Publication Summary

For destination marketers facing slashed budgets and a sluggish travel market, it is crucial to connect with the right travelers using the most effective strategies. To influence destination selection, marketers must understand the market they are targeting, as well as the complex and highly personal destination selection process. How, and when, do leisure travelers decide where to go? What factors influence the decision to visit a particular destination?

Destination Unknown: How U.S. and European Travelers Decide Where to Go studies the destination decision in four key markets: the U.S., France, Germany and the U.K. The report highlights characteristics unique to each market and identifies destination selection trends common to all. An in-depth analysis of the destination selection process includes discussion of key motivators, psychographics, information sources, online features, and websites used when choosing a leisure destination.

Report topics include:

• Leisure traveler trends in each market, with a focus on traveler preferences impacting destination selection
• Destination selection patterns for domestic and international travelers (distinguishing between European travelers who travel within versus outside of Europe)
• Analysis of travelers who independently selected a leisure travel destination in the past year, including travel spend and frequency
• When travelers choose their destination and the unique influence process that sets destination selection apart from other travel decisions
• Motivators for selecting a travel destination and specific sources of influence
• Information sources and websites used when choosing a destination
• Discussion of the most influential types of social media and online features in each market

For maximum impact, destination marketers need to master market differences and understand the complexities of the destination selection process.

Destination Unknown: How U.S. and European Travelers Decide Where to Go to improve targeting and make every bit of your marketing budget count.

Table of Contents

42 Pages

Section One: Overview

Methodology
- For US Survey
- For European Survey

Research Highlights

Section Two: General Travel and Shopping Behavior
- Lodging and Air Travel Incidence
- International Travel
- Intentions for Traveling Distance
- Internet Usage in the Travel Planning Process

Section Three: The Destination Decision
- Independent Destination Selection

Sources of Influence
- Destination Flexibility
- Information Sources
- Advance Booking Window
- Influence of Online Features

Section Four: Psychographics



LIST OF TABLES

U.S. Traveler Population

French Traveler Population

German Traveler Population

U.K. Traveler Population

U.S. Overall Traveler Statistics

French Overall Traveler Statistics

German Overall Traveler Statistics

U.K. Overall Traveler Statistics

Domestic and International Travel (U.S.)

Domestic and International Travel (France, Germany, and U.K.)

Traveling Distance Intentions for Upcoming Year, by Domestic and International Travel Incidence (U.S.)

Traveling Distance Intentions for Upcoming Year, by Domestic and International Travel Incidence (France, Germany, and U.K.)

Internet Usage for Destination Selection, Shopping, Booking, and Sharing (U.S.)

Internet Usage for Destination Selection, Shopping, Booking, and Sharing (France, Germany, and U.K.)

Leisure Destination Types (Incidence Among Travelers)

Leisure Destination Types (Percentage of Total Trips)

Independent Destination Selector Profile (U.S.)

Independent Destination Selector Profile (France, Germany and U.K.)

Motivation for Last Trip to Selected Destination

Influences on Destination Selection

Influences on Destination Selection, by Annual Household Travel Spend (U.S.)

Influences on Destination Selection, by Annual Household Travel Spend (France, Germany, and U.K.)

Influences on Destination Selection, by Domestic and International Travel Incidence (U.S.)

Influences on Destination Selection, by Domestic and International Travel Incidence (France, Germany, and U.K.)

Factors Affecting Destination Selection

Information Sources Used for Destination Selection Phase

Web Sites Used for Destination Selection Phase

Advance Booking Times (Relative to Planned Departure Date), by Location of Last Trip Taken (U.S.)

Advance Booking Times (Relative to Planned Departure Date), by Location of Last Trip Taken (France, Germany, and U.K.)

Influence of Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning (U.S.)

Influence of Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning (France)
Figure 17c 26
Influence of Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning (Germany)

Influence of Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning (U.K.)

"Very Influential" Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning

"Very Influential" Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning, by Independent Destination Selectors (U.S.)

"Very Influential" Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning, by Independent Destination Selectors (France)

"Very Influential" Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning, by Independent Destination Selectors (Germany)

"Very Influential" Online Features for Leisure Travel Planning, by Independent Destination Selectors (U.K.)

U.S. Traveler Preferences, by Independent Destination Selectors

French Traveler Preferences, by Independent Destination Selectors

German Traveler Preferences, by Independent Destination Selectors

U.K. Traveler Preferences, by Independent Destination Selectors

Methodology

PhoCusWright's Destination Unknown: How U.S. and European

Travelers Decide Where to Go is based on separate online surveys of U.S. and European consumers, the complete results of which are published in PhoCusWright's Consumer Travel Report Second Edition (CTR2) (May 2010) and PhoCusWright's European Consumer Travel Report (ECTR) (July 2010), respectively. The methodology for each survey is listed below.

For ease of comparison, U.K. spend is expressed in euros in both charts and text. When comparing U.S. and European spend, values are converted in parentheses (where relevant) in the report text only. The conversion rate is based on a 15-month average ending on August 31, 2010.

Methodology for U.S. Survey and U.S. Traveler Population Projection
PhoCusWright fielded an online consumer survey January 12-28, 2010 through Global Market Insite, Inc. targeting the general U.S. population that has Internet access and travels for leisure.

To qualify for participation in the study, respondents had to indicate that they had taken at least one leisure trip at least 75 miles from home in the past 12 months that included paid accommodations and/or air travel. A screener required consumers to have played an active role in planning their leisure trips. Respondents who qualified are referred to as "U.S. travelers." Paid accommodations include hotels and other nightly priced lodging products, as well as timeshares and vacation rentals. The term "lodging" is used in this report to refer to the broad range of paid accommodations.

PhoCusWright received 2,755 qualified responses, and the weighted respondent pool can be projected with confidence to the U.S. adult population with Internet access. To accurately measure incidence of travel within certain segments, an additional 1,280 respondents were surveyed to obtain baseline metrics about travelers and nontravelers within the general online population. The error interval for analysis of the U.S. traveler population is +/-1.9% at a 95% confidence level. Significant differences noted in this report were identified at a 95% confidence level.

Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Harris Interactive, PhoCusWright projects the number of U.S. adults with Internet access who have taken at least one leisure trip (as previously defined) to be 112 million people in 2009 (see Figure 1a). These travelers represent 49% of the total U.S. population. The additional requirement for respondents to have played an active role in travel planning further tightens the focus of the study, as 11% of U.S. Internet users were consequently disqualified. PhoCusWright's Consumer Travel Report Second Edition examines U.S. travelers who played an active role in planning their trips. These travelers represent 92 million consumers and 40% of the total U.S. adult population.

Methodology for European Survey and Traveler Population Projection
PhoCusWright fielded an online consumer survey April 23-May 5, 2010 through Global Market Insite, Inc. targeting the general French, German, and U.K. populations that have Internet access and travel for leisure.

To qualify for participation in the study, respondents had to indicate that they had taken at least one overnight leisure trip in the past 12 months that included paid accommodations at least 100 kilometers from home, air travel, and/or rail travel. An additional screener required consumers to have played an active role in planning their leisure trips. Respondents who qualified are referred to as "French/German/U.K. travelers." Paid accommodations include hotels and other nightly priced lodging products, as well as timeshares and vacation rentals. The term "lodging" is used in this report to refer to the broad range of paid accommodations.

PhoCusWright received 2,405 qualified responses (France 815, Germany 802, U.K. 788) and the respondent pool can be projected with confidence to be the adult population with Internet access. Travel incidence levels were calculated based on the responses of 4,570 adults. The error interval for analysis of the traveler population within each individual country is +/-3.4% at a 95% confidence level. Significant differences noted in this report were identified at a 95% confidence level.

Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base, the U.K. Office for National Statistics, and Eurostat, PhoCusWright projects the number of adults with Internet access who have taken at least one leisure trip (as previously defined) to be 20 million in France, 29 million in Germany, and 21 million in the U.K. in 2009 (see Figures 1b-d). Respondents were required to have played an active role in planning their trips, which disqualified 12% of the total traveler group. These consumers who traveled but did not plan their trips were counted in the traveler incidence calculation, but are not included in any subsequent analysis.