DMO VISITOR GUIDE READERSHIP & CONVERSION STUDY PROJECT OVERVIEW and APPLICATION
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE
Destination Analysts has partnered with the DMA West Education & Research Foundation to assist DMOs in developing a profile of travelers who use DMO-published official Visitor Guides and estimate the Return on Investment these official Visitor Guides bring to their respective communities. Discover how your DMO can get involved in this research project.
The total project fee for each participating DMO, including deliverables and incentives, is $12,000.
Note: DMOs to do not need to be members of DMA West to participate in this cooperative study.
In addition to study participant fees and Foundation grants, Destination Analysts and the DMA West Foundation are pleased to report that a portion of the study has been generously underwritten by Miles Partnership as the Presenting Sponsor for this study.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Destination Analysts, on behalf of the DMA West Education & Research Foundation and participating DMO partners, will conduct a 2020 DMO Visitor Guide Readership & Conversion Study. As an update to this study conducted in 2013, this research will again use an online survey methodology to develop profiles of travelers who use DMO-sponsored official Visitor Guides and estimate the Return on Investment these guides bring to their respective communities. The combined (blind) findings from all participating DMOs will produce updated industry averages on DMO visitor guide impact and performance.
For the purposes of this project, Destination Analysts will survey requestors of the 2020 editions of participating DMO visitor guides, with this research to be conducted throughout calendar year 2020.
A cumulative request level of 5,000 guides in a year is ideal, in order to attain a minimum sample size goal of 400 completed surveys.
Visitor guide requestors who complete the participating DMO’s survey will be entered in a sweepstakes to win a $200 Amazon.com gift card or one of four $25 Amazon.com gift cards. Destination Analysts will handle the random selection of winners and prize fulfillment, as well as prepare official rules for each participating DMO.
KEY OBJECTIVES and METRICS PRODUCED
The primary objectives of this research are to:
1.) Determine the Return on Investment of Official DMO Visitor Guides: The total amount of direct visitor spending in the destination that is generated by and attributable to the destination’s official visitor guide (i.e., the amount of visitor spending in the destination that would NOT have occurred in the absence of the visitor guide). Ultimate conversion/ economic impact metrics produced include:
· In 2020, the official visitor guide generated $X million in incremental direct visitor spending in the destination.
· Each official visitor guide distributed results in $X in direct visitor spending impact to the destination.
2.) Develop Profiles of Visitor Guide Users: Demographic, psychographic, attitudinal and behavioral information about requestors and users of official DMO visitor guides— including type of traveler, residence, media accessed, and desired travel/destination experiences. The research will also look into the content—both topically and format- wise—most sought and valued by visitor guide users.
RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
This study will entail online surveys of the participating DMOs’ official visitor guide requestors. Information needed to estimate these visitor guide programs’ ROI will be collected through these surveys and used as inputs in Destination Analysts’ ROI estimation model.
Similar to the methodology used in 2013, the surveys of the participating DMO’s visitor guide requestors will be fielded quarterly. Below is an estimated timeline of when the survey email invitations will be sent:
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Survey email invitation sent: |
Audience is Visitor Guide Requestors who ordered the guide between: |
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April 2020 |
January 1 – March 31, 2020 |
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July 2020 |
April 1 – June 30, 2020 |
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October 2020 |
July 1 – September 30, 2020 |
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January 2021 |
October 1 – December 31, 2020 |
The survey questionnaire will be written to address travel to the respective destinations and the effect that these organizations’ visitor guide had on these travels.
Destination Analysts will draft the base survey questionnaire for each DMO to review. Each DMO will have the opportunity to add up to two custom questions at the end of the base survey questionnaire, which Destination Analysts will develop on their behalf. The survey questionnaires will resemble standard tourism industry conversion surveys and will collect all data necessary for conversion analysis and ROI estimation. Once the survey questionnaires are approved by each DMO, Destination Analysts will then implement the surveys online.
CUSTOM SURVEY QUESTIONS
Participating DMOs have the option to add two custom questions at the end of the base survey. Destination Analysts will work directly with each participating DMO to develop these two questions and add them to the online survey instruments prior to fielding the surveys.
Guidelines for these custom questions will be provided with the base survey questionnaire after the DMO confirms participation in the study.
DMO PROJECT TASKS
To participate in the DMA Visitor Guide Readership & Conversion Study, participating DMOs must complete the following tasks:
1.) Add the following two questions to the online visitor guide order form by January 1, 2020:
In which month(s) are you likely to arrive in ?
q January 2020
q February 2020
q March 2020
q April 2020
q May 2020
q June 2020
q July 2020
q August 2020
q September 2020
q October 2020
q November 2020
q December 2020
q Sometime in 2021
q Uncertain – I have not decided
Where are you in the process of deciding to travel to ? Please select the one option that best describes where you are in your travel decision.
m I have already decided to take a trip to (or within)
m I am interested in taking a trip to (or within) <DESTINATION> but haven’t made travel plans yet
m I am just considering destinations for a trip
m I have no plans to travel
2.) At the end of each quarter (~early April, July, October and January 2021), participating DMOs will send Destination Analysts a list of those who have ordered the visitor guide to date. This list must be in an Excel file format and must include the following information:
· First name
· Last name
· Email address
· Date visitor guide was ordered
· Month(s) of likely arrival to the destination (Response to first question specified above)
· Point in travel planning process at the time visitor guide was ordered (Response to second question specified above)
Destination Analysts will then send a survey email invitation to those who planned to visit the destination in the three months prior. For example, those who intended to visit the destination in January, February or March 2020 will receive the email invitation in April.
The email will inform recipients of the survey sweepstakes and invite them to complete the survey via an online link that is unique to each DMO.
3.) Create an email address using the respective domain name (such as research@visitsaltlake.com) that automatically forwards to Destination Analysts (research@destinationanalysts.com) by March 1, 2020.
· DMO’s official logo to include in the email invitation and online survey instrument
· Destination image to include in the email invitation
· Image of the visitor guide cover
4.) Send Destination Analysts web-optimized images of the following by March 1, 2020:
· DMO’s official logo
· Destination image
· Image of the visitor guide cover
5.) If possible, send Destination Analysts a link to the online version of the visitor guide to include as a reference in the survey instrument.
DELIVERABLES
At the conclusion of the project, Destination Analysts will deliver the following to each participating DMO:
1. A comprehensive report on the findings of the study specific to the DMO’s visitor guide. This report will include an Infographic Summary of Key Insights and ROI Metrics, as well as graphical representations of the survey results and detailed analysis.
2. An anonymized comparison matrix that shows how each participating DMO performs against other participating DMOs.
3. Presentation and review of findings via online web conference.
UberMedia (optional supplement)
About UberMedia
UberMedia provides tourism organizations and vendors with accurate mobile location data and insights to understand foot traffic and behavioral trends. With data from over 300M devices in America and 1B worldwide, we know where tourists come from, their length of stay, their profiles, their visits in market, and much more!
UberMedia Printed Guide Attribution Options
Base Attribution
· Total Cost: $6,000
· Household Attribution – Overall and by State: Percentage of Households that Received Guide and Showed Up to Destination, Summarized by Each State
Standard Attribution
· Total Cost: $8,500
· Household Attribution – Overall and by State: Percentage of Households that Received Guide and Showed Up to Destination, Summarized by Each State
· Household Attribution – Median Days to Visit after Receiving Guide
· Household Attribution – Month Traveled In by Households that Received Guide
Advanced Attribution
· Total Cost: $10,500
· Household Attribution – Overall and by State: Percentage of Households that Received Guide and Showed Up to Destination, Summarized by Each State
· Household Attribution – Median Days to Visit after Receiving Guide
· Household Attribution – Month Traveled In by Households that Received Guide
· POIs Visited – Analyze 10 Points of Interest to Identify if Households that Received Guide Visited the POI. Points of Interest can be attractions, neighborhoods, business districts, convention centers, etc.