Tourist Characteristics and the Perceived Image of Milan

TOURIST CHARACTERISTICS AND THE PERCEIVED IMAGE OF MILAN … towards Milan 2015!

AGENDA
INTRODUCTION
Background and purpose
Objectives
Methodology
MAIN RESULTS
Preliminary considerations
Demographic profile
Trip characteristics
Image and personality of Milan
Attractions and heritage
Tourists’ satisfaction
International benchmark
CONCLUSIONS

INTRODUCTION

The survey has been carried out by MTM students and supported by the Municipality of Milan with the purpose of describing the profiles of tourists and of depicting the image and the personality of the city as a tourism destination;
by means of empirical research (applied to a representative sample of tourists visiting Milan) the influence of tourist characteristics or personal factors and travel experience on the different components of perceived image has been analyzed;
more precisely, the relationships between the perceived image and tourist motivations , their accumulated experience of vacation travel and the socio-demographic characteristics in terms of gender, age, level of education, social class and country of residence have been assessed.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The research aims at mapping out:
Tourists profiles
Trip characteristics
Image and personality of the city
Well known and experienced attractions
Tourists’ satisfaction
International benchmark
OBJECTIVES

METHODOLOGY - THE SAMPLE The total sample size is 1285 . By face to face interviews conducted by students 3 sub-sets have been created according to the breakdown of tourists by segment ( leisure, business and MICE ) and by nationality ( Italians versus foreigners ) as reported by official tourism statistics in 2005. *NB: in the following graphs, MICE has been divided into “C&M” and “Trade fairs” segments if a significant difference between the two MICE components exists. INTERVIEWS SAMPLE TOTAL LEISURE TRAVELLERS (30% OF TOTAL) BUSINESS TRAVELLERS BUSINESS (42% OF TOTAL) MICE* (28% OF TOTAL) NATIONAL TRAVELLERS (44% OF TOTAL) 560 156 222 182 INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLERS (56% OF TOTAL) 725 232 318 175 TOTAL TARGET 1285 388 540 357

METHODOLOGY – THE LOCATION OF THE INTERVIEWS
The interviews were conducted from December 2007 to the beginning of February 2008.
The main locations of the interviews are:
LEISURE & CULTURAL PLACES : Duomo, The Last Supper, The Castle, Navigli, Sant’Ambrogio Abbey, La Scala square, Brera District, Fashion District;
2. TRANSPORT PLACES : Milano Linate Airport, Milano Malpensa Airport, Central Railway Station, Cadorna Railway Station, Malpensa Express train;
3. BUSINESS HOTELS : ATA Hotels (Hotel Executive and Hotel Fiera Milano), Hotel Milton Milano, Milan Marriott, The Westin Palace.
4. FAIRS & EXHIBITIONS : FieraMilano City and Rho Fiera (MACEF and Esposizione Internazionale Canina)

METHODOLOGY – RESEARCHERS AND GROUPS 31 students of the Master in Tourism Management carried out the project. They individually conducted all the interviews and, divided into 6 groups, made data entry, analyzed the statistical elaborations and realized this presentation. In particular, LTA groups focused on the leisure profile, while BTA groups concentrated on business and MICE profiles (names of the 6 group leaders are in bold).
LTA 1
Al-Haddar Mohammed
Cossu Serena
Cozzolino Anna
Fabiano Serena
Verticelli Lorenzo
LTA 2
Bolognesi Matteo
Fedele Rossella
Manni Deborah
Moraru Adina
Plattner Gabriela
LTA 3
Galli Alessia
Bertella Michela
Elliodore Victoria
Lanzarini Alessandro
Risuglia Ada
Valè Federica
BTA 1
Mossiah Raymond
Carp Mihaela
D’Antoni Cristina
Facenna Natalie
Tironi Fabiana
BTA 2
Grant-Hoschtialek Kirl
Andreani Camilla
Robert Patricia
Sammartano Francesco
BTA 3
Rodgers Elisabeth
Barbagallo Enzo
Cava Valentina
Di Pietro Alessia
Hanley John
Mantovani Paola
Statistical analysis of the data has been provided by People Research Institute and supervised by prof. Luigi Ferrari;
Raffella Caso and Francesca d’Angella coordinated the students’ work.

MAIN RESULTS

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
Results are divided into 6 sections
The first maps out the tourists profiles in terms of demographic variables.
The second identifies some relevant trip characteristics in terms of geographic size of the visited area, the organizer and the accompanying people, if any.
The third regards tourists’ personal opinions on the image and the personality of Milan.
In the fourth section the awareness of heritage sites and the most visited attractions are stated.
In the fifth section the overall satisfaction of the tourists’ experience has been assessed.
In the sixth section the top three benchmark destinations for leisure and business are identified.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

Men represent 60% of tourists in Milan;
in the leisure segment the percentage of women (53%) is slightly higher than the percentage of men;
in other segments the percentage of men is higher : 70% in business, 60% in MICE.
TOURISTS BY GENDER

the 35-49 age group is the largest target; 73% of tourists are between 25 and 49 ;
the leisure segment is the most diversified in terms of age target and is composed by 30% of the 18-24 age group;
business and MICE segments are mainly represented by the 35-49 age group.
TOURISTS BY AGE

49% of tourists coming to Milan hold a bachelor’s degree;
84% are workers , mainly employees (36%).
TOURISTS BY EDUCATION LEVEL SECONDARY 26% BACHELOR 49% MASTER 21% OTHER 4% TOURISTS BY PROFESSION WORKERS 84% employee 36% entrepreneur 13% director/manager 18% self employed 9% other 8% NON WORKERS 16% students 12% other 4%

note : nationality composition (Italian vs international) was planned at the beginning of the survey FOREIGN TOURISTS BY COUNTRY
The greatest share of foreign tourists comes from Europe ( 56% );
the most important EU markets are UK (16%), Germany (9%) and France (6%);
considering the top 3 non-EU countries , the US market is more represented as a business segment, while the Japanese and Chinese markets are mostly composed of the leisure segment.
Respondents composition by nationality ITALY 44% FOREIGN 56% Top 3 non-EU markets by segment Leisure (%) Business (%) USA 8 14 CHINA 4 2 JAPAN 6 3

69% of respondents are repeaters and are mainly concentrated in the business and MICE segments : 57% and 55% of them are at their third or more visit;
leisure travelers are less repeaters: 50% are at their 1st visit.
PREVIOUS VISITS TO MILAN

TRIP CHARACTERISTICS

MEANS OF TRANSPORT , BY SEGMENT
58% of total travelers fly to Milan , either by flag carrier (41%) or low cost flight (17%);
Flag carrier flight is the most used mean of transport in all segments ;
Train and low cost flight are the second choice for leisure ;
MICE is the segment that mostly travels to Milan by car (26%) .

MEANS OF TRANSPORT , BY NATIONALITY
40% of the Italian market travel to Milan by train , and 30% by car;
the International segment mostly travels by air ( 82% considering both flag carrier and low cost flights).

OVERNIGHTS , BY NATIONALITY
The average stay in Milan is 3.43 nights;
foreigners stay longer (3.78 nights); 77% stay from 2 nights to 5 or more;
25% of Italians stay only 1 night.
3.43 nights 2.95 nights 3.78 nights

OVERNIGHTS , BY SEGMENT
The average stay in Milan is 3.43 nights;
the segment that stays longer is trade fairs (3.7 nights); 31% stay 5 nights or more;
the segments that stays shorter is C&M (3.00 nights); 42% stay 2 nights.
3.43 nights 3.51 nights 3.70 nights 3.00 nights 3.39 nights

ACCOMMODATION , BY SEGMENT
All segments mainly stay in hotels ( 75% ), especially the business and MICE segments (84% and 80%);
4 star hotels are preferred (47%);
15% of all tourists stay with relatives or friends (note that 10,5% of all tourists belong to the VFR segment); this share rises to 30% for leisure travelers and gets down to 6% in the business segment.
ACCOMMODATION HOTEL 75% Hotel 5 stars 11% Hotel 4 stars 47% Hotel 3 stars 15% Hotel less than 3 stars 2% With relatives or friends 15% Own home 4% Residence 2% Bed & Breakfast 3% Other 1% Total 100%

TRAVELLING WITH , BY SEGMENT (MICE DETAILS)
Leisure tourists mostly travel with friends (55%) and family (24%);
50% of business people travel with colleagues , and 41% alone ;
C&M mostly travel with colleagues (62%) to attend corporate meetings and events, while trade fair respondents also includes representatives that are sent alone as exhibitors or visitors from their company.

46% of travelers organized their own trip , especially the leisure segment ( 74% );
business people and C&M segments have their trip organized by the company ;
in terms of nationality, there are not relevant differences between Italians and foreigners.
TRIP ORGANIZATION , BY SEGMENT (MICE DETAILS)

70% of travelers stay in Milan only , especially the business and MICE segments (76% and 80%);
20% of leisure travelers visit also the areas surrounding Milan.
ITINERARY BY SEGMENT

ITINERARY BY NATIONALITY
70% of tourist visit only Milan , this share rises to 83% for Italian tourists;
18% of foreign tourists also visit the surrounding area ; for 22% of them Milan is one part of the journey .

IMAGE AND PERSONALITY OF MILAN

LOCAL TRANSPORT
65% of tourists agree with the statement that public transport is efficient ; while about 35% believe it is expensive ; just a small share believe that getting around by car is easy;
all segments agree on single statements.
% of “I strongly agree” and “I agree” to given statements

TAXIS
Taxis are considered to be easy available but expensive ; taxi drivers are considered friendly and professional;
the opinion of leisure tourists is quite different from that of the business and MICE segments.

ACCOMMODATION % of “I strongly agree” and “I agree” to given statements
Accommodation is generally considered of high quality , with hospitable operators ;
All segments do not agree with the statement that hotel have good price/quality ratio .

ENTERTAINMENT, BY SEGMENT
All segments agree that Milan offers good opportunities for entertainment, mainly for cuisine and shopping ;
Business and MICE tourists agree more than leisure tourists that special events are well organized.

ENTERTAINMENT, BY NATIONALITY
The perception on entertainment in every single element is very different from Italians to foreigners who agree only on museums and galleries offer and shopping.
the perception is very different on cuisine, design, performances, nightlife, and event organization .

COMMUNICATION, BY SEGMENT % of “I strongly agree” and “I agree” to given statements
All segments agree that there people are courteous .
Tourists disagree about the communication of the events. MICE visitors are the most satisfied while leisure tourists are more severe with this item.

COMMUNICATION, BY NATIONALITY
Less foreigners than Italians agree that events are well communicated. This maybe because events are not advertised well enough through channels that foreigners are exposed to.
Almost all foreigners do not find the level of English spoken to be high .

PERSONALITY OF THE CITY
All segments agree that there are too few green areas in Milan .
They also agree that living in Milan is expensive .

ATTRACTIONS AND HERITAGE

HERITAGE SITES: AWARENESS AND VISIT
The top 3 heritage sites in terms of awareness are the Duomo , The Castle and La Scala .
In general, heritage sites have a relatively high awareness level when compared to heritage sites seen .
AWARENESS SEEN Duomo 98% Duomo 95% La Scala Theatre 86% The Castle 73% The Castle 80% Fashion District 66% Fashion District 75% La Scala Theatre 60% The Last Supper 67% Navigli 59% Navigli 61% The Last Supper 48% Sant’Ambrogio Abbey 57% Sant’Ambrogio Abbey 46% Brera District 54% Brera District 46% Monumental Cemetery 39% Monumental Cemetery 25%

More than 55% of foreign visitors are not aware of the Monumental Cemetery , the Brera District, the Sant’ Ambrogio Abbey , the Navigli and over 35% did not know the Last Supper
Approximately 45% of Italians did not know about the Monumental Cemetery; more than 20% did not know that the Fashion District, the Brera District, the Sant’ Ambrogio Abbey and the Last Supper existed.
HERITAGE SITES: NON-AWARENESS BY NATIONALITY

A large number of first time visitors do NOT know the Monumental Cemetery, Sant’ Ambrogio Abbey, the Brera District or the Navigli.
A significant number of repeat visitors do NOT know about these sites as well.
HERITAGE SITES: NON-AWARENESS BY NUMBER OF VISITS TO MILAN

Duomo is the most prominent landmark of Milan when compared to the others. There is a significant gap between Duomo and any other landmark. NB: This was an open answer question where the respondent was not influenced. THE LANDMARK OF THE CITY

THE AWARENESS OF THE CANDIDATURE FOR THE EXPO 2015
More than 40% of tourists are aware of the candidature of the city for the Expo 2015;
the most informed are business and MICE tourists.

TOURISTS’ SATISFACTION

66% of visitors think Milan is “as they expected”, while 23% expected better (28% within the MICE segment);
the most satisfied is the business segment.
THE EXPECTATION OF TOURISTS – BY SEGMENT

66% of total would return to Milan for leisure , especially the leisure segment ( 80% ).
THE SATISFACTION OF TOURISTS – BY SEGMENT 64% of total would advise a friend to come to Milan, specially within the leisure segment (74%). INTENTION TO COME BACK ADVISE A FRIEND TO COME TO MILAN

INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARK
10 cities were identified as:
successful models;
competitors of Milan;
potential benchmarks of Milan.
The respondents were asked to rank their top 3 cities for business and leisure travel.

INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARK: TOP CITIES FOR LEISURE
BARCELONA and PARIS are in both rankings in leading positions;
LONDON is the most mentioned (51%) but is only in the 5 th position for 1 st mention;
OTHER CITIES have more ore less equivalent position in both rankings;
ROME is quoted only in the 1 st mention ranking.
First mentioned among top 3 Mentioned among top 3 Barcelona 25% London 51% Paris 18% Barcelona 50% Rome 17% Paris 48% New York 14% Rome 44% London 10% New York 43% Sydney 6% Sydney 21% Berlin 4% Prague 17% Prague 3% Berlin 14% Frankfurt 2% Shanghai 6% Shanghai 2% Frankfurt 5%

INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARK: TOP CITIES FOR BUSINESS
NEW YORK in both rankings in leading positions;
PARIS is in the 1 ST position for mentions, but very rarely mentioned as 1 st choice;
BARCELONA is in 2 nd position for mentions, but very rarely mentioned as 1 st choice.
First mentioned among top 3 Mentioned among top 3 New York 34% Paris 53% London 22% Barcelona 50% Frankfurt 13% New York 46% Shanghai 11% Rome 38% Berlin 7% London 34% Sydney 3% Sydney 27% Paris 3% Prague 21% Rome 3% Berlin 13% Barcelona 2% Shanghai 10% Prague 0% Frankfurt 7%

SEGMENT PROFILES

DEMOGRAPHICS
53% are women
youngest segment (70% are 18-34)
62% hold a bachelor or a master degree
40% are Italian followed by other European citizens and Americans
50% are first-time visitors
most are employees (34%) and students (32%)
59% come by plane
average stay is 3.39 nights
79% travel with family or friends
trips are mainly self-organized (74%)
53% visit only Milan; 20% visit also surrounding areas.
SATISFACTION
63% confirm Milan is as they expected
80% would return to Milan
74% would advise a friend to visit Milan
SEGMENT PROFILE - LEISURE Data are taken from this presentation or from more specific data of the study, even if not specificed in this presentation

SEGMENT PROFILE – BUSINESS
DEMOGRAPHICS
70% are men
largest age range is 25-49 (76%)
78% hold a bachelor or a master degree
mostly foreigners (59%) coming from EU (33%); USA (14%) and other non EU (12%)
77% have been to Milan before
39% are employees; 24% are directors/managers
more than 60% come by plane (mainly by flight carrier)
stay mostly in 4 star hotels between 2-4 nights (a significant amount stay 5+ nights)
mainly travel alone (41%) or with colleagues (50%)
52% of trips are organized by companies
76% visit only Milan
SATISFACTION
70% say Milan is as they expected (they are mostly Italians and repeat visitors)
59% would return to Milan
60% would advise a friend to visit Milan
Data are taken from this presentation or from more specific data of the study, even if not specificed in this presentation

SEGMENT PROFILE – MICE
DEMOGRAPHICS
60% are men
widest age range is 35-49 (45%)
66% hold a bachelor or a masters degree
51% are Italian (55% trade fairs and 47% C&M); foreigners mainly come from EU (32%)
55% visited Milan 3 times or more
92% are workers
50% travel to Milan by flight
average length of stay is 3 nights for C&M, 3.70 for tradefairs
80% stay in 4-star hotels
most travel with colleagues (62% of C&M and 38% of trade fairs) even if a significant percentage of attendants to trade fairs travel with family (29%)
Milan is the only destination on itinerary (80%)
SATISFACTION
62% are willing to visit Milan again
61% would recommend a friend to visit Milan
overall MICE respondents are satisfied with Milan
Data are taken from this presentation or from more specific data of the study, even if not specificed in this presentation

CONCLUSIONS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES LOCAL TRANSPORT
PUBLIC URBAN TRANSPORT
(EFFICIENT & NON EXPENSIVE)
GETTING AROUND BY CAR IS DIFFICULT
TAXIS
EASY AVAILABLE
TAXI DRIVERS (FRIENDLY & PROFESSIONAL)
EXPENSIVE
ACCOMMODATION
HIGH QUALITY
WITH HOSPITABLE STAFF
BAD PRICE/QUALITY RATIO
ENTERTAINMENT
FOOD AND SHOPPING
ARCHITECTURE AND HERITAGE
MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
PERFORMANCES & SPECIAL EVENTS
- COMMUNICATION
COURTESY TO FOREIGNERS
COMMUNICATION OF EVENTS
TOURIST INFORMATION
SIGNPOSTING
LEVEL OF ENGLISH
PERSONALITY
DYNAMIC
EXPENSIVE
TOO MUCH TRAFFIC
UNBREATHABLE AIR
NOT A GREEN CITY
NOT SAFE TO WALK ALONE

MILAN TOURIST SYSTEM: MAIN REQUIREMENTS LOCAL TRANSPORT
REDUCTION OF TRAFFIC PROBLEMS
TAXIS
MORE AFFORDABLE PRICES
ACCOMMODATION
HIGHER PRICE/QUALITY RATIO
ENTERTAINMENT
PERSISTANCE, TOWARDS EXPO
COMMUNICATION
IMPROVEMENT OF TOURISM INFORMATION (INFO, SIGNPOSTING, LANGUAGE)
PERSONALITY
REDUCTION OF POLLUTION AND GREEN
SECURITY IMPROVEMENT

A special thanks to:
Antares Hotels - Hotel Accademia
Antares Hotels - Hotel Rubens
Antares Hotels - Hotel Concorde
ATAHotels - Hotel Quark
ATAHotels - Hotel Executive
ATAHotels - Hotel Fieramilano
Best Western - Hotel Milton
Best Western - Hotel Major
Holiday Inn Milan - Assago
Holiday Inn Milan Linate Airport
Milan Marriott Hotel
Starwoodhotels - The Westin Palace
UNA Hotel Century
UNA Hotel Scandinavia

A strategic plan follows…
Thank you!
Congratulations for EXPO 2015!

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Tourist Characteristics and the Perceived Image of Milan

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Tourist Characteristics and the Perceived Image of Milan Presentation Transcript