Tourism Destination Research

Up-to-date and reliable information is vital to staying competitive in the tourism industry. A variety of tourism research is undertaken by the Tourism Division each year. Studies by other groups such as the Canadian Tourism Commission and the Canadian Tourism Research Institute are also conducted. Highlights of ongoing and completed projects and copies of reports can be reviewed by visiting www.gov.ns.ca/tch.

Other up-to-date industry activity information can be found at:

• www.gov.ns.ca/tch/pubs/insights.
• www.canadatourism.com
• www.world-tourism.org
• www.wttc.org

There are various types of research that can assist you in identifying strategic needs for your Tourism Destination Area (TDA). These include:

• Product Development Research: Identifies new/potential tourism products, and assesses/evaluates demand by market for existing products. Matches products with markets, establishes products with a competitive strength, improves current products, and tailors products to markets.
• Market Intelligence Research: Determines how various markets ‘feel’ about your product and identifies market specific travel motivators. Provides consumer and market place insights to identify both opportunities and challenges for your TDA. ex. TAMS.
  
• Creative Development Research: Determines potential refinements prior to developing final ad concepts and gathering input for future campaigns. The result are ad campaigns tailored to a specific market and a polished finished product.
• Performance Research: Provides a broad measurement of how your TDA is performing on a variety of criteria over time. May include economic impact, visitation, room nights sold and attendance.
• Program Evaluation Research: Monitors and evaluates major activities to determine cost effectiveness, economic impact and satisfaction levels. Quantitative measurement of specific programs that determine what works and how well. ex. TEIM
  

Strategic planning

Current situation:

To begin, there are two things you should know: who is your target audience and is your marketing working. There are several ways to research this information.

1. Who is your target audience? Do you know who your current visitors are?
   • Minimally, always ask your visitors: “who” they are? (Ask where they are from, find out their party size and composition, are they a repeat visitor, note their approximate age, and get their personal preferences)
   • Keep track of your statistics. Collect occupancy information, admission numbers, attendance figures. Use license plates if necessary to determine origin of visitors. Computerized systems such as cash registers can capture postal/zip codes.
   • If you want more in-depth information, consider interviewing your visitors. There are several ways you can research who is already visiting your area. One way is by conducting exit surveys. A sample of questions you could ask follow this document.
   • Provide comment cards for your visitors. Comment cards are a great way to capture information. In addition to your visitors’ comments you can ask them for permission to gather information such as: name, address, e-mail, date of visit, length of stay, how they heard about you, whether this was their first visit etc..

   The information above will help you determine who is already visiting your destination.

2. Is your marketing working? Which of your marketing activities is working?
   • How did visitors hear about you? Keep track of statistics. Collect information on website hits, brochure distribution and advertising awareness information.

Where do you want to be:

Next you have to ask yourself who you want to attract – i.e. families, couples, seniors, US, Ontario, Atlantic Canada, etc. If you don’t know, make use of the available research (both provincial and national) to determine your key markets/audiences. Use available research to find out the needs of your target market. Do you have what they are looking for? Can you partner or create a package with another operator to meet their needs?

Is there a demand for your product?

• Check to see if the most recent Visitor Exit Survey has information that is useful to you. The Visitor Exit Survey is conducted approximately every four years and provides information on visitors to the province i.e., who they are and what they did while visiting. (there may be a charge for certain enquiries). A link to the overall report can be found on the Tourism Insights website, under the Reports tab at www.gov.ns.ca/tch/pubs/insights.

Also check with your local or provincial visitor information centres and talk to the front line staff about who the visitors to the area are and what they are seeking. Talk to Check In Nova Scotia for the same types of information. Tourism, Culture and Heritage conversion studies report on people who made enquiries about Nova Scotia as a destination and contains other information of interest. Conversion studies can be found on the Tourism Insights website under the Reports tab.

Exit Survey Sample Questions:

Hello my name is ___________, with _____________. We are conducting a survey of visitors to our area to assist in improving our facilities and services for travellers like you. This survey should take less than ____ minutes. May we ask you some questions about your trip?

Interviewer: ______________________________________ Time: ________________________

1. Where are you from: (specify) ________________
2. Is this your first visit to ________________ (this area/Nova Scotia)?
3. How did you hear about us?
4. Did you plan this trip?
5. Did you make reservations? If so, how did you make your reservations?
6. Which of the following best describes your travel party? Are you travelling: alone; as a couple; as a family; as two or more friends; as a couple with friends.
7. Where did you first enter Nova Scotia?
8. Including yourself, how many people are travelling with you? By that I mean a group that is travelling together and sharing such expenses as accommodations.
9. In total, how many nights are you spending in ________________(this area/Nova Scotia)?
10. What was your main reason for coming to ________________ (this area/Nova Scotia)? i.e. shopping; general pleasure/recreation; visit friends/relatives; just passing through to another province/state; motorcoach tour; attend a special festival/event/attraction/museum; other (specify), etc.
11. What specifically attracted you to ________________ (this area/Nova Scotia) as a destination? i.e., scenery/sightseeing; coastal scenery; visit friends/relatives; never been to this area before; to experience your culture and heritage; wanted to visit Atlantic Canada; recommended by others, etc.
12. Why did you choose to visit ________________ (this area/Nova Scotia) at this time of year?
13. Observe gender: Male / Female
14. In which age category(s) do you fall? (15-24) (25-34) (35-54) (55-64) (65 plus)
15. When travelling, what language do you prefer to be served in?
16. Overall what have you liked most about your visit to ________________ (this area/Nova Scotia)?
17. Are there any areas where you see a need for improvement? Thank them for taking the time to answer these questions. If possible present them with a token of appreciation such as a pin or other trinket.

Thank them for taking the time to answer these questions. If possible present them with a token of appreciation such as a pin or other trinket.