Who's using www.thetouroperator.com

1. North American Journeys
Survey of Travel Trade Professionals
Preliminary Findings
November 2014
Prepared for North American Journeys by Destination Analysts, Inc.

2. Project Overview
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• Online survey of travel trade professionals. Respondents were invited via
email.
• Survey has been in the field from October 28, 2014 – Present
• 4,863 participants were invited to take this survey
• 344 completed surveys as of November 10, 2014
• Survey incentive: $5 Starbucks cards

3. Detailed Survey Findings
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4. Business Type
Survey respondents were asked which
category best describes their business.
Over one third are Domestic Tour
operators (35.3%), and just under half
(46.4%) are international operators,
travel agents or inbound receptives .
The remainder are meeting planners,
group leaders, and travel trade media.
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Chart 1: Business Type
Question: Which of the following categories best describes your
business. Base: All Respondents. 319 completed surveys.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Travel Agent based outside
the US
Travel Agent based in the US
International operator based
outside the USA
Int’l Inbound Receptive
operator
Domestic Tour operator
7.9%
9.0%
15.5%
23.0%
35.3%

5. Products Sold
The largest proportion of survey
respondents sell leisure group tours
(78.6%). Over half (52.6%) sell FIT
independent tours. Fly Drive and MICE
business tours are sold by 31.0 percent
and 21.4 percent of respondents,
respectively.
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Chart 9: Products Sold
Question: Which of the following categories of product do you
sell? Base: All Respondents. 319 completed surveys.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
MICE business tours
Fly Drive
FIT independent tours
Leisure group tours
21.4%
31.0%
52.6%
78.6%

6. Organization Size
The tour operator segment is generally
comprised of small businesses:
respondents are in organizations with
10 employees or less (49.8%) and those
Organizations with 11-50 employees
represent 27.9 percent of the survey
sample. 7.5 percent of respondents are
part of very large organizations with 200
or more employees.
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Chart 10: Organization Size
Question: How many employees does your organization have? Base:
All Respondents. 319 completed surveys.
0% 20% 40% 60%
200 or more
151-200
51-150
11-50
Under 10
7.5%
2.2%
12.5%
27.9%
49.8%

7. 2014 Q4 Booking Activity
Business looks healthy moving towards
the conclusion of 2014. While half of all
survey respondents cited that their
2014 Q4 booking activity was “about
the same as last year” (49.6%), nearly
41 percent said that their 2014 Q4
booking activity is “greater than last
year” (40.8%).
Mean reported increase for Q4 booking
activity is 26.4 percent. Mean reported
decrease for Q4 booking activity is 22.6
percent.
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Chart 2: 2014 Q4 Booking Activity
Question: Compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, how is your
booking activity for Q4 2014? Base: All Respondents. 319 completed
surveys.
0% 20% 40% 60%
Less than last year
Greater than last year
About the same as last
year
9.6%
40.8%
49.6%

8. Advance Bookings
Business also looks healthy heading into
2015. When asked how they would
describe their advance bookings for
2015, while nearly half of the
respondents said they are “about the
same as last year” (48.7%), 43.4 percent
report that their bookings are
comparatively “greater than last year.”
Mean reported increase for advanced
bookings for 2015 is 24.4 percent.
Mean reported decrease for advanced
bookings for 2015 is 23.7 percent.
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Chart 3: Advance Bookings for 2015
Question: How would you best describe your advance bookings for
2015? Base: All Respondents. 319 completed surveys.
0% 20% 40% 60%
Less than last year
Greater than last year
About the same as last
year
7.9%
43.4%
48.7%

9. Effect of Ebola Media Coverage
While the majority (61.3%) of survey
respondents said they do not feel that
intensive media coverage of the Ebola
virus epidemic will have an effect on
their short term bookings to (or within)
North America (61.3%), over one in five
believe it will indeed have an effect
(21.4%)—and another 17.3 percent are
unsure.
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Chart 4: Effect of Ebola Media Coverage
Question: Do you feel that intensive media coverage of the Ebola virus
epidemic will have an effect on your short term bookings to (or within)
North America? Base: All Respondents. 319 completed surveys.
Yes, 21.4%
No,
61.3%
Do not
know,
17.3%

10. Usage of TheTourOperator.com
Nearly six in ten survey respondents
report using TheTourOperator.com
sometime in the past six months
(58.5%).
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Chart 5: Used TheTourOperator.com in
past six months
Question: Have you used www.TheTourOperator.com website in the
past six months? Base: All Respondents. 319 completed surveys.
Yes, 58.5%
No, 32.8%
Don't know,
8.7%

11. TheTourOperator.com Features
Survey respondents who reported using
TheTourOperator.com in the past six
months were then asked which features
of the website they utilized. “Sample
itineraries” (57.9%) and “royalty Free
high resolution photos” (51.8%) were
the most commonly used features of
the site, each reported by half or more
of this audience. 40.0 percent of these
respondents used “destination
contacts.” The receptive finder and
value-added coupons had relatively less
usage.
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Chart 6: TheTourOperator.com Features
Question: Which of the following features did you use: Base:
Respondents who reported using TheTourOperator.com in the past six
months. 186 completed surveys.
0% 20% 40% 60%
Value Added coupons
Receptive finder
Destination contacts
Royalty Free High Res photos
Sample itineraries
15.9%
19.5%
40.0%
51.8%
57.9%

12. Use of TheTourOperator.com in the
Development/Enhancement of Tour Programs
Of those that used
TheTourOperator.com in the past six
months, 45.7% used
thetouroperator.com to develop or
enhance their existing programs.
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Chart 7: Development/Enhancement of
Tour Programs
Question: Were you able to use any of the information on
TheTourOperator.com to develop new programs and/or enhance your
existing tour programs? (Select those that apply) Base: Respondents
who reported using TheTourOperator.com in the past six months. 186
completed surveys.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
I don’t know
No
Yes—enhance existing
program(s)
Yes—develop new
program(s)
24.1%
36.3%
30.2%
15.5%

13. Most Popular Activities for North American Travel
When asked to select the most popular
activities for travel in North America
based on their clients’ purchasing
history, nearly 60 percent reported city
tours (57.3%) and well over half
reported visits to national parks or
monuments (55.1%) as the most
popular. This was followed by
historic/culture tours (36.8%), theme
parks/attractions (29.7%) and shopping
(24.8%).
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Chart 8: Most Popular Activities for North
American Travel
Question: On the basis of what your clients are purchasing, which
are the most popular activities for their travel in North America
(Choose your top three). Base: All Respondents. 319 completed
surveys.
0% 20% 40% 60%
Agritourism
Technical/Industrial tours
Outdoor activities
Gaming
Museums
Live theater
Beaches
Shopping
Theme Parks/Attractions
Historic, cultural tours
Visits to national parks, monuments
City tours
3.1%
3.1%
7.7%
7.7%
13.0%
13.9%
18.6%
24.8%
29.7%
36.8%
55.1%
57.3%