Naj tour operator survey preliminary findings 12 9-14

North American JourneysSurvey of Travel Trade Professionals

Preliminary FindingsNovember 2014

Prepared for North American Journeys by Destination Analysts, Inc.

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

Detailed Survey Findings

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Business TypeSurvey 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.

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

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

7.9%

9.0%

15.5%

23.0%

35.3%

Products SoldThe 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.

MICE business tours

Fly Drive

FIT independent tours

Leisure group tours

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

21.4%

31.0%

52.6%

78.6%

Organization SizeThe 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.

200 or more

151-200

51-150

11-50

Under 10

0% 20% 40% 60%

7.5%

2.2%

12.5%

27.9%

49.8%

2014 Q4 Booking ActivityBusiness 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.

Less than last year

Greater than last year

About the same as last year

0% 20% 40% 60%

9.6%

40.8%

49.6%

Advance BookingsBusiness 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.

Less than last year

Greater than last year

About the same as last year

0% 20% 40% 60%

7.9%

43.4%

48.7%

Effect of Ebola Media CoverageWhile 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%

Usage of TheTourOperator.comNearly 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%

TheTourOperator.com FeaturesSurvey 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.

Value Added coupons

Receptive finder

Destination contacts

Royalty Free High Res photos

Sample itineraries

0% 20% 40% 60%

15.9%

19.5%

40.0%

51.8%

57.9%

Chart Title

Use of TheTourOperator.com in the Development/Enhancement of Tour ProgramsOf 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.

I don’t know

No

Yes—enhance existing program(s)

Yes—develop new program(s)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

24.1%

36.3%

30.2%

15.5%

Most Popular Activities for North American TravelWhen 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.

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

0% 20% 40% 60%

3.1%

3.1%

7.7%

7.7%

13.0%

13.9%

18.6%

24.8%

29.7%

36.8%

55.1%

57.3%