Understanding the Visitor Experience

Results from a Pilot Visitor Satisfaction Survey

March 2011

The Context

Market Value

£17.3

£39.3

£14.4

Tourism Spend in England 2009 (£bn)

Domestic Overnight

Domestic Day Trips

Inbound

Source: UKTS 2009, IPS 2009, ELDVS 2005

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

Ap

r-06

Jun

-06

Au

g-0

6

Oct-

06

Dec-0

6

Fe

b-0

7

Ap

r-07

Jun

-07

Au

g-0

7

Oct-

07

Dec-0

7

Fe

b-0

8

Ap

r-08

Jun

-08

Au

g-0

8

Oct-

08

Dec-0

8

Fe

b-0

9

Ap

r-09

Jun

-09

Au

g-0

9

Oct-

09

Dec-0

9

Fe

b-1

0

Ap

r-10

Jun

-10

Au

g-1

0

Oct-

10

Tri

ps (

millio

ns)

Rolling 12-month period ending….

UK Domestic Tourism – Holiday Trips 2006 - 2010

Domestic Holiday Trends

Source: UKTS 2006-2010

The Strategic Framework for Tourism The Role of Visitor Satisfaction

• To increase England’s share of global visitor markets

• To offer compelling destinations of distinction

“Create an England satisfaction survey which provides a national benchmark and greater consistency of data at regional, destination and local levels”

• To champion a successful, thriving tourism industry

• To facilitate greater engagement between the visitor and the experience

Our Approach

• Questions are included on the VE Brand & Communications Tracker

– Continuous online interviewing among those in the market for holidays (taken at least one holiday of 1+ nights in the past 12 months anywhere in the world, intend to do so in the next 12 months, non-rejectors of England)

• 5-minute satisfaction module, asked of all P12M England leisure break takers (79% of total sample)

– Over 3000 respondents have provided satisfaction data since the start of the survey

• Questions asked about most recently visited destination from a list of c.60 options (not about “England”)

– Trip Profile: break length, accommodation type, destination type, activities undertaken

– 4 Visitor Experience (TRI*M) Questions

– Evaluation of destination across 15 key attributes

• Satisfaction measured using TNS TRI*M method (widely used across many sectors)

How satisfied are domestic visitors?

How Satisfied Are Our Visitors?

Overall

Performance

Likelihood to

Recommend

Likelihood to

Revisit

Competitive

Advantage

TRI*M

Index:

92

90

50

70

30 Likelihood to

Recommend

85%

excellent/

very good

86%

definitely/

probably

76%

definitely/

probably

61% much/

slightly

better

80

75

70 Overall Oct - Nov - Dec - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec -

High

Visitor

Experience

Low

Visitor

Experience

100

95

90

85

105

Slight improvement in scores over time – though there may be a seasonal effect

92 92

Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

94 93 92 92 92

91 92 92 93

94 94 96 95 95

Who are our Most Satisfied Visitors?

80

75

70 England 18-34 35-54 55+ Kids in h‘h No kids in h‘h ABC1 C2DE

High

Visitor

Experience

Low

Visitor

Experience

100

95

90

85

105

Highest scores among older visitors, families, and lower social grade (but differences are narrow)

92

94 94

92 91 92

95

92

Age Children Social Class

80

England 1-3 night 4-7 night 8+ night Countryside Seaside City Touring

High

Visitor

Experience

Low

Visitor

Experience

100

95

90

85

105

98

102

97 95

89

92 92

89

Holiday Type Location

short break mid-length hol longer holiday

110

Longer breaks / countryside destinations deliver the best-rated experience

MEASURE

Overall rating

Recommendation

Revisit

Advantage versus competitors

DIMENSION

LOYALTY

SATISFACTION

Beyond the Indices: The four TRI*M Index questions are also analysed on two dimensions of satisfaction and loyalty:

These two dimensions can be plotted against each other to provide deeper understanding of the visitor experience

Visitor Experience Map – Holiday type and Location

Low

High

S A

T I

S F

A C

T I O

N

L O Y A L T Y

8+ night holiday

4-7 night holiday

Seaside

Countryside

Touring

Short break

City break

Understanding more of what the TRI*M score means can help us predict behaviours

It was great, I’ve sent the cottage details to

my friends…

The kids love it, and we’ll be back next

year

80

75

England ALL HOTELS B&B / Caravan Camping Rented house Holiday Guesthouse /flat camp/village

High

Visitor

Experience

Low

Visitor

Experience

100

95

90

85

105

89

94 96

101 100

92 91

Non-serviced (self-catering) accommodation options outperform traditional options

80

75

England 1* 2* 3* 4* 5* 1* 2* 3* 4* 5*

HOTELS B&Bs/Guesthouses

High

Visitor

Experience

Low

Visitor

Experience

100

95

90

85

105

92

n/a

80

89 90

95

82

97

102

n/a n/a

There is a clear correlation between star rating and visitor experience

Low

High S

A T

I S

F A

C T

I O

N

L O Y A L T Y

All Hotels

Camping

Rented house/flat

All B&B/Guesthouse

2* hotel

Caravan

Holiday camp/village

5* hotel 3* hotel

4* hotel

2* B&B

4* B&B

3* B&B

Camping atracts the highest loyalty levels – but self-catering delivers greater satisfaction

80

75

England Outdoor Exploring Visited a Went to Visited a Explored a Went on a Went to a leisure the countryside museum or the beach garden small town guided zoo/aquarium pursuits art gallery / seaside tour /sea life centre

High

Visitor

Experience

Low

Visitor

Experience

100

95

90

85

105

99 98 98 98

97 97

92

97

101

Taking part in activities leads to a more positive experience

80

75

England Watched a Visited a Went Attended Explored a Visited a Visited sporting castle/stately shopping cinema/concert large town theme park family / event home/historic site /theatre/musical /city /fun fair friends

High

Visitor

Experience

Low

Visitor

Experience

100

95

90

85

105

96 96 95 95

94

83

92

96

...true for all activities except visiting friends and family!

80

75

England 1 Activity 2-3 Actiivities 4-5 Activities More than 5 undertaken undetaken undertaken undertaken

High

Visitor

Experience

Low

Visitor

Experience

100

95

90

85

105

92

98

102

92

80

5 Don‘t know responses. No respondents had

undertaken 0 activities

Our most active visitors are our most satisfied visitors

Variations in Visitor Satisfaction Across England

105

Peak District

108

Cornwall

107

Lake District

106

Yorkshire Dales

105

North Yorkshire

96

York

98

Yorkshire Coast

97

Other Devon

100

Northumberland

101 Isle of Wight

94

Brighton

91

Suffolk

94

Norfolk

93

Gloucs & the Cotswolds

89

Hampshire

95

London

94 Bristol & Bath

89 Bournemouth & Weymouth

89 Somerset

85

Manchester

86 Torquay

86 Cheshire

85

Other Dorset

81 Kent

81 Lancashire

Coast

76 Birmingham

The visitor experience varies widely by destination – even within those offering a similar break type

Low

High

S A

T I

S F

A C

T I O

N

L O Y A L T Y

Peak

District

Cornwall

Manchester

Other Devon

London

Lake District

Suffolk

Yorkshire

Dales

Northumberland Gloucs/Cotswolds

Brighton

York

Isle of Wight

Bournemouth

Yorkshire

Coast

Norfolk

Torquay Other Dorset

Somerset

Kent

Bristol

& Bath

Lancashire Coast

Birmingham

Cheshire

Hants

N Yorks

Visitor Experience Map – Destination

Greater understanding can be gained by analysing satsifaction and loyalty ratings separately

Dimensions of Satisfaction

47%

46%

46%

45%

44%

43%

43%

42%

40%

39%

38%

34%

33%

29%

27%

47%

47%

37%

46%

41%

49%

47%

47%

46%

50%

45%

50%

45%

58%

49%

Good quality accommodation

Interesting cities & towns to visit

Unspoilt countryside

A place where I feel safe and secure

Interesting villages to visit

Good quality food and dining

Welcoming and friendly people

Good range of local food & produce

Opportunities to see famous buildings and monuments

A clean and tidy environment

Opportunities to visit museums & galleries

Good value for money

Easily accessible public transport

High levels of customer service

Availability of festivals, music, sporting and cultural events

Agree Strongly Agree Slightly

Key Dimensions of Visitor Satisfaction

High satisfaction with accommodation – but value, transport and customer service remain as areas to address

% Strongly Agree with statement

England City Seaside Countryside

Good quality accommodation 47% 45% 46% 53%

A place where I feel safe and secure 45% 30% 51% 56%

Good quality food and dining 43% 42% 43% 47%

Welcoming and friendly people 43% 32% 47% 51%

Good range of local food & produce 42% 33% 44% 50%

A clean and tidy environment 39% 25% 44% 50%

Opportunities to visit museums & galleries 38% 56% 28% 32%

Good value for money 34% 25% 41% 37%

Easily accessible public transport 33% 46% 34% 22%

High levels of customer service 29% 23% 32% 33%

Availability of festivals, music, sporting & cultural events

27% 40% 23% 20%

National averages will allow us to track trends – but we need to dig deeper to really understand the visitor experience

Key Dimensions of Visitor Satisfaction – by Destination Type

Brighton London York

TRI*M SCORE 94 95 96

Good quality accommodation 83 100 111

A place where I feel safe and secure 84 28 96

Good quality food and dining 97 109 98

Welcoming and friendly people 89 32 135

Good range of local food & produce 103 68 83

A clean and tidy environment 65 29 118

Opportunities to visit museums & galleries 77 203 176

Good value for money 83 37 112

Easily accessible public transport 131 205 145

High levels of customer service 118 59 103

Availability of festivals, music, sporting &cultural events

127 214 85

Destination Indices vs National Average (% Strongly Agree)

Ultimately, we aim to benchmark all key destinations to understand relative strengths and weaknesses - a comparison of 3 destinations with similar overall scores shows very different priorities for improvement

Key Findings About Satisfaction in England

– Satisfaction seems to be improving – though we need to understand the impact of seasonality

– Older groups, C2DE’s and families are a little more satisfied than others

– Longer breaks, countryside destinations, self-catering options and lots of activities make for the most positive experience

– The destinations delivering the most positive experience are Cornwall, the Lake District, North Yorkshire / the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District

– This study helps us understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of different destinations – and also the role they can play in driving future growth

Plans for the Future…

• Understanding which attributes matter most to people – adding a “how important is this attribute” question to our questionnaire

• Reviewing the attribute list to allow us to measure success in achieving strategic framework objectives

• Reviewing the destination list against the emerging tourism landscape

• Understanding Day Visit Satisfaction - TRI*M Module will be added to National Day Visitor

Survey, reporting early 2012

Understanding the Visitor Experience

Results from a Pilot Visitor Satisfaction Survey