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Methodology

CONDUCTED MAY 28 THROUGH JUNE 22, 2014

USING QUESTIONPRO ONLINE SOFTWARE

COMPLETED 184 COMPLETED SURVEYS

PARTIAL 282 PARTIAL RESPONSES

 This project was supported by the
contributions of ATTA and members of our
community. Special thanks to:

PAUL EASTO, WILDERNESS SCOTLAND

ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ, VENEZUELA ELITE
LAUREN HEFFERON, CICLISMO CLASSICO
JORGE PEREZ, TIERRA DEL VOLCAN / WORLD BIKE ADVENTURES
MARIA ELENA PRICE, EXPERIENCEPLUS! BICYCLE TOURS
MONICA PRICE, EXPERIENCEPLUS! BICYCLE TOURS
JIM SAYER, ADVENTURE CYCLING ASSOCIATION
JAMES VAN DER WESTHUIZEN,MY ADVENTURE NAMIBIA
EUAN WILSON, H&I ADVENTURES LTD
 Organization Headquarters

North America
32%

Central America / Caribbean

2%

Pacific
2%

Africa
7%

Europe
27%

South America
13%

Asia
16%
 Tour Operation Type

Outbound (buyer)
27%

Inbound (supplier)
22%

Makeup of Companies Both

Inbound and Outbound

Outbound and Inbound Outbound

50% 36%

Inbound
64%
 What percentage of your revenue derives
from sales of bicycle trips or related bicycle
travel services?

45.6%
REVENUE DERIVED FROM BICYCLE TRIPS
 Regions Sold/
Operated Itineraries Offered

Europe 120 Europe 6,691

1,200

Asia 86 Asia 821

North America 86 North America 829

South America 70 South America 285

Africa 47 Africa 142

Central America Central America

40 90
& Caribbean & Caribbean

Pacific 26 Pacific 118

Middle East 18 Middle East 32

Respondents Total Respondent Itineraries

* Respondents selected all regions

that were being sold/operated
 2013 Gross Revenue

$50,000 or less
18%

$50,001 to $250,000
$50 million or more 24%
4%
$30 million to $50 million
2%
$10 million to $30 million
4%

$5 million to $10 million

4%

$250,001 to $500,000
8%

$1 million to $5 million
21% $500,001 to $1 million
15%
 Net Profit Margin in 2013

Both Inbound
Company Type Inbound Outbound
and Outbound

Net Profit Margin 17.2% 16.0% 16.0%

SURVEY AVERAGE

16.3%
NET PROFIT MARGIN
 Net Profit Outlook for 2014

Up
59%

No change
31%

Down
9%
 Primary Factor Influencing
Net Profit Projections

New customers 56

Access to new markets 20

New products added while controlling costs 18

More repeat business 16

Less new customers 14

Currency exchange 7

Other 7

Less or flat product offerings while controlling costs 5

Decreased overhead 4

Lower and flat pricing structure 3

Less repeat business 2

Oil/gas prices 2

Respondent Count
 How do reservations in the period from
November 2013 through April 2014 compare to
the same period last year for bicycle trip?

Higher
47%

First Year of Operation

6%

Same
28%

Lower
19%
What percentage of the time do you create
custom itineraries?

35.3%CUSTOM ITINERARIES
 Average Average
Trip Length Trip Price

7.0DAYS
$257
U.S. DOLLARS PER DAY
 Types of Bicycle Trips

Leisure/recreational trips – on paved roads 35%

Self-guided trip 16%

Leisure/recreational trips – on gravel roads 14%

Mountain Biking trips – mostly on dirt/roads 13%

Mountain Biking trips – mostly singletrack 7%

Multisport (with a large bicycling component) 7%

Serious Road cycling/racing/training camps 6%

Other 2%
How long have you been offering these types
of bicycle trips?

1 - 2 Years
6%
0 - 1/2 Year 3 - 5 Years
10% 18%

15 + Years
26%
6 - 10 Years
20%

10-15 Years
20%
 Trips using the following
accommodation types
1-2 Stars
7%
Camping
7% 2-3 Stars
26%
Luxury tents
4%

4-5 stars
17%

3-4 Stars
38%
 What characteristics does your company use
to define difficulty or rate your cycling trips?

Distance cycled per day 73%

Elevation gain while cycling 64%

Topography 54%

Hours cycling per day 53%

Length of trip 50%

Type of road surface 49%

Other 13%

* Respondents selected all characteristics that defined difficulty for their trips
 Difficulty of Bicycle Trips

Easy
24%

Extreme
2%
Very difficult
5%

Difficult
18%
Moderate
50%
Do you rent/provide the bicycles
to your clients?

No
7%

Yes
93%
 Number of Respondents

Trek 31

17
Giant

13
Cannondale

Specialized

10
8
Shimano

6
Bianchi

5
Scott

4
Raleigh

4
"Various"

Fire Fox 3
3

Kona
3

Marin
3

Merida
2

Lapierre
Brands Offered

Musing
2

"No preference"
2

Norco
2

"Our Own Brand”

2

Schwinn
2

Van Nicholas
2

Local brands
 Other Brands Offered
Single Respondent Selecting

• Avanti • Components used • Focus • Terry

(on variety of bikes)
• Bambucicletas Brands used on our • Fuji • Touring bikes
trips include Trek,
• Bergamont Giant, Specialized, • Hercules • Turner
Leader Fox.
Components are
• Bontrager generally middle of
• Hero • Venzo
the road (ie.,
• Breezer Shimano tiagra, 105 • Indina • Willier

• BSA SLR • Corratec • Jamis • Yeti

• Canyon • Cube • Leader Fox

• Carbon Fibre • CUSTOM BUILT • Orbea

• City Bikes • Diamont • Oxea

• Commencal • DiVinci • Public

• DRAG • RAM

• Evon • Ridgeback
 Number of Respondents

Helmets
55

Tool / Repair Kits

20
18
Bags (variety of kinds)
Panniers
Waterbottles

15 14
Locks
Racks

13 13 12
Camping gear
11
Pumps (bicycle)
7
Support Vehicles
7

Tents
6

Computer / GPS
6

Gloves
6

Maps
5

Pedals
5

Trailers
4

Cycolmeters
4

Kayaking / Kayaks
Equipment Offered

NONE
3

Everything Provided
3

Bicycles
3

Child Carrier
3

Children's Bikes
3

Map case
3

Mirrors
3

Seats
 Other Equipment Offered
One or Two Respondents Selecting

• Bar ends • Medics • Tag alongs

• Bells • Mobile phone • Tandems

• Bike Trailer • Oxygen Tanks • Trunks

• Bottle Cages • Pedometers • Wedges - Seat

• Camp Kitchen • Reflective Clothing

• Chairs • Roadbooks

• Cooking gear • Sea surfing

• Head Cover • Spare Bike

• Lights • Sport Fishing

• Mechanis • SUP

• Medical Supplies • T-shirt / Jersey

(branded)
Do you own your rental fleet?

Yes
70%

No
30%
What type of bicycles do you rent/provide?

Mountain bikes 57%

Hybrid/upright road bicycles 53%

Road/racing/touring bicycles 39%

E-bikes 19%

Tandems 12%

City bikes 10%

Other 3%

* Respondents selected all types of bikes that are provided.

Do you contract with guides for
your trips?

Yes
74%

No
26%
 Number of Respondents

First Aid / CPR

62
Bike mechanic knowledge / repair

40
Cultural Knowledge / History / Food

34
Local Knowledge / Relationships

14
Bicycling experience / skills

12
Certified Guide (Local or Field Guide)

10
9
English Skills / Competency
8
Guiding / Outdoor Activity Experience
8

Guide Training Program (In House)

8

People Skills
7

Foreign Language / Bilingual Skills

7

Government / National Certification

5

Local Cycling Rules/ Routes

5

Wilderness First Responder / WFA

4

Fitness / Physical Aptitude

3

Commercial Driver's License

3

Leadership Skills
2

Age Minimum
2

Clean Driving Record

2

Interpretation Skills
2

Passenger Class Driver's License

Training Requirements for Guides

Sport / Recreation Diplomas or Training

2

Vehicle Operation Training

9

All of the above

 Other Training Requirements
One Respondent Selecting

• Chauffeur's license • Minimum Years

Experience (5)
• Child Protection
Certificate • Mountain Bike
Guiding and
• Disclosure (where Maintenance
relevant) Training Program

• Driving • Open Water Safety

and Rescue –
• Empathy American Canoe
Association
• Flexibility
• Risk Management
• Food Handler's
Certificate
• Socio-Cultural
Synergy
• Ingenuity
• University degrees
in tourism, guiding,
• Meal Preparation or environmental
Skills science
 Are there national qualifications your
guides must have to guide bicycle trips?

Yes
36%

No
64%
Daily Guide Rate in US Dollars

<$50 11%

$50 - $100 42%

$100 - $150 25%

$150 - $200 17%

$200 - $300 5%
 Is it customary for guides to receive
gratuity from travelers on your trips?

No
19%

Yes
81%
 Guidelines on Tipping Guides

Optional to customer 18

$10-$20 day 15

$5-10 / day 9

$20 day 5

10% 5

Depends on the country 5

$10 / day 4

15%-20% 4

$50 / day 3

$50-$100 2

5-10% 2

10-15% 2

Number of Respondents
 Other Tipping Recommendations
One Respondent Selecting

• $4-6 USD / day • 2 GBP / person

• $10-30 USD / day • 2-5 Euro a day

• $15-30 USD / / day • 10 Euro a day

• $30 USD / / day • 50-100 Euro for 6

days
• $60-80 USD / /
person

• $120 USD / / person

• 2-3%

• 4% +/-

• 5%
Full Time Staff Non-Staff Sub-
in 2013 Contractors in 2013

7.3
AVERAGE FULL TIME
EMPLOYEES
11.5
SUBCONTRACTORS
 Booking Origination in 2013

North America 42%

Europe 38%

Oceania 6%

South America 5%

Asia 4%

Africa 3%

Central America / Caribbean 1%

Middle East 1%
 Customer Demographics

Groups Solos
23% 25%

Female
46%
Male
54% Families
11%
Age

20 - 40
31% Couples
41%

41 - 60
49%

Younger than 20
5%
Older than 70
61- 70
2%
13%
© 2014 Adventure Travel Trade Association.
Not for distribution or republishing outside of your organization.
 Itineraries of Changing Customer Interest

! Custom itineraries 715

Shorter trips 647

Higher scores correspond with increased
customer interest in activity

Family or multi-generational 603

Index Key
100% Increase in Interest = 1,000
No Change = 500
100% Decrease in Interest = 0 Self-guided 588

‘Not Applicable’ responses were not tabulated in this chart

Easier cycling options 563

Longer trips 511

More difficult cycling options 481

© 2014 Adventure Travel Trade Association.

Not for distribution or republishing outside of your organization.
 Effectiveness of Strategy to Drive
Customer Bookings
Not Effective Very Effective
1 2 3 4

Unpaid SEO 3.0

Increasing public/media relations staff 2.9

More/better customer relationship management tools 2.9

Increased personal approach 2.9

Increasing travel agent/buyer relationships 2.9

Increasing product exposure and booking capabilities 2.9

Increasing commitment to customized itineraries 2.9

Publishing client-generated content 2.9

Publishing digital media content 2.8

Altering programs (reducing size, adding new activities) 2.8

Social Media Outreach 2.7

Increasing sales staff 2.6

Partnering with travel bloggers for content and outreach 2.6

Paid SEO Advertising 2.6

Special events 2.5

Smartphones & mobile apps 2.5

Print media advertising 2.1

© 2014 Adventure Travel Trade Association.

Not for distribution or republishing outside of your organization.
 Addendum

Please describe any risk management practices you follow to ensure

safety and compliance with national standards on your trips?

Please consider addressing the following points: equipment, trip design,

guide/staff training, marketing/administration (liability forms etc),
contractor/operator management.
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