BRIC Visitors & Shopping – Global Competitive Survey

BRIC markets are teased by all destinations especially because they are seen as active shoppers. But is it a fact or a cliché?

New global competitive survey results report that BRIC tourists are actually shopping 30% more than average.

Based on its reference global benchmarking survey TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index, TCI Research confirms that over 25% of BRIC tourists mention shopping as main purpose of visit: it is twice as much as for other markets!

The survey also reports that more than 7  out of 10 BRIC visitors regularly shop during their stay, which is also 30% more vs average visitors.

Analyzing destinations’ brand experience however, countries and cities may need to extend shops’ opening days and hours if they wish to fully meet their expectations and emerge from competition:

Commenting on the results, TCI Research CEO Olivier Henry-Biabaud adds: “BRIC tourists are not only the fastest growing outbound markets: they also represent valuable visitors in terms of economic impact for destinations who will be able to attract them and meet their expectations better than others.

The “shopping fan” cliché usually associated to these markets is confirmed, however marketing the “BRICs” as a uniform segment is risky: each of the four markets has very specific expectations related to the shopping experience and other facets that drastically impact destinations’ competitiveness (visa and accessibility issues, safety feeling, accommodation, food, environment…).

About TCI Research 
TCI Research is a Brussels based leading independent research agency specializing in destinations’ competitiveness evaluation. It carries out the UNWTO Innovation Award Winning TRAVELSAT Index, a reference global competitive survey benchmarking countries, regions and cities’  brand experience,  helping public and private tourism decision makers increase efficiency of their policy, management and marketing by providing global and comparable demand data combining structured surveys and web social media conversations audits. 

abouTourism is the exclusive representative of TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index in Greece & SE Europe/Eastern Med Destinations. For more information you may contact us at: info@abouTourism.com or  (+30) 210 8941610.

Note: Don’t forget to Subscribe to the dedicated Blog Section of our website, to keep receiving your abouTourism Blog Post updates!

Is Your Destination Truly Accessible?

New global competitive survey results show that 43% of international tourists with special needs are complaining during their stay.

Are destinations and tourism businesses truly efficient in welcoming tourists with special needs?

Based on its reference global benchmarking survey TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index, TCI Research reports that nearly half of international tourists with special needs traveling in the world have been in a situation to complain following to a negative experience during their stay. This percentage is almost twice as high as for average tourists.

Areas of complaint mostly focus on accommodation and transportation at destinations, generating also more negative experiences related to safety and health.

The survey also reports quite significant discrepancies in quality performances according to the destination visited.

TCI Research CEO Olivier Henry-Biabaud comments: “Many destinations and hotels promote “tourism for all” as part of their social responsibility agenda; however the challenge for improving experience in ground remains difficult to take up. Yet gaining competitiveness on this demanding segment is worth being encouraged since travelers with special needs can be very loyal, high spenders and influencers for shaping destinations and tourism industries’ social responsibility reputation”.

About TRAVELSAT Competitive Index©:
TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index is the reference, global and independent survey benchmarking international tourists’ experience and satisfaction in a standard way for all destinations. It monitors 80+ Satisfaction Indexes for over 200 destinations, markets and segments, based on representative opinion of tourists who experienced the destination. Awarded in 2011 by the UNWTO for its major contribution in tourism governance, TRAVELSAT© provides a innovative instrument for all national, regional and local tourism stakeholders willing to improve their competitiveness in a global and complex international competitive environment. More info here 

abouTourism is the exclusive representative of TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index in Greece & SE Europe/Eastern Med Destinations. For more information you may contact us at: info@abouTourism.com

Note: Don’t forget to Subscribe to the dedicated Blog Section of our website, to keep receiving your abouTourism Blog Post updates!

LAC Region Embraces Qualitative Research for Regional Tourism Development

It is always great news when we see that regional tourism cooperation is supported by establishing robust research processes to support sustainable tourism development and enhance cooperation amongst stakeholders.

The most recent example comes from Latin America, where OLACT a not-for-profit organization aiming at fostering cooperation within the Latin-American and Caribbean tourism industry, announced their official cooperation with TCI Research, the market research agency which offers tourism competitive intelligence combining traditional market research and digital data collection.

OLACT is a very promising regional cooperation initiative, aiming to encourage the development of regional cooperation within the Latin American and Caribbean tourism industry, to promote measures to protect the natural, cultural and social environment from the potential negative effects of the industry’s activities, and to improve the quality, supply and promotion of tourism related services.Both organizations aim to work together to increase knowledge and improve decision making in the Latin-America and the Caribbean tourism industry through the statistic tool known as TRAVELSAT Competitive Index©.

TRAVELSAT Competitive Index© benchmarks international tourists’ satisfaction and destination quality in a comparable and standard way supporting tourism governance. This tool is an innovative instrument for all national, regional and local tourism stakeholders to improve their competitiveness and attractiveness in a global and complex international tourism environment.

Source: www.olact.org

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abouTourism is the exclusive representative of TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index in Greece & SE Europe/Eastern Med Destinations. For more information contact us at: info@abouTourism.com or  (+30) 210 8941610.

Relevant Articles:

Know your Markets: Key Satisfaction Factors & 4 Tips by TRAVELSAT

Top Factors Influencing Destination Choice

TRAVELSAT gives 5 tips to EuroMed destinations for better meeting US Tourists’ expectations

Know your Markets: Key Satisfaction Factors & 4 Tips by TRAVELSAT

TCI Research, has just released an international survey report of Italian market expectations when traveling in Euromed destinations, from its reference survey TRAVELSAT©.

Environment, local food and shopping are reported as the as top factors mostly influencing Italian tourists’ satisfaction.

Based on its reference TRAVELSAT© survey benchmarking quality of international destinations, the research agency suggests therefore four recommendations to better meet the specific needs of this important market:

1. Providing an “environment oriented” experience. Italian tourists pay high attention to the environment while 4 tourists on 10 take nature activities during their stay. The Italian market seems especially sensitive to the landscape beauty, the cleanliness  inside/outside cities and the air quality of Euro-Mediterranean destinations they visit.

2. Improving a diversified and affordable local food experience. Very few destinations succeed in meeting Italian tourists’ expectations in this area with 12% of negative experiences/complaints vs 8% in average for other markets. The disappointment does not come from the gastronome segment but the “mass market” looking for the highest value for money experience.

3. Offering “a safe experience”. Safety feeling is in the top 3 criteria mostly influencing Italian tourists’ satisfaction. A large  number of Euromed destinations are well rated on this, even if Italian tourists seem slightly less happy than the average market with regards to this aspect.

4. Improving drastically the shopping experience. Italian visitors tend to find the shopping way too expensive in Euromed regions given the service provided in return (opening hours, hospitality in shops…)

TCI Research CEO Olivier Henry-Biabaud comments: «Italian visitors travelling abroad are unsurprisingly demanding on topics such as local food and shopping, but they also appreciate abroad some aspects of their daily lives that they tend to criticise in their own country (like environment in cities or public transportation). Destination management organisations need to take this cultural aspect into account”.

About TRAVELSAT Competitive Index©:

TRAVELSAT© is the reference, global and independent survey benchmarking international tourists’ experience and satisfaction in a standard way for all destinations. It monitors 80+ Satisfaction Indexes for over 200 worldwide countries, markets and segments, based on representative opinion of tourists who experienced the destination. Awarded in 2011 by the UNWTO for its major contribution in tourism governance, TRAVELSAT© provides a innovative instrument for destinations willing to improve their attractiveness and competitiveness in a global and complex international competitive environment. TRAVELSAT© data are collected, controlled and provided by TCI Research, an independent research agency dedicated to survey-based tourism competitive intelligence. More information available here.

abouTourism is the exclusive representative of TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index in Greece & SE Europe/Eastern Med Destinations. For more information you may contact us at: info@abouTourism.com or  (+30) 210 8941610.

More Related Posts:

Top Factors Influencing Destination Choice

TRAVELSAT Survey-Improved Visitor Feeling of Security in MENA destinations

TRAVELSAT gives 5 tips to EuroMed destinations for better meeting US Tourists’ expectations

TRAVELSAT Survey-Improved Visitor Feeling of Security in MENA destinations

TCI Research reports signs of improvement in the feeling of security amongst visitors in Middle East and North African destinations.

Based on its reference TRAVELSAT© survey benchmarking international tourists’ satisfaction, the research agency indicates a provisional Safety Feeling Index at 57, which remains below the global TRAVELSAT norm (143) but is comparable to the level reached before the social events took place in these regions.

TCI Research also reports that 9% of tourists in MENA destinations have been in a situation to complain following a negative experience with their safety vs 6% in other world regions in average.

Technical note: provisional TRAVELSAT© 2011 results based on a global sample of 15 000+ interviews of international leisure and business tourists from 30+ markets. The TRAVELSAT© Index is a proprietary scoring based on tourists’ opinion.

Olivier Henry-Biabaud, CEO at TCI Research comments: « This trend needs to be confirmed but suggests that tourists’ feeling of security in MENA destinations has reached back an “acceptable” level for visitors. Other satisfaction Indexes tend to show that travelers also appreciate hospitality efforts provided both by tourism professionals and local people in these regions. The safety feeling is today in the top 3 criteria mostly impacting all destinations’ competitiveness and reputation: positive or negative word of mouth conveyed by recent travelers will play a vital role in recruiting new visitors in the short term, especially in destinations like Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.”

About TRAVELSAT Competitive Index©:

TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index is the reference, global and independent survey benchmarking international tourists’ experience and satisfaction in a standard way for all destinations, markets and traveller segments. It monitors 80+ Satisfaction Indexes for over 200 destinations, markets and segments, based on representative opinion of tourists who experienced the destination. Awarded in 2011 by the UNWTO for its major contribution in tourism governance, TRAVELSAT© provides a innovative instrument for all national, regional and local tourism stakeholders willing to improve their competitiveness in a global and complex international competitive environment. TRAVELSAT© data are collected, controlled and provided by TCI Research, an independent research agency dedicated to survey-based tourism competitive intelligence.

More information available on www.tci-research.com

abouTourism is the exclusive representative of TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index in Greece & SE Europe/Eastern Med Destinations. For more information you may contact us at: info@abouTourism.com or  (+30) 210 8941610.

AbouTourism announces official collaboration with TCI Research

24/03/2011, Athens, Greece: aboutourism, the international destination management and marketing consultancy announced its collaboration with the Brussels-based research company, TCI Research, as the exclusive representative of TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index in Greece & SE Europe/Eastern Med Destinations.

TRAVELSAT© Competitive Index, a key product of TCI Research, is an unrivaled benchmarking tool that offers tourism industry professionals vital information based on independent global feedback of tourists on over 80+ Satisfaction Indexes for over 100 destinations and markets.

“TravelSat Competitive Index, is an essential instrument for tourism destinations and fills a long sustained gap in qualitative tourism benchmarking in the region. We are optimistic that tourism decision makers seeking to enhance their marketing and competitive edge will incorporate it as part of their destination’s development, management & marketing process”, said aboutourism Managing Director & Founder Manolis Psarros.

TCI Research Founder & Managing Director Olivier Henry-Biabaud adds: “With aboutourism joining the network of regional TRAVELSAT partners, tourism organizations and stakeholders can combine the benefits a global standard survey with customized local expertise. Benchmarking is essential for SE Europe/Eastern Med Destinations to improve further their competitiveness.”

TRAVELSAT© is the only global professional survey offering: A reference global norm measuring tourists’ satisfaction; Independent data collection; Benchmark instrument designed for tourism stakeholders; 80+ competitive indexes reporting visitors’ experience; 100+ markets and traveller segments; Large and relevant benchmark (geographical & motivational); Standard methodology (2 years of validation process); Customised reporting (all destinations’ needs and sizes); Multiple applications such as marketing, policy making, communication.

More specifically, TRAVELSAT© answers questions such as:

Which accommodation types generate the highest and lowest satisfaction levels vs competitive destinations?

Do satisfied visitors envisage coming back to the same region or exploring other areas?

Who are the segments spreading good reputation of my destination vs other destinations?
And who are my detractors ? Which competitive destinations delight them today?

How do I perform on quality criteria related to sustainability and environment vs Euromed norms? And who is best-in-class in these areas?

And many more…systematically benchmarking results of destinations in their specific competitive environment.

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How it Works

A scalable service fitting each needs & resources

• Customized Snapshort Report “on demand”
• Annual subscription fee – 24/7 dynamic online data reporting
• Quarterly data update
• Added value Report & Presentation by your local expert

Optional Services

• Exclusives questions
• Domestic module (TRAVELSAT© applied on domestic visitors)
• Support for data based promotional actions (PR, Lobbying…)

Report example for destination: Greece

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aboutourism is an Athens based, newly-formed destination development & marketing consultancy with a regional focus on South Eastern & Eastern Mediterranean Regions. A one-stop-shop for tourism boards, destination management organizations and tourism professionals associations, our passion is to help destinations succeed by providing specific solutions & implementation support in every stage of the destination’s development, management & marketing process. Further info at: http://www.aboutourism.com.

TCI Research is an independent research company based in Brussels, specializing in survey-based evaluation in the public and private tourism sectors. The company assists tourism stakeholders improve their performance and competitiveness through a better understanding of the traveller’s opinion and behaviours. The company collects reliable data based on surveys and observations to provide independent and professional analysis, with a special focus on the competitive environment of their clients.They develop a unique range of methodologies measuring travellers experience, destination performance and reputation, branding and communication. Further info at: http://www.tci-research.com.

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