Context and Methodology • Sociodemographic Portrait of the Tourist Cyclist • Tourism Behaviors • Conclusion

Presentaon Plan • Context and Methodology • Sociodemographic portrait of the tourist cyclist • Tourism behaviors • Conclusion

1 1 Context and Methodology

2 Where is Quebec

Populaon: 8.3 million

3 Project partners

4 Purpose of the Study

• Beer understand bike tourists needs and evaluate actual and potenal outcome of this segment

• Establish a complete proﬁle of the bike tourists that are users of Quebec bikeway network • Movaons • Planning habits • Travel behavior • Travel spending • Level of sasfacon • Etc. 5

Methodology

• Approach that is the most representave possible from the tourisc use of the Methodology bikeway network • Web survey conducted with email database gathered from 4 disnct sources: • Coupons distributed in the Bienvenue cyclistes! cerﬁed accommodaons • Vélo Québec Database • Waterfront Trail in Ontario Database • League of American Bicyclists Database

• The inial sampling plan aimed: Inial objecve • 400 respondants from Quebec cyclists • 200 respondants from outside of Quebec cyclists

• Final sampling of respondants that made a trip of one or more nights in Final sampling Quebec that included a cycling acvity: • 1 254 respondants among Quebec cyclists • 219 respondants out of the province cyclists 6 VOUS FAITES DU VÉLO PENDANT VOTRE SÉJOUR ?

COUREZ LA CHANCE DE GAGNER UN SÉJOUR D’UNE VALEUR DE 500 $ DANS L’UNE DE NOS RÉGIONS TOURISTIQUES ainsi que des livres sur les circuits cyclables au Québec en répondant à notre sondage* !

Votre opinion sur le tourisme à vélo au Québec est importante afin d’améliorer le développement de cette activité. La Chaire de tourisme Transat de l’ESG UQAM souhaiterait vous envoyer un questionnaire par courriel, afin de connaître vos habitudes de pratique lors de vos séjours au Québec.

Merci d’avance et bonne chance pour le tirage !

Groupe d’âge: !18-24 ans !25-34 ans !35-49 ans !50-64 ans !65 ans et plus!

Sexe:! !!Femme! !!Homme Durée du séjour: ______

Pays d’origine / Province / État: ______Québécois, région de provenance: ______Methodology Est-ce que faire du vélo était la principale activité de ce séjour ? !Oui!!!!!!Non! Adresse courriel (en majuscules): ______@______

Soyez assuré(e) que vos réponses resteront confidentielles et anonymes, et que votre adresse courriel ne sera utilisée à aucune autre fin que ce sondage. * Les règlements du tirage vous seront transmis en même temps que le sondage.

Coupons VOUS FAITES DU VÉLO PENDANT VOTRE SÉJOUR ?

COUREZ LA CHANCE DE GAGNER UN SÉJOUR D’UNE VALEUR DE 500 $ DANS L’UNE DE NOS RÉGIONS TOURISTIQUES ainsi que des livres sur les circuits cyclables au Québec en répondant à notre sondage* !

Merci d’avance et bonne chance pour le tirage !

Groupe d’âge: !18-24 ans !25-34 ans !35-49 ans !50-64 ans !65 ans et plus!

Sexe:! !!Femme! !!Homme Durée du séjour: ______

Pays d’origine / Province / État: ______Québécois, région de provenance: ______

Est-ce que faire du vélo était la principale activité de ce séjour ? !Oui!!!!!!Non!

Adresse courriel (en majuscules): ______@______

7 Methodology

Number of accommodaons Number of accommodaons Number of coupons distributed Samples solicited that parcipated 203 131 7 415

Réparon des coupons récoltés Bas-Saint-Laurent 147 Cantons-de-l'Est 291 Number of Centre-du-Québec 82 respondants Chaudière-Appalaches 154 Gaspésie 52 Lanaudière 148 585 Laurendes 433 Mauricie 96 Montérégie 38 Montréal 10 Région de Québec 159 Outaouais 142 Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean 246

1998 Response Total rate : Survey conducted between October 7th and October 23th 2014 29% 8 Methodology

• Database formed of about 80 000 cyclists (travel agency, The samples VQ events, members and newsleer subscribers) • Survey conducted between October 7th and October 23th 2014

• Database of 3 600 cyclists from Ontario (neighboring province) • Survey conducted between October 23th and October 29th 2014

• Database of 1 880 american cyclists members of the associaon • Survey conducted between October 16th and October 29th 2014

9 Methodology

• Distribuon of the sample that made a trip of one or more nights Respondants in Quebec that included a cycling acvity in 2014

32% Bienvenue cyclistes! Database

Vélo Québec Database 64% Ontario and USA Database N = 1 473

10 Methodology

• Respondants are 18 of age and older Respondant • To qualify, had to pracce cycling in Quebec during a trip of one or more nights during 2014 season Caracterics • Survey during fall to gather all the informaon concerning bike trips during the whole season and to maximise the sampling.

• Weighng established among respondants from Bienvenue cyclistes! database • Numbers of coupons sent took into consideraon the potenal volume of each accommodaon Weighng • To correct the oversize of few accommodaon samples, we considered the volume of coupons sent vs the volume received

11 Sociodemographic portrait 2 of the tourist cyclist

12 Sociodemographic portrait Age

8% 10% 19% • 66% aged between 46 and

36% 37% 65 65+ 44% 56-65 • Cyclists from outside the 31% 29% 46-55 province tend to be older 20% 36-45 (63% 55+ vs 44%) 14% 14% 9% 18-35 11% 7% 10% Québec Outside Québec Total

13 Sociodemographic portrait Household income

• Tourist cyclists present higher 4% 11% 8% income 17% 23% 200 000 $ + 150 000 - 199 999 $ 24% • More than half (52%) of the 23% 100 000 - 149 999 $ 75 000 - 99 999 $ cyclists from outside make 23% 50 000 $ - 74 999 $ 100k+ 24% Less than 50 000 $ 15% • Cyclists from outside the 17% 10% province have higher Québec Outside Quebec household income

14 Sociodemographic portrait Where do they come from

3% 0,3% 2% 7% Québec • 21% of bike tourists come from outside 9% Ontario Other Canadian provinces Quebec United-States • 79% Europe Distribuon similar to the Quebec overall Elsewhere in the world N = 1998 tourism paern

15 3 Tourism behaviors

16 Tourism behaviors Lenght of the trips

42% Québec Outside Québec • Quebecers : 4 nights in average per stay 26% 23% • Other markets : 7 nights in 17% 17% average per stay (42% stay at 13% 14% 12% 12% 9% 10% least a week) 5% • 46% of the trips of the 55+ are 1 night 2 nights 3 nights 4 nights 5-6 nights 7 nights + 4 nights and over

17 Tourism behaviors Hours of cycling per day

• 3.8 hours per day in average 4,1 • 21 hours of biking per trip 3,9

3,7 • The older they get, the more 3,7 they cycle!

3,5

18-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+

18 Tourism behaviors Numbers of kilometers per stay

10% 15%

34% • 56% of the bike 41% tourists from outside 500 km + Québec cycled over 30% Between 200 and 499 km 20% 200 km Between 100 and 199 km 27% • Only a quarter cycled 24% Between 0 and 100 km less than 100 km Québec Outside Quebec

19 Tourism behaviors Tourism spending

Segment Average per stay Average per day • Average spending for a Quebec 554$ 210$ group of two Outside Quebec 1391$ 243$ • Bike tourists spend Used Route verte 736$ 229$ more than average Total average 676$ 214$ leisure tourists (202$)

• 56-65 segment spends • Bikeway over 5000 kilometers the most (242$/day) linking all parts of Quebec

• Velo Quebec is responsible for its development and coordinaon

20 Tourism behaviors Tourism spending

3% 1% Transport 12% 13% Lodging 4% • Restaurants Lodging explains 44% of the Tourism aracons spending Food and beverage 24% 44% Clothing, equipment • 37% of spending Other related to food

21 Tourism behaviors Time of planning

21% • Outside markets plan 19% 55% Over 2 months advance long in advance (2 1 to 2 months in advance months +, 55%) 1 to 4 weeks in advance 36% • Strong correlaon 19% Less than a week in advance between lenght of stay I didn't plan 21% 18% and me of planning 6% 3% 2% Québec Outside Quebec • 18-35 more encline to plan last minute

22 Tourism behaviors Informaon used for planning

75% Internet 58% 51% Bikeway network map 35% Regional tourist guides 39% 31% Bikeway network guide 38% 28% • 19% 3 types of informaon used Friends and relaves 26% 33% in average to plan Route verte guide 23% 26% Outside Brochures, ﬂyers 21% Quebec • Web is an essenal, specially Tourism oﬃce 23% 13% Québec for outside markets (75%) 18% Newspaper and magazines 11% 9% Cycling club 9% • Bikeway network map 2nd in 4% Consumer show 8% importance 2% Social media 4% 5% Travel agency 3% 31% Already knew the desnaon 39% 23 Tourism behaviors Tools used at desnaon

Paper map of the regional cycle 56% network 44% 38% Smartphone 30% General map road of the region 35% (paper format) 26% • Smartphones 2nd useful 41% Bike tourism guide or brochure 22% tool at desnaon (32%)

20% Regional tourist guide 22% • Bike tourim guides or Outside Québec 18% paper maps very helpful Bike GPS 15% for outside markets (41%) 14% Québec Tablet 12% 14% • 18-35 rely mainly (55%) on GPS 9% their smartphones 11% None 13% 24 Tourism behaviors What acvies other than cycling

Purchase of local products 37% 39% 49% Fine cuisine 34% Visit of a natural park 44% 32% • Bike tourists are very Camping 26% 31% acve! (4 acvies in Hiking 20% 27% Wildlife observaon 26% 30% average par stay) Cultural and patrimonial acvies 21% 48% Tourisc routes 22% 37% • Gastronomy and outdoor is Naucal acvity 20% 23% a good match Shopping 16% 38% Cyclist event 13% 16% • Half of tourists from 22% Events (none-cyclist related) 9% Outside outside went in a ﬁne Nightlife 21% Quebec 9% restaurant or parcipated Agrotourism 4% Québec 10% in a patrimonial / cultural Spa 7% 8% Mountain bike 4% 10% acvity 25 Tourism behaviors Was the trip part of a package?

11% • 28% of tourists bought a travel Yes, totally package 17% Yes, • 33% of 55+ used a package parally 72% No • Only 8% of the 18-35 chose a package

26 Tourism behaviors Number of cycling trips (last two years)

4,5 4,1 1,2 0,9 • Over 4 trips in average in the last two years 0,9 1,3 Stays over 7 nights Stays of 4 to 7 nights • About half of trips of 4 2,3 or more nights 2 Stays of 3 nights and less

Québec Outside Quebec

27 Conclusion Huge contribuon for the Quebec economy

• Overall spendings for bike tourism in Quebec is esmated to 700 M$ (500 M euros). Tourists from outside the province = 15%.

• Bike tourism responsible for 6 800 jobs in Quebec

• Bike tourism gives back to our governments over 139 M$ (100 M euros) in revenues

Crédit photos : Vélo Québec – François Poirier, Didier Bertrand, Simon/L'État Brut 28 Thank you for listening [email protected]