Visitor profiling

This form of market analysis builds further on the concept of a customer profile, using specific
criteria to establish the type of people who visit a destination. Much of the data regarding visitor
profiling is determined from databases of existing and past customers, that is, from users of
products, services and facilities in the destination. This data is used to build a clearer picture of a
‘typical’ visitor, so that the destination can learn what appeals to these customers or can
attempt to target a different customer group by doing things differently.
The criteria used in visitor profiling includes the following categories:

(i) Length of stay

Being able to research the average number of nights that visitors spend in a location provides a
useful insight into how attractive the destination is. If the average length of stay is one or two
nights, it would imply that visitors find the tourist offering limited. The aim of tourist authorities
is to entice visitors to spend as long as possible in a destination. The longer the stay, the more
money will be injected into the local economy, creating more jobs for the local population.
By collecting and processing the answers to the question, tourism organisations can make more
effective marketing decisions in the future. For example if television reaches more of the
audience than full-colour magazine advertisements, future advertising may be redirected to
additional TV timeslots.
Tourists are generally classified in statistics according to the duration and purpose of their
journey. If tourists are away from home for a day or less and do not need accommodation they
are classified as day trippers. If the stay includes accommodation then they may be classified by
their length of stay, such as one night or more. Length of stay statistics are often grouped into
stays of one night, of between two and four nights, a week, two weeks, one month, and so on.
Also visitors may be classified as to whether they are touring for business or leisure purposes.

(ii) Accommodation preference.

The type of accommodation that visitors choose also helps build up a clearer picture of the
target market for a destination. If the majority of visitors are hoping to book self-catering
accommodation, and the destination boosts a large number of five star hotels, then customers
are likely to be disappointed, and the occupancy rates of the hotels are likely to remain low.
Occupancy rates across the range of accommodation types within a destination will help
establish customer preferences and this information can be used by tourism authorities in
developing the appropriate accommodation stock matched to customers’ wants and needs.

(iii) Spending power

This refers to the extent to which people have money to buy products and services. This will be
affected by levels of disposable income, and also by fluctuations in exchange rates.
In destination terms, many tourism organisations are particularly interested in the concept of
secondary spend, that is, the additional purchases made by visitors on top of the income already
made from accommodation, transport and meal plans. This contributes to the multiplier effect in
the destination, whereby money spent in the area by tourist circulates, is used to pay local
employees, and is then re-spent by the local residents, thus augmenting the total spend, or
making it ‘multiply’.
The major benefit of tourism for a region or country is economic as it provides an opportunity for
job creation and generation of revenue at international, national, regional and local levels.
Tourism can also benefit economies at regional and local levels, as money comes into urban and
rural areas which in turn stimulates new business enterprises and promotes a more positive
image in an area. As an example, we could look at figures for the UK to show the level of
spending on tourism in 2000:

Spending by visitors from overseas £ billion

Visits to the UK 12.8

Fares to UK carriers 3.5

Spending by domestic tourists

Trips of 1+ nights 26.1

Day trips 32.7

In the UK tourism accounts for around 4 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and employs
1.8 million people.
**Gross Domestic Product is the total value of goods and services produced in the country plus
its net revenues from abroad (Studying the contribution of tourism to a country’s GDP can give
an indication of the importance of tourism in relation to other industries in that country).
Globally, the World Travel and Tourism Council indicated that in 1996 tourism generated a total
output of US$3.6 trillion and contributed 10.7 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product. Many
governments now actively promote tourism in order to bring foreign currency into a country and
generate more wealth for that country. The income generated helps the national balance of
payments, earning revenue through direct taxation, as well as from indirect taxes on goods and
services purchased by tourists.

The multiplier concept is the term used to calculate the benefit of tourism income
to a particular region. Money spent by tourists in a destination area has both direct and indirect economic
benefits. Enterprises which offer tourist facilities, such as hotels, attractions and transport operators,
benefit directly from tourist spending. Other businesses may also benefit from the presence of the
tourist, such as shops, banks, and businesses which provide goods and services for the tourist (like
laundries and food suppliers). If visitors to London, for example, stay overnight, they will have to pay the
hotel for the accommodation. The hotel uses this income to pay its staff and suppliers. Those staff will
spend some of their wages in local shops and the suppliers will pay their own staff. So the money is
circulating in the area and thus creating more wealth in that area in that area for other businesses.
However, a portion of the visitor’s payment to the hotel is lost to the area, through taxation paid by the
hotel to the government, or to suppliers outside the local area. This is known as ‘leakage’ from the local
economy.

A small local restaurant is more likely to have a higher income multiplier effect, as it would use
local staff and probably local suppliers. But a large city-centre hotel may be part of a national or
international chain, and goods and services may be purchased centrally by the organisation, so
less of the income earned by the hotel is spent in the local area.

(iv) Choice of products and activities

Many destinations are keen to learn more about the exact nature of tourism products and
services that appeal to customers as well as the type of activities that visitors engage in during
their stay. This type of information is very valuable in ensuring that the destination’s product
offering meets the needs of its existing and potential customers.
Many destinations do not only offer standard, resort-based products, but also try to develop
authentic tourism experiences which tourists cannot find at home. These experiences are often
emphasised through marketing activities.
Destinations will also involve local people and use local products as this strengthens the
perceived authenticity of the product/service offering. Tourism organisations try to be flexible by
offering tailor-made products/services, or offering different types of components with different
types of activities and accommodation that customers can combine to create their own, unique
travel itinerary. This is more likely to appeal to a wider customer base. Looking back over sales
records will allow organisations to gain a good insight into the types of products and services
that are most popular with different types of customers.
If we use the figures for the UK we can see how the tourism balance of payments has changed
over a period of time:

Spending on tourism 1975-98, in millions

1975 1987 1996 1997 1998

Money spent in UK by 1.218 6.260 12.290 12.244 12.671

overseas residents

Money spent abroad by 917 7.280 16.223 16.931 19.489

UK residents

Balance on travel 301 -1.202 -3.933 -4.687 -6.819

account

Source: National Statistics for the UK

Using these figures, it is evident that the tourism balance of payments for the UK is in deficit (i.e.
more money is going out of the country than coming in) and obviously the BTA has the target to
improve this balance and reduce the deficit. One of the problems for the UK is that most regional
tourism tends to be seasonal. In other words it is affected by weather patterns, with the bulk of
tourism occurring in the summer months, though London and other larger cities may attract
visitors throughout the year. Other countries may also be affected by weather patterns, such as
monsoon or hurricane seasons, or some may attract particular types of visitors in specific
seasons, such as ski and winter sports resorts.

(v) Media type

Many people are travelling and making their own travel decisions on their own, with little or no
help from travel agents or tour planners. Instead, to make these decisions, they use information
from multiple sources of media, which include TV, radio, newspapers, books, magazines, films
and the internet.
The range of media available to us has evolved over time. In 1900, there was no radio, television
or internet. Newspapers were the only means of communicating with markets. However, during
the last century, mass media came into being. It started with the first radio broadcast taking
place about 100 years ago. Then came the first –television broadcast approximately 75 years
ago; the internet was born about 50 years ago; first generation cellular networks became
popular about 30 years ago; search engines came into the picture about 25 years ago. The result
is that media today has evolved into a series of powerful forces that have become an integral
part of our life, influencing almost everything we do. Media is no longer a one-way
communication system. Using available technology, and social media in particular, we can now
communicate and interact with one another at the click of a button anywhere in the world.
Images, videos and stories can be shared around the world, using limited resources and at a little
cost.
Destinations use a combination of traditional print and broadcast advertising together with
modern technology in the form of social media such as Facebook, Flickr, You Tube, Twitter,
mobile blogs and RSS feeds, in order to raise awareness with customers.
As part of the visitor profiling process, it is important that tourism authorities can research and
analyse the types of media that reach the target market most effectively. Thus there is often a
question included on visitor questionnaires about ‘Where did you hear about us?’
By collecting and processing the answers to this question, tourism organisations can make more
effective marketing decisions in the future. For example if television reaches more of the
audience than full-colour magazine advertisements, future advertising may be redirected to
additional TV timeslots.
Whatever the attraction, its aim is to appeal to as many customers as possible in order to make a
profit and invest further in its development or improvement. Marketing is largely undertaken by
the management of the attraction itself. It may be done in various ways – through the media
(television, radio or newspapers), or by offering tour operators specific discounts to include the
attraction as part of a package holiday or tour.
(vi) Booking method
Customers have greater choice nowadays in how they can book or make reservations for their
visit to a destination. Traditionally this was always done in person through a travel agency, by
physically visiting the branch. There is now, however, a clear trend towards online sources for
first identifying a holiday destination, and then planning, booking and subsequently sharing
holiday experiences.
For visits in Egypt, many tourists, both domestic and foreign, are heading for online booking sites
and the service is witnessing rapid growth in sales. Internet services are improving dramatically
in Egypt, with about 40 million users already having internet access through different media.
Many intermediaries and airlines are currently exploiting the high potential of this to their
advantage, especially online booking sites such as Expedia and Booking.com. Nowadays, mobile
booking is also becoming more popular due to the user-friendly apps launched by travel
intermediaries that allow tourists access to all travel bookings such as airlines, hotels and tourist
activities.
Figures show that seven in ten people who took a holiday in the last year booked entirely online.
Fewer than one in ten customers now believe that travel agents are better informed about
holiday destinations than professional bloggers or review websites, such as TripAdvisor,
according to a study of booking methods by research analysts Mintel in 2015.
Furthermore, over half (52%) of consumers believe that holidays are better value for money
when booked online and 40% enjoy being able to put together their own holiday on the internet.
Many basic trips are easy and quick to research online and with price comparison sites making
this even more efficient for consumers, the rise of not only researching but also booking online is
set to continue. For more complicated itineraries it is still beneficial to speak to a specialist agent
in person in a shop or on the phone due to the advice they can give in booking complicated trips.