Scotland | Audience Recovery Status Report 2022

Key Findings:

• Scottish arts & culture venues have experienced a slower recovery from the pandemic than English venues, due to the population profile (older, more rural) and the Covid restrictions affecting venues still in place into the start of 2022.
• Ticket sales were down by a third in 2022, compared to pre-pandemic, and 22% fewer bookers attended.
• The drop was felt more by venues in South Scotland and along the West coast. Particularly, the Highlands and & Islands already had the smallest market share and saw the largest drop.

The profile of attenders is likely to be shifting – with younger people and families attending more than older groups and suburban, traditionally ‘dependable’ audience groups.

• The audience to Scottish venues has historically been particularly local and remains as such in 2022.
• Ticket sales in the summer period Jul-Sep came more from within Scotland than they had done on average pre-pandemic.
• The biggest drop in UK visitors came from London and the South of England, suggesting that some visitors to the festivals might not want to travel as far.
   

• Music has grown as a proportion of tickets sold, while Christmas Shows and Film have decreased.
• The drop in ticket sales may have been in part linked to fewer performances being put on, compared to pre-pandemic.