Californians account for 80% of total state visitor volume, and even higher for some destinations, making state residents among the most valuable travel segments. Knowing about these key customers is a critical driver of success in an increasingly competitive travel marketplace.
To help destinations profile their California visitors as to why they visit, what they do in the area and other data, Lauren Schlau Consulting (LSC) and SMG Consulting (SMGC) have formed a new entity, the Travel Analytics Group (TAG) to launch California Traveler and Lifestyle Report, a new subscriber based research study.
While larger destination management organizations (DMOs), advertising/public relations agencies, and economic development offices conduct their own visitor research, many smaller to medium entities don’t have the resources for ongoing studies.
“We launched this product to give marketing based entities around the state the opportunity to obtain current and comprehensive visitor data on Californians their largest visitor segment as well as lifestyle data and the activities that are passionate about, in an accessible and affordable format,” according to Carl Ribaudo, SMG President.
The California Traveler Report will be conducted every six months to a representative internet panel of California resident leisure and business travelers. Questions will cover where visitors are from, destinations they have visited, trip planning sources, transportation, activities, lodging, spending, travel group and visitor demographics. Also included will be the first ever and most comprehensive Destination Net Promoter Score throughout the state.
“We are also thrilled to announce an innovative metric we developed for this study, the Destination Anticipation Score, a way to measure excitement for the upcoming trip. Anticipation scores will be reported as both destination-specific and statewide,” stated Lauren Schlau, LSC President.
The first study is expected to be conducted in June 2020 and every six months thereafter. Subscriptions can be for data tables only or include an analysis report by TAG. Destination-specific and statewide tables and reports will be issued within 8 weeks after each half-year’s survey closes. Additional custom lifestyle reports are also available based on demographics, activity participation, etc.
With increased tourism competition, destinations must be savvy by integrating sound research and analytics to optimize marketing strategies and strengthen the travel experience. This research should prove invaluable to any California destination or marketer.
LAC and SMGC are two expert tourism consultancies who have partnered on travel projects including California Welcome Centers, Visit Ventura and Visit Truckee. Typically LSC conducts in-depth visitor research and SMG uses the study results as the basis for providing value-added strategic marketing direction.
