Yorkshire & Humber Regional
Visitor Survey
October 2011
Qa Research, Brackenhill, St George’s Place,
York, YO24 1DT
Tel: 01904 632039
www.qaresearch.co.uk
“Key findings from 2009 to 2011
& how to use research findings”
Kathrin Tennstedt & Susan Briggs
Background
• 8,192 face to face visitor surveys
• Between May 10 & May 11 (incl Royal Wedding and May Bank
Holiday)
• Over 150 locations used: attractions, town centres, events & open
spaces
• 3 year project: 3rd year results compared with year 1 & 2
• Commissioned by Yorkshire Forward, managed by Welcome to
Yorkshire & supported by the ATPs
• Slight change in definition of day visitor in 2011 to reflect
definition used by World Tourism Organisation
Research aims
Who is visiting Yorkshire?
Reasons for visiting
Yorkshire?
How can visitor experience be
improved?
How satisfied are visitors?
Questions
Sample
Surveys Error +/-%
York (including Selby) 719 +/-3.6%
North Yorkshire (Dales and Harrogate) 1249 +/-2.8%
North Yorkshire (Moors and Coast) 1285 +/-2.7%
South Yorkshire 1519 +/-2.5%
West Yorkshire 2163 +/-2.1%
Hull and East Yorkshire 748 +/-3.6%
North East/ North Lincolnshire 509 +/-4.3%
TOTAL 8192 +/-1%
Increase in proportion of day visitors
• 66% day visitors in 2011 & 34% stayed overnight in Yorkshire & Humber
• Slight in increase in leisure days visits to 2010
• Variations by ATP
Visitor typeTotal
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
Lincs
Leisure day visit 64% 60% 65% 48% 60% 45% 85% 68% 73% 72%
Lesiure overnight within Yorkshire 26% 26% 23% 40% 30% 44% 7% 15% 20% 13%
Leisure overnight with friends/relatives within Yorkshire 8% 9% 7% 6% 4% 6% 6% 12% 5% 10%
Business day trip 1% 2% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 1% 1% 0%
Leisure overnight staying outside Yorkshire 1% 1% 3% 4% 5% 4% 1% 2% 1% 2%
Business overnight within Yorkshire 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Leisure overnight with friends/relatives outside Yorkshire 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% 1% 0% 1% 0% 2%
Base 10752 10856 8129 719 1249 1285 1519 2163 748 509
Significant % of first time visitors
• Those with children were more likely to try a new location: 28%
• 49% of overseas visitors were first timers
22%
26% 26%
21%19%
14%
38%
33%
26%
14%
28%
49%
Total
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
Lincs
Children
in party
Overseas
Visitors
First time visitors - to that location/ area
Age of visitors
AgeUK (2001
census)
Yorkshire
and
Humber
region
(Census 2001)
Total
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull &
East
Yorkshire
Northern
Lincs
0-15 yrs 20% 19% 26% 25% 24% 12% 17% 25% 33% 26% 23% 25%
16-24 yrs 11% 13% 6% 7% 7% 9% 3% 5% 9% 7% 6% 5%
25-34 yrs 14% 14% 10% 10% 11% 11% 9% 9% 13% 12% 10% 8%
35-44 yrs 15% 15% 16% 16% 16% 15% 14% 16% 18% 16% 14% 15%
45-54 yrs 13% 13% 13% 14% 14% 21% 18% 14% 11% 13% 14% 11%
55-64 yrs 11% 11% 16% 15% 16% 18% 21% 17% 9% 15% 17% 17%
65-74 yrs 8% 9% 11% 10% 10% 10% 15% 11% 5% 8% 10% 13%
75 yrs + 7% 8% 3% 3% 3% 2% 4% 3% 2% 2% 5% 5%
Base 34028 32771 24137 1910 3398 3939 4758 6522 1936 1674
• Age of visitors in all parties interviewed
Yorkshire & Humber residents increasingly
dominant
• 6 out of 10 are visiting from within Yorkshire (but 66% are day visitors)
• Half of first time visitors (50%) to location are from Yorkshire and Humber
• Consistent levels of overseas visitors with USA and Australia topping overseas
list (14% each)
UK originTotal
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
LincsStayers
First
Timers
Yorkshire & Humber 56% 55% 60% 47% 52% 52% 70% 59% 78% 65% 24% 50%
North West 11% 11% 9% 11% 13% 6% 3% 16% 3% 4% 12% 12%
East Midlands 10% 10% 9% 9% 5% 9% 16% 5% 8% 19% 12% 11%
North East 7% 7% 7% 9% 12% 16% 1% 4% 2% 1% 9% 5%
London & South East 5% 6% 5% 6% 6% 5% 3% 6% 4% 4% 16% 8%
East Anglia 3% 3% 3% 4% 4% 4% 2% 3% 2% 2% 9% 4%
West Midlands 3% 3% 2% 5% 3% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1% 6% 3%
Scotland 2% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% 1% 2% 1% 1% 5% 3%
South West 2% 2% 2% 4% 2% 2% 1% 2% 1% 1% 5% 2%
Wales 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% 0% 1% 1% 1% 0% 2% 1%
Base 9267 9234 7581
Overseas 5% 5% 5% 10% 4% 6% 2% 6% 2% 2% 13% 10%
Loyal and stable visitor market
• Key visitor market parameters are consistent
– Average party size (about 3 people per party) - % visiting with children
(38%)
– Age profile
– UK / overseas split
– Proportion of disabled visitors 9%
• Visitors show strong loyalty to the location/area:
– 74% are repeat visitors to area/ location
– More than half (53%) of day visitors had visited location/area in
past 12 months
– Over a third (35%) of staying visitors had visited the location/area
in past 12 months – similar levels to previous years
Visit profile
Information sources
‘Previous experience’ key source of
information
• Increase in previous experience/ local knowledge – but higher % day visitors
• Consistent levels of internet usage (8%)
• More traditional methods still of importance (i.e. leaflets)
• Noticeable differences by ATPs (e.g. YS – 3% Yorkshire.com – higher proportion overseas
visitors)
Info sources - before the tripTotal
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
Lincs
Previous experience/local knowledge 56% 62% 67% 67% 73% 75% 56% 64% 67% 75%
Recommendation/word of mouth 23% 25% 22% 23% 16% 14% 30% 25% 25% 10%
By chance 13% 12% 12% 13% 10% 11% 11% 17% 6% 3%
Other internet website 10% 8% 8% 7% 5% 3% 10% 14% 2% 1%
Convenient location/easy to get to 5% 6% 7% 4% 8% 6% 10% 7% 4% 6%
Leaflets 4% 6% 6% 6% 4% 2% 15% 6% 3% 1%
Newspaper/magazine article/advert 3% 3% 3% 5% 2% 1% 6% 4% 5% 1%
Guidebook/directory 2% 2% 2% 4% 4% 2% 1% 2% 0% 0%
TV/Radio programme 2% 2% 2% 4% 2% 1% 2% 3% 3%
www.yorkshire.com website 2% 2% 1% 3% 2% 1% 1% 2% 1%
Base 10655 10856 8192 719 1249 1285 1519 2163 748 509
Steady rise in previous experience as source during
trip
• Previous experience/ local knowledge increased (58%) to previous years (55%
and 48%) – but higher % of visitors from within Yorkshire in 2011
• ‘By chance’ increases to 13% in 2011 suggesting more spontaneous behaviour
• 1 in 4 (23%) first timers visited ‘by chance’ which suggests substantial
proportion of ‘non-planners’
• Leaflets continue to be important, although slight drop compared to 2010
Info sources - during the tripTotal
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
Lincs
First
TimersRepeat
Previous experience/local knowledge 48% 55% 58% 61% 63% 52% 52% 55% 64% 77% 8% 75%
Recommendation/word of mouth 16% 20% 16% 17% 11% 12% 23% 14% 24% 13% 34% 10%
By chance 8% 11% 13% 17% 11% 12% 6% 22% 12% 6% 23% 10%
Leaflets 7% 10% 8% 12% 9% 4% 12% 9% 5% 2% 17% 5%
Convenient location/easy to get to 3% 3% 4% 3% 4% 5% 2% 5% 2% 5% 5% 4%
Other internet website 4% 3% 2% 1% 1% 0% 2% 2% 1% 1% 3% 1%
Tourist Information Centre 3% 3% 2% 4% 5% 1% 0% 2% 1% 0% 2% 2%
Base 10752 9212 8192 719 1249 1285 1519 2163 748 509 2121 6035
Visit profile
Visitors staying overnight
Trend towards more short breaks
• Steady increase in proportion that undertaken short breaks (54% in 2011) –
in line with wider tourism developments across the UK
49%52% 54%
67%
48%
40%
75%
62%
47%
62%
24%
57%
Total
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
Lincs
Overseas First
Timers
Proportion undertook short break
Relative consistent split paid/ free acc
69% paid for accomm
31% free
28% Hotel
VFR 23%
66% paid for accomm
34% free
29% Hotel
VFR 24%
2009 2010
69% paid for accomm
32% free
28% Hotel
VFR 23%
2011
Visit profile
All visitors
‘Eating & drinking out’ most popular activity
• Eating & drinking out continues to be an important part of a trip (but increase in day
visitors)
• Shopping increases popularity in 2011 (49%)
• Driving around & sightseeing from car slightly down in 2011 - might be linked to rise
in petrol prices
Activities - allTotal
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
LincsStayers
Day
Visitors
First
Timers
Eating & drinking out 58% 66% 72% 84% 76% 82% 66% 70% 57% 68% 87% 64% 74%
Stroll around & enjoy the ambience 58% 58% 57% 68% 83% 83% 20% 51% 46% 58% 80% 45% 46%
Shopping 38% 40% 49% 57% 49% 56% 37% 53% 33% 59% 64% 41% 43%
Visit visitor attractions e.g. museums 43% 33% 33% 55% 5% 15% 35% 53% 33% 28% 36% 32% 42%
Short walk (up to 2 hours) 29% 32% 29% 6% 35% 57% 23% 21% 15% 49% 41% 23% 27%
Visiting historic houses & gardens 26% 30% 26% 30% 46% 29% 26% 14% 24% 18% 34% 22% 28%
Visiting natural attractions 24% 24% 26% 4% 40% 62% 6% 13% 15% 65% 39% 19% 19%
Driving around & sightseeing from car 13% 19% 15% 6% 28% 34% 2% 11% 7% 16% 30% 7% 13%
Visiting friends or relatives 12% 15% 12% 10% 8% 10% 9% 18% 8% 25% 27% 5% 11%
Attend a festival or outdoor event 10% 9% 9% 14% 13% 7% 5% 9% 12% 6% 7% 10% 7%
Base 10752 10856 8192 719 1249 1285 1519 2163 748 509 2808 5384 2121
Expenditure down slightly
• Expenditure down slightly – linked to wider economic climate in the
UK
• York and Selby highest per person per night spend but also highest %
of overseas visitors (tend to spend more)
Total expenditure (inc
accommodation & zeros)Total 2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
Lincs
Per party per trip £198.45 £204.67 £190.62 £321.55 £214.77 £292.31 £109.14 £186.64 £114.94 £111.88
Per person per trip £79.41 £80.39 £72.29 £125.63 £89.05 £97.96 £49.81 £65.24 £50.52 £36.73
Per party per night £72.00 £71.12 £67.19 £112.15 £65.71 £72.78 £55.02 £70.61 £53.53 £43.77
Per person per night £28.01 £28.48 £26.75 £47.23 £27.43 £26.72 £22.17 £27.39 £24.04 £14.86
Bases vary
Overseas & staying visitors higher spend levels(per person per day/night)
• Overseas visitors spend significantly more per day than
UK visitors
• First time visitors spend 29% more than previous
visitors
£26.75
£17.33
£46.97
£24.87£32.12
£24.56
£75.63
£15.25
£33.93
Total
2011
Day Staying Previous First time UK Overseas With
children
Without
children
Expenditure - type of visitor (per person per day/ night)
Daily expenditure relatively consistent
• Overall per person spend down by only 2%
• York continues to show higher spend figures (larger % of
overseas visitors)
• Admission charges relatively consistent with previous years
Expenditure per person per day
(ex acc & inc zeros)
Total
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
Lincs
Travel & transport £6.87 £5.33 £6.37 £6.73 £5.06 £4.11 £6.02 £8.95 £7.48 £3.33
Food & drink before 5pm £4.88 £4.84 £4.57 £7.19 £4.91 £4.99 £3.92 £4.36 £3.45 £3.44
Food and drink after 5pm £2.16 £2.66 £2.02 £4.79 £2.16 £3.17 £0.62 £1.91 £1.13 £0.75
Admission charges £2.91 £3.04 £2.93 £5.97 £2.18 £2.15 £4.04 £2.49 £3.07 £0.75
Other leisure £0.38 £1.04 £0.60 £0.81 £0.12 £0.57 £0.68 £0.42 £2.02 £0.22
Shopping £5.45 £4.56 £4.72 £6.81 £4.30 £2.76 £3.83 £6.58 £3.72 £4.06
Evening entertainment £0.52 £0.50 £0.29 £0.20 £0.11 £0.15 £0.50 £0.30 £0.23 £0.60
Other £0.06 £0.12 £0.24 £1.07 £0.06 £0.19 £0.33 £0.16 £0.01 £0.01
Total £22.74 £22.14 £21.80 £34.13 £19.08 £17.96 £20.02 £25.39 £20.76 £13.15
Bases vary
Accommodation spend down
• Accommodation spend down to 2009 level
• Spend levels reflect type of accommodation primarily used in
different areas (for example Northern Lincs higher proportion of
static caravan users than in other areas)
Accommodation
ExpenditureTotal 2009 Total 2010
Total
2011
York &
Selby
Dales &
Harrogate
Moors &
Coast
South
Yorkshire
West
Yorkshire
Hull & East
Yorkshire
Northern
Lincs
Per party per trip £278.75 £320.11 £276.91 £287.30 £292.04 £326.30 £187.56 £222.79 £229.62 £244.98
Per person per trip £111.82 £127.49 £107.45 £115.67 £123.72 £109.86 £103.85 £83.07 £100.41 £85.53
Per party per night £66.42 £73.73 £68.89 £76.12 £67.94 £67.32 £66.05 £70.03 £56.43 £74.21
Per person per night £27.22 £30.38 £28.18 £33.53 £29.62 £24.21 £33.35 £27.51 £25.35 £23.05
Bases vary
Descriptive words
Friendly: 14% (15% 10, 16% 09)
Fun: 12% (9%10, 9% 09)
Relaxing: 11% (10% 10, 14% 09)
Traditional: 9% (10% 10, 11% 09)
Natural: 8% (10% 10, 10% 09)
Level of positive feedback on area increases further(very good or good)
General
Appearance
95%
Feeling of Welcome
96%
General
Atmosphere
97%
Similar to positive
ratings in 2010
(95%/95%/96%)
and 2009
(93%/94%/94%)
• 62% could not suggest an improvement (59% in 2010 and 66% in 2009)
• Suggestions included: Better signage (5%) & better upkeep of area (5%)
Very high % expect to return and recommend
• Positively, 90% would return
• Importantly, 80% of first time visitors would return
and 94% would recommend
89% 89%90%
83%
89%88%
95%
88%
95% 95%96%
97% 97%99%
98% 98%96%
97%98%
94%
Total 2009 Total 2010
Total 2011
York & Selby
Dales & Harrogate
Moors & Coast
Yorkshire South
West Yorkshire
Hull & East Yorkshire
Northern Lincs
Likelihood to return/ recommend
Likelihood of return in 2 years Likelihood to recommend
Wider context
Wider context for research
•‘Difficult ‘financial climate’ in the UK
- Rise in fuel and petrol prices
- Just out of recession in 2010 – but tough economic climate
- High inflation figures
- Deficit reduction
•Staycation phenomenon – increase in UK holidays
•Increase in short trips
•Daycation phenomenon – increase in day trips
•Increase in late bookings
•Exchange rate – Britain continues to be increasingly attractive to
overseas visitors (Continental Europe and America) due to
favourable exchange rate
Further analysis
• Presentation only ‘snapshot’ of research
• vast dataset – can run bespoke analysis for:
– Individual attractions
– Local authorities
– Tourism organisations
If interested please leave me your details after
presentation or contact me by email:
phone 01904 732 214
Questions
Susan Briggs
Yorkshire Regional Visitor Survey
Implementing the recommendations
Key conclusions
Strong, stable, loyal market
Previous experience powerful motivator for repeat visitors
Recommendations from others are key and propensity to return is high.
Visitor satisfaction levels are high
Yorkshire is a friendly, welcoming destination
Stand out features:
the scenery and countryside
museums and galleries
family facilities
relaxing atmosphere
friendly people
Focus on the
funnel of tourism marketing
VisitBritainpromoting to visitors from overseas
VisitEnglandpromoting to domestic visitors & near Europe
Welcome to Yorkshirepromoting to domestic visitors
& within Yorkshire
Yorkshire Destinationsbusinesses & destinations
Love local
Product strengths
Market niches
Targeted messages
Work with sector & geographic clusters
Increasing visitor spend
Which activities generate limited revenue? Can we make a difference?
What activities are most important? How can they be ranked?
How can we cross-sell and up-sell?
What is most important?
Prompt current visitors to convert non visitors to increase numbers
encourage existing visitors to spend more
encourage day visitors to bring other friends and families with them, increasing group size
encourage more frequent visits
Convert day visitors into staying visitors
How do we make the most of specific
opportunities?
Families
Groups
Special interest
Particular markets?
Promotional tools &sources of info
Which?
How?
When?
What?
Essential next steps
Convert propensity to recommend to bookings
Harness power of third party recommendations
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
More specific marketing – better use of budgets & more direct results
Shout about satisfaction!
Susan Briggs
Yorkshire Regional Visitor Survey
Implementing the recommendations
