2009 Tourism Summit: TNS Research: Webtrends - John Packer

Indiana Tourism Summit September 16, 2009

Agenda
These trends and you
Website travel trends

Why would send time discussing website trends?
DMAI Futures Study—Number Two Behind Hotel Taxes
Your brand
Main planning tool
Your storefront
Best opportunity to close or enhance the traveler experience
Competitive is fierce

Study Overview
Compete
Google
Understand researchers and bookers
April 2009
Leisure Only

What is the outlook for destination travel?

Online travel activity is near all time highs Online Travel Researchers & Bookers (Volume of US consumers researching or booking air, hotel, car, cruise, or package)
30 million US consumers researched travel in April 2009, down slightly from record in March
Read As: 30 million U.S. consumers researched travel online in April 2009, and 14% or 4.1 million had at least one booking

80% of travelers plan on as many or more trips in ’09 as compared to ‘08 Thinking about leisure trips you have taken or may take in 2009, the number of trips will be… (n=1406, all consumers in-market for or recently booked destination travel)
While some consumers plan to cut back, even more expect to add on

Many leisure travelers can be influenced in choosing a destination Which statement best describes how you think about planning your leisure travel? (n=1406, all consumers in-market for or recently booked destination travel)
35% know their ideal type of destination but have not selected one specifically; additional 4% completely undecided

Over half of consumers spend 2+ weeks considering destination types How much time do you spend in each phase of the travel planning process? (n=1406, all consumers in-market for or recently booked destination travel)
Once decided, 78% spend 1+ week shopping for components, looking for deals

While consumers still plan to travel, they will belt-tighten What impact will the current economy have on your 2009 travel? (n=881 consumers who use the Internet to research travel)
Most expect the economy will have some impact on dollars spent
Less likely to be an impact on trip length and mode of transport
Total % Impacted 92% 86% 79% 78% 75% 71%

Use value-adds to try and hold prices intact 3 Deals Most Appealing for Your 2009 Travel (% selecting the following as one of 3 choices made, n=881 consumers using Internet to research travel)
Freebies, Add-On’s, and other non-rate incentives have wide appeal
These will push many consumers over the edge

Accommodation upgrades are the most popular upsell Please select which you are most willing to pay for when you take a leisure trip. (n=1406, all consumers in-market for or recently booked destination travel)
The first choice for 31% of consumers is to pay more for accommodations at their existing destination

Consideration of upscale hotels likely driven by promotions Which accommodations did you / do you plan to book for your upcoming trip? (n=1112, only consumers in-market for or recently booked lodging for destination travel)
35% of shoppers are expecting to book an upscale / full service property on their next trip

Destination shoppers want a mix of activities available How important is it that the destination have the following entertainment or activities? (n=1406, all consumers in-market for or recently booked destination travel)
Entertainment, sightseeing, outdoor activities, all important to most shoppers
Top 2: 63% 61% 55% 49% 38% 25% 22% 19%

Package sellers must raise awareness of potential savings & affordability How did you or do you plan to purchase your trip components? (n=1027, only consumers in-market for or recently booked relevant travel components for destination travel)
Only 24% expect to book components of their next trip in a bundled package
As a package Individually

Almost everyone turns to the Internet to learn about and choose destinations Which of the following do you use to learn about or choose leisure travel destinations? (n=1406, all consumers in-market for or recently booked destination travel)
Heavy influence of family & friends for deciding on destinations

Consumers increasingly turning to Internet & Search How much do you agree with each statement? (% “strongly agree” or “agree” on a 5-point scale, n=743 consumers expecting to travel this summer)

Search is still the King

Search is the #1 online channel for destination research Which online sources do you use to learn about or choose vacation destinations? (n=1339, only consumers in-market for or recently booked destination travel who use the Internet )
A mix of other travel site categories are used as research sources, yet search eclipses even Online Travel Agencies

People are widening their usage of travel site categories
Expectation to use all categories of travel sites this summer
Which will you use for summer travel planning? (n=743 consumers planning to travel this summer)

Search increasingly kicking off all travel activities At what points did you / will you use search? (n=653 consumers who traveled last summer, n=743 consumers planning to travel this summer)
Consumers expect to use search more this summer than last across all points of the travel consideration process

Search a consistently strong investment Search Referral Conversion (% of quarterly search clicks resulting in an immediate booking)
Search conversion rates are up slightly from 2007
Read As: In Q1 2009, 4.8% of all search referrals to travel retail websites resulted in an immediate booking

Destination shoppers are attentive to search & email offers Which advertisements do you typically pay attention to while planning your leisure travel? (n=1403, consumers in-market or recently booked destination travel who used any research source )
Search and email provide an effective channel to reach new and repeat customers

How Destination Travel is Shopped Today?

The research process is intricate and multi-phased Average User Statistics 30 Days Before Booking (14 Destination Aggregate, destination shopping behavior summary, Jan-Apr 2009)
Activity levels before booking are very strong
Time Spent Researching Online 4 hours Unique Travel Sites Used 20 sites Search Referrals to Travel Sites 5 clicks

OTAs are not capturing destination shoppers early Distribution of Travel Searches: Category Clicked & Time Period (14 Dest Aggregate) (percent of total search clicks to travel sites in each period before online transaction, Jan-Apr 2009)
The majority of clicks happen prior to the day of purchase, yet OTA’s capture lower share each previous period

Performance in capturing search clicks can vary depending on the type of destination researched Distribution of Searches by Category Clicked (select destinations) (percent of total search clicks to travel sites in each category for 30 days before transaction, Jan-Apr 2009)
Destination sites consistently capturing 8-10% of search activity

Destination sites must better engage their search traffic Distribution of Research Time On Travel Sites (select destinations) (distribution into subcategories of total time spent consumers who ended up booking each destination, Jan-Apr 2009)
Despite receiving almost 10% of search clicks, destination sites capture only a tiny fraction of research time

What do these trends mean for you?

Trend 1: Travelers are traveling and they can be influnced…

VisitIndiana.com’s Impact on Travel Intent
Site primarily helps travel users make a decision to visit, rather than to extend a trip
N=219 (Exit Survey and trip related purpose), Q15: How much more likely are you to take a vacation or leisure trip/combined business and leisure trip/business trip in Indiana within the next 12 months as a result of visiting this website? Q16: How much more likely are you to lengthen a potential trip as a result of visiting this website?

Motivations for Visiting Indiana Enter Survey and Likely Visitors: VisitIndidana.com Users N=425, Indiana Residents N=267; Regional Residents (IL, OH, MI, KY) N=51; Other US Residents N=49, Q29: What contributes to your desire to go to Indiana for a vacation or leisure trip/combined business and leisure trip/business trip?. Shaded areas represents a significant difference between Indiana residents vs. Other US Residents or Regional Residents OR between site users vs. benchmark site users (95% confidence). 16 32 36 35 22 Reasonable cost of hotels/meals 28 33 37 33 31 Have been there before and liked it very much 29 35 40 35 27 It's a very relaxing place 15 32 40 29 10 Good place for family/children 16 33 42 24 18 It offers good value for the money 32 39 43 35 29 No schedules to meet, I can do what I want, when I want n/a 43 50 45 20 The destination is in a convenient location 31 45 52 41 35 I can spend more time with my spouse/family 38 46 53 43 29 It's a great chance to relax, get rid of stress 56 48 55 49 24 It's a very beautiful, scenic place Benchmark Site VisitIndiana.com Users Indiana Residents Regional Residents Other US Residents

Trend 2: Affordability is the Watchword

Travelers’ top priority is destination affordability How important are each of the following in choosing the destination for your trip? (n=1406, all consumers in-market for or recently booked destination travel)
Many shoppers also place heavy emphasis on family-friendly trips
Top 2: 79% 40% 35% 32% 28% 22% 9% 7%

Trend 3: Search is still the King

How They Heard About VisitIndiana.com N=259 (Enter Survey, First-time Users and Likely Visitors), Q21: How did you hear about this website?

Trend 4: Travelers are shopholics…

Potential Alternatives to Indiana
51% of those considering an alternative destination are considering the alternative as strongly as Indiana. This means that 32% of potential Indiana visitors are at high risk
N=429 (Enter Survey and Likely Visitors), Q13: Which destination, if any, are you considering as your most likely alternative to Indiana? *Respondents could name more than one alternative destination. Alternative states are based on Likely Visitors to Indiana N=429. Among those considering an alternative: MI 21% FL 16% TN 13% OH 11% KY 10% IL 9% MO 6% Other 39%*

Trend 5: Websites are money well spent …

ROI Input Travel related web site users
71% of users* are considering or planning a leisure related trip
*Users in this report do not include travel industry and media related visitors (10% of the sample). Among Enter survey including industry respondents N=990: Q2: Do you or someone in your household work full or part-time in any of the following types of businesses or occupations? Airline, train, rental car, cruise, or bus (1%); An employee of this website or an organization directly related to this website (0%); Convention, conference, or meeting planning (1%); Hospitality, such as hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, or timeshare (2%); Market research (1%); Press or public relations (3%); Travel agency or tour group (1%); Website design or advertising (3%); Other travel-related business or occupation (2%); None of the above (90%). Among Enter Survey without industry respondents N=894: Q10: **The 29% who are non-trip related users comprise of “To learn about the latest news or weather in Indiana (4%); No specific reason, simply curious about Indiana (8%); Someone recommended it and I thought I’d take a look (3%); None of the above (14%).” No specific reason, simply curious about Indiana (8%) To learn about the latest news or weather in Indiana (4%) Someone recommended it and I thought I’d take a look (3%) None of the above (14%)

Likelihood of Visiting Indiana
67% of travel users may potentially convert to Indiana visitors, which could result in 48% of all web site users* potentially traveling in Indiana
In a re-contact survey, 71% of travel users actually visited Indiana after using VisitIndiana.com, resulting in 50% of all web site users** actually traveling in Indiana
N=637 (Enter surveys among travel users). 67% of the N=637 rated their likelihood of visiting Indiana 9-10 Extremely Likely. Q11: How likely are you to take a vacation or leisure trip/combined business and leisure trip/business trip in Indiana within the next 12 months? *Among Enter Survey without industry respondents N=894 (industry comprises 10% of overall sample but is not included). **58% of Non-trip Related Users actually traveled in Indiana, but are not part of the website ROI calculation because they did not state they used the site for considering or planning a trip. N=124 Re-contact survey, were travel users in the first web-intercept survey, non-industry households.

ROI Input Summary and Calculation
Looking from a cost perspective, the web site costs $0.41 for each user who is estimated to have traveled in Indiana ($8,108/19,825=$0.41)
The site costs less than one postage stamp per actual traveler
Actual from re-contact survey Predicted from site intercept survey $1,071 $8,108 $8.7 million $438 19,825 50% 39,649 39,649 Monthly Unique Website Users (44,054 figure from Indiana Tourism minus industry users (10%)) $2,209 Monthly ROI (Potential Travel $ Reached per Website $) $8,108 / $ Monthly Website Related Investments (from Indiana Tourism) $18 million $ Potentially Spent in Indiana $941 X $ Potentially Spent per User 19,032 # of Users Potentially Visiting Indiana 48% X % Potential Travel Converts

Source of Potential Travelers & Revenue
2 out of 3 tourism dollars will likely come from Indiana residents
Regional states will likely split the rest
N=364 (Enter survey and Likely Visitors). N=69 Re-contact survey, were travel users in the first web-intercept survey, non-industry households, who actually visited IN.

Closing Thoughts
People are moving but they need to be moved
They think the world is on sale
Search works
They are shopping but shopping differently
It’s hard to find a better investment than your site

Closing Thoughts: Travel and the Recovery
Advertising/Marketing…
Three Stages…Distress, Acceptance, and Moving On
Mental Wallets…Basic, Sanity, Lifestyle, and Fun
Big contradiction… Cut Costs/Lifestyle…
Hope for Leisure Travel in ‘09 …
Leisure Travel is a Lifestyle Wallet
There will be spending pressure …
Business travel is the huge ? …

The Trip Are you winning with every trip aspect? Departing Staying Arriving Follow up Planning Consideration Set Needs

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2009 Tourism Summit: TNS Research: Webtrends - John Packer

by Indiana Office of Tourism Development on Sep 22, 2009

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2009 Tourism Summit: TNS Research: Webtrends - John Packer — Presentation Transcript