PORTRUSH VISITOR SURVEY 2013

R ESEARCH M ETHOD Fieldwork was carried out face to face at a series of pre agreed sampling points within Portrush town centre The survey was administered using a questionnaire agreed in advance with the Council and based on previous surveys to ensure direct comparability The achieved sample was 500 including 125 residents and 375 visitors Interviewing took place between 7 th July and 31 st August 2013 All interviewing was undertaken to the standards defined by the Market Research Society Code of Conduct and the Interviewer Quality Control Scheme

V ISITORS & R ESIDENTS B ASE = 500

V ISITORS & R ESIDENTS B ASE = A LL A WARE OF I MPROVEMENTS

C ONCLUSIONS Beaches (45%) remain the thing people like most about Portrush. The thing most disliked about Portrush is a perceived need to modernise the town centre (23%) 2013 has seen consistent increases in people’s attitudes to the town with at least nine out of ten respondents agreeing that it has great potential, is a great place to visit, and has a wide range of things to see and do Against this 94% believe it needs to modernise, and 84% that it is a bit run down, however, this is counter balanced by the fact that 89% believe a lot of progress has been made over the past few years in this regard The recent improvements would appear to have improved attitudes to the town but at the same time highlighted other areas which are in need of modernisation and there remains an impression that it is still a bit run down

C ONCLUSIONS The average rating of Portrush has increased substantially since the last survey with the natural environment, night life, welcome given to tourists and visitor information in particular performing very well Other aspects such as cleanliness and personal safety have also seen an improvement Shops, more quality accommodation, car parking and expanded harbour/marina facilities are the aspects that people believe would further improve Portrush

C ONCLUSIONS 99% of respondents in 2013 would now recommend Portrush as a place to visit - beaches, outdoor pursuits, natural beauty and good restaurants are the main aspects people would recommend The number of people aware of the recent improvements now stands at 91% having risen from 73% in 2012 and 53% in 2010, with the East Strand and Arcadia the most mentioned Almost all (99%) believe that these changes have improved Portrush The programme of improvements is highly visible and has had a very positive impact on perceptions of Portrush for visitors and residents alike but there remains work to be done with the town centre singled out as needing attention