The Situation

With the pandemic entrenching the value of tourism more deeply in Oregonians’ minds and, for the Oregon travel industry, highlighting how reliable travel sentiment and tourism data can help manage and forecast tourism performance, Travel Oregon sought a new consulting resource for deeper insights into their key customers—in and out of state tourists—in order to better support the Oregon tourism-reliant community, from airports to restaurants to retail. Travel Oregon chose Destination Analysts to design a more sophisticated tourism research program that that would provide actionable profiles of traveler/visitor perceptions, behaviors and satisfaction and take them to a higher level of support for their stakeholders.

Destination Analysts’ Designed Solution

Destination Analysts designed a research program that employs multiple methodologies—from digital intercepts at PDX to email-based surveys to small business’ customers—and prioritized the democratization of the visitor data, both in collection and distribution. The survey questionnaire for in and out-of-state visitors was both expanded and refined to address multiple segments and diverse audiences.

The Organization’s Success

Travel Oregon has capitalized on their new visitor research program both internally and externally. Within the organization, marketing has better customer information for brand direction and advertising initiatives, the research and insights team has quicker access to the information they need and the ability to answer more questions. Meanwhile, stakeholders throughout the state have access to important information to guide their own business decision-making and feel a sense of engagement and ownership.