly focused on events marketing however, as opposed to any integrated ticketing or discounted travel offers to these events.

4.65 There are further examples of partnership working involving Calmac and SPT, which are discussed briefly in the Section 5 of this report on potential case studies.

4.66 However, whilst there are good examples of partnership working between transport operators and cultural activity providers, there are other examples of less successful communication where event organisers have given little consideration to transport accessibility.

4.67 Bus operators interviewed as part of this research have also admitted that more proactive communication links could be made with cultural and tourist activity providers. The view of operators is that they are likely to promote local activity they already know about, but they do not rule out the possibility of other potential opportunities to increase patronage to sites and events that they are not aware of.

Responsibility for promoting public transport access to cultural activity

4.68 In each of the interviews carried out, the question of who has the lead responsibility in delivering improved public transport access to cultural activity was discussed. Revealingly, there were divergent views, with some bodies on the tourism side viewing transport and access issues being out with their remit. Some tourism bodies suggested transport operators should be more aware of the needs of tourists and visitors. Transport operators felt there was a need for organisers to consider transport first and foremost in event planning, although acknowledged that they could perhaps be more proactive about identifying opportunities for new passenger markets. Government was also cited as having a role in providing guidance and advice, and the public sector in general was cited by a tourism body as having a key role in providing transport access.

4.69 Some of the bodies involved in promoting public transport access to cultural activity in Scotland are as follows:

• Tourism bodies, representing the tourism industry (through membership for example). These include VisitScotland and the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions. However, VisitScotland do not currently give any specific guidelines to businesses with regards promoting public transport access
• Umbrella bodies representing and promoting cultural activity, such as Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Museums Council, Cultural Enterprise Office (operating in Scotland's 4 main cities, providing a Business Development Service to creative and cultural practitioners and businesses). VOCAL is a body representing local authority cultural and tourism interests across Scotland
• Transport operators, such as bus, coach and rail operators. Also community transport operators who are already working with local arts bodies in some instances, such as in Dumfries and Galloway
• Local authorities, who have a role in providing cultural activity, as well as a role in transport provision, particularly through supported bus services, infrastructure to support public transport such as signage and information
• Bodies with a role and/or specific project or remit in audience development, such as:
  • Scottish Arts Council ( SAC) - although reorganisation imminent with Scottish Screen - has a specific remit for audience development within its wider role of promoting the arts in Scotland
  • Imaginate, an organisation that promotes and develops performing arts for children and young people in Scotland, with a strategic project on audience development
  • Hi Arts, an independent company established to promote and develop arts in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, with a specific remit in audience development
  • The Audience Business (Edinburgh based) and Glasgow Grows Audiences, both focused on audience development specifically

The human level - travel behaviour and motivations

4.70 A critical factor in promoting accessibility to cultural activity by public transport should not be forgotten - that is, the motivation of the visitors or participants themselves. The travel needs of visitors will vary enormously, and many bodies already understand the motivations of their targeted audiences. For example, some locations are ideal for family outings, and the travel needs of families therefore needs to be considered (particularly those with young children, which may require a lot of vehicle space for buggies, bags etc). Other locations are more likely to be visited by individuals or elderly groups, such as some sites of historical interest. Music events (depending on the type of music) may be more likely to be visited by young people or couples, who may be more open to the use of public transport, not least as they may be more cost-conscious and have less private transport options.

4.71 An interesting view emerged from some of the interviews for this research. This view stated that there may be some sites of cultural activity where it will always be a challenge to promote any substantial level of accessibility by non-car modes. These tend to be sites with one key area of interest, such as a remote castle, historical house, group of standing stones - a visitor may not wish to travel by public transport to such a site and risk the possibility of having to spend time there in poor weather with limited or no facilities (such as a café), and may instead choose the flexibility and responsiveness of the private car.

4.72 Furthermore, visitors to Scotland often perceive it as a touring destination (according to VisitScotland), and therefore the need for a car is often perceived as essential.

4.73 Several interviewees in the research also highlighted the fact that many visitors to Scotland are unaware of the distances involved in travelling across Scotland, which may make them perceive car journeys to be easier and shorter than they actually are.

Opportunities for the future

4.74 A number of opportunities exist to address some of the issues raised here. These will be explored further in the remainder of the research, but in brief, some that have already emerged include the following:

• Inclusion of a module of questions on culture and sport within the Scottish Household Survey - this module will cover a sample of around 4,000 each year over 2 years, providing us with data on 2008 on a sample of about 8,000, although results will not be available until at least 2008/9. Questions include reasons for not doing specific activities (for example ballet, playing a musical instrument), and reasons include "lack of transport/ I can't easily get to it". Criteria that might encourage a person to do more of a stated activity are enquired about, which include "better public transport links/access to transport"
• HI-Arts are pursuing a number of avenues that may result in greater understanding of transport as a barrier to cultural participation. One idea that they are currently exploring is the introduction of a "Car Pooling" scheme on their online sales portal. ²² The idea would be to allow audiences, at the point of ticket purchase, to highlight where they are travelling from for a particular event, and either offer spaces in their car to other audience members, or request to share transport with other audience members. Furthermore, they are currently developing a project based on a broader UK initiative called "Audience Data UK", which hopes to explore some of the barriers to attendance and advance booking for events across the Highlands and Islands - and from which transport may emerge as a key issue ²³
• From some of the interviews for this research, it is clear that there is an increasing desire in the tourism industry to promote travel by public transport to make it part of the visitor experience. An example of such a journey would be travelling by rail from the central belt to the Highlands. Packaging the experience in this way could help to shift more car journeys to sustainable modes in the future
• A number of Cultural Pathfinders ²⁴ are ongoing, having started at the beginning of 2007. These pathfinders are linked to the concept of cultural planning and cultural entitlements, and will provide insight into the challenges and opportunities involved in these aspects of the Cultural Strategy for Scotland. One such pathfinder is being carried out in Dumfries and Galloway, where the focus is on rural communities - transport issues are being explored in this particular case.

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