2011 TOURISM ROUNDUP: Community Research

1. 2011 TOURISM ROUNDUP:Community Research Cheryl Cothran, Ph.D., Director Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center, Center for Business Outreach

2. Local data needed to . . . • Measure how you’re doing • Be accountable to stakeholders • Test assumptions & anecdotal evidence • Plan, Market and Product Development • Track trends over time. . .

3. Available data sources. . . • AOT resources at: www.azot.gov • State and national park attendance • County gross sales (AZ Dept of Revenue) • County occupancy, ADR, RevPAR • Local occupancy, ADR, RevPAR (Smith/ STR) • City bed tax collections • Employment data/ hospitality sector (BLS)

4. Shorthand measures . . . • Use local bed tax collections to estimate gross lodging expenditures • $100,000 annual bed tax collection at 10% = $1.0 million in lodging gross sales • Estimate total visitor spending from lodging sales (if lodging makes up 25% of direct spending, you can calculate total spending - $1m/.25 = $4m) • Estimate percent of county lodging your local lodging sales represent (county = $10m; yours is $4m = 40%)

5. More calculations. . . • Calculate Your Tourism ROI • Divide total tourist spending by amount spent on promotion • $2million visitor spending/$100,000 promotion costs = 20 ROI ($1 in ads = $20 in spending) • ROI from annual promotional campaign • $20,000 ad campaign and total tourist spending increased to $2.5million • $500,000 difference / $20,000 = 25 ROI • Higher than the 20 overall, suggesting the campaign was successful in driving ROI

6. Estimate Total Visitors • Number of available rooms = 5,000 • Average annual occupancy rate = 50% • Average number of occupied rooms = 2,500 • Annual occupied rooms = 2,500 x 365 days = 912,500 occupied rooms • Average number guests per room = 2 • Total number overnight visitors = 1,825,000 • Overnight visitors are 50% of all visitors = 3.7 million total visitors (day & overnight)

7. Visitor Center Log • Collect visitor information easily • Local staff can do it, inexpensive • Enter into database and analyze • Keep entering & analyzing data • Track patterns over time • Display patterns within this group. . . • Not representative of all visitors – but the subset that comes to the Visitor Center

8. Survey Research • Visitor Profile Survey – demographics, origins • Economic Impact Survey – visitor spending • Event Survey – size & economic impact • Visitor Satisfaction Survey – how to improve • Conversion study – % of inquirers who convert • ZIPCode analysis – e.g., which CA cities. . .

9. Distribution Methods • Intercept survey of visitors • Attractions with high traffic . . . random sample • Labor intensive • Mailback survey • Names/addresses - may have to buy list • More expensive, but good results • E-survey • Need E-mail addresses of target audience • Best for defined groups

10. Online Surveys BENEFITS: easy to do, less expensive, quicker PROBLEMS: may not be representative, low response rates, bouncebacks • Survey Monkey • Free . . . but is web-survey best method? • Other E-survey software • Qualtrics - panel surveys. . .

11. Other considerations . . . • Sample size / validity • How long to survey (seasonal/12 months) • Create questionnaire, properly-worded unambiguous questions • Conduct yourself or outsource?

12. Data Analysis • What to do with results? • Enter to database (Excel, Access. . .) • Ability to analyze data? (SPSS, SAS . . .) • Hybrid? You distribute/ collect. . . outsource the data analysis or vice-versa

13. The End. . . Questions? • Local research essential • Shorthand measures you can use • Determine what need to know • In-house or need help? • Do research & be accountable! http://home.nau.edu/ahrrc/