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Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning Satisfaction Ratings

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Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning Satisfaction Ratings AVSP 7 – Summer 2016 Section 6: Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning Satisfaction Ratings Satisfaction with Overall Experience Visitors were asked how satisfied they were with their overall Alaska experience. Satisfaction with specific trip elements, such as accommodations and transportation, was removed from the 2016 survey to allow room for new questions. Alaska visitors rate their overall trip satisfaction highly, with 75 percent very satisfied, 23 percent satisfied, and only 1 percent dissatisfied. Satisfaction ratings have increased slightly over the last decade, shifting from 70 percent very satisfied in 2006, to 71 percent in 2011, to 75 percent in 2016. Average satisfaction on a 1-to-5 scale has stayed consistent at 4.7. CHART 6.1 - Satisfaction with Overall Alaska Experience All Visitors, 2006, 2011, and 2016 70% Very satisfied 71% 75% 27% Satisfied 27% 23% 2% 2006 (Ave. 4.7) Neutral 2% 2% 2011 (Ave. 4.7) 1% 2016 (Ave. 4.7) Dissatisfied <1% 1% <1% Very dissatisfied <1% <1% AVSP 7 – Section 6: Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning McDowell Group Page 6-1 Transportation Market Cruise passengers gave the highest overall satisfaction ratings at 76 percent very satisfied, followed by air visitors at 73 percent and highway/ferry visitors at 67 percent. Average ratings on a 1-to-5 scale are more comparable: 4.7 for both air and cruise visitors, and 4.6 for highway visitors. The percentage of very satisfied air visitors has increased gradually, from 68 percent in 2006, to 70 percent in 2011, to 73 percent in 2016. The very satisfied rating among cruise visitors increased from 72 percent in both 2006 and 2011 to 76 percent in 2016, while ratings among highway/ferry visitors increased from 64 percent in 2006 and 2011 to 67 percent in 2016. TABLE 6.1 - Satisfaction with Overall Alaska Experience By Transportation Market, 2006, 2011, and 2016 (%) AIR CRUISE HWY/FERRY 2006 2011 2016 2006 2011 2016 2006 2011 2016 5 - Very satisfied 68 70 73 72 72 76 64 64 67 4 – Satisfied 30 28 25 25 25 21 31 34 29 3 - Neither/neutral 2 2 2 1 2 2 4 1 3 2 – Dissatisfied 1 <1 1 2 1 <1 <1 1 1 1 - Very dissatisfied <1 <1 <1 <1 - - - - <1 Average 1-5 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.6 AVSP 7 – Section 6: Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning McDowell Group Page 6-2 Compared to Expectations Visitors were asked how their Alaska trip compared to their expectations. Business visitors were screened out of this question. Alaska consistently met or exceeded visitors’ expectations, with 32 percent saying the trip was about what they expected, 36 percent saying the trip was higher than expectations, and 29 percent saying the trip was much higher than expectations. Just 2 percent said the trip fell below expectations. The compared-to-expectations rating has been improving gradually over the last decade, with the “much higher” rating increasing from 25 percent in 2006, to 26 percent in 2011, to 29 percent in 2016. CHART 6.2 - Alaska Trip Compared to Expectations All Visitors (Except Business Visitors), 2006, 2011, and 2016 25% Much higher than expectations 26% 29% 36% Higher than expectations 37% 36% 35% About what you expected 34% 32% 4% Below expectations 2% 2006 (Ave. 3.8) 2% 2011 (Ave. 3.9) 1% Far below expectations <1% 2016 (Ave. 3.9) <1% AVSP 7 – Section 6: Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning McDowell Group Page 6-3 Transportation Market Cruise passengers were slightly more likely to say their trip was much higher than expectations at 31 percent, followed by highway/ferry at 29 percent, and air at 27 percent. The percentage giving a “much higher than expectations” rating rose over the last decade among air visitors (from 21 percent in 2006, to 24 percent in 2011, to 27 percent in 2016) as well as among cruise visitors (from 27 to 28 to 31 percent). The rating among ferry visitors fluctuated more: from 28 to 20 to 29 percent. TABLE 6.2 - Alaska Trip Compared to Expectations By Transportation Market, 2006, 2011, and 2016 (%) AIR CRUISE HWY/FERRY 2006 2011 2016 2006 2011 2016 2006 2011 2016 5 - Much higher than expectations 21 24 27 27 28 31 28 20 29 4 - Higher than expectations 35 36 37 36 38 36 32 35 27 3 - About what you expected 40 38 34 32 31 31 36 42 39 2 - Below expectations 4 2 2 4 2 2 4 3 4 1 - Far below expectations <1 <1 <1 1 <1 1 <1 <1 1 Average 1-5 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.8 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.8 Note: Business visitors were screened out of this question. AVSP 7 – Section 6: Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning McDowell Group Page 6-4 Value for the Money Visitors were asked how Alaska rated in terms of value for the money, compared to other vacation destinations visited in the past five years. Again, business visitors were screened out of this question. Visitors were most likely to rate Alaska’s value for the money “about the same” (45 percent) when compared to other destinations. They were much more likely to rate Alaska better or much better (38 percent) than to rate it worse or much worse (16 percent). Value ratings have changed very little over the last decade, although there were very slight upticks in both the “worse” rating (from 12 to 14 percent), and the “much better” rating (from 13 to 15 percent). CHART 6.3 - Value for the Money Compared with other vacation destinations visited in the past five years All Visitors (Except Business Visitors), 2006, 2011, and 2016 13% Much better 13% 15% 25% Better 24% 23% 48% About the same 50% 45% 12% Worse 12% 2006 (Ave. 3.4) 14% 2011 (Ave. 3.3) 1% Much worse 2% 2016 (Ave. 3.4) 2% AVSP 7 – Section 6: Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning McDowell Group Page 6-5 Transportation Market Cruise visitors were more likely to give better or much better ratings (43 percent) when compared with air visitors (33 percent) and ferry visitors (31 percent). Average value ratings on a 1-to-5 scale decreased slightly among air passengers (from 3.3 in 2006 and 2011 to 3.2 in 2016; increased slightly among cruise passengers (from 3.4 in 2006 and 2011 to 3.5 in 2016); and stayed the same among highway/ferry visitors (3.2 for both 2011 and 2016, down from 3.3 in 2006). TABLE 6.3 - Value for the Money Compared with other vacation destinations visited in the past five years By Transportation Market, 2006, 2011, and 2016 (%) AIR CRUISE HWY/FERRY 2006 2011 2016 2006 2011 2016 2006 2011 2016 5 - Much better 13 12 13 13 13 17 13 10 12 4 - Better 22 24 20 27 24 26 22 23 19 3 - About the same 49 47 46 48 51 45 47 48 44 2 - Worse 15 16 19 11 10 11 16 16 24 1 - Much worse 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 3 1 Average 1-5 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.3 3.2 3.2 Note: Business visitors were screened out of this question. AVSP 7 – Section 6: Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning McDowell Group Page 6-6 Recommending Alaska Visitors were asked how likely they were to recommend Alaska as a vacation destination. Virtually all visitors said they were likely or very likely to recommend Alaska to others, including 79 percent who said they were very likely, and 18 percent who said they were likely. Just 1 percent said they were unlikely to recommend Alaska. These rates have remained consistent over the last decade. CHART 6.4 - Likelihood of Recommending Alaska to Others All Visitors, 2006, 2011, and 2016 79% Very likely 78% 79% 18% Likely 20% 18% 1% Unlikely 1% 1% 2006 <1% Very unlikely <1% 2011 <1% 2016 1% Don’t know 1% 1% Transportation Market Cruise visitors gave the highest “very likely” responses at 80 percent, followed by air visitors (79 percent) and highway/ferry visitors (75 percent). Air visitors’ likelihood rating increased between 2011 and 2016 (from 74 to 79 percent), while highway/ferry visitors’ rating decreased (from 80 to 75 percent). Cruise visitors’ likelihood stayed the same all three years at 80 percent. TABLE 6.4 - Likelihood of Recommending Alaska to Friends/Family By Transportation Market, 2006, 2011, and 2016 (%) AIR CRUISE HWY/FERRY 2006 2011 2016 2006 2011 2016 2006 2011 2016 Very likely 77 74 79 80 80 80 77 80 75 Likely 20 23 18 17 19 17 20 18 19 Unlikely 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 Very unlikely <1 <1 <1 1 <1 <1 <1 1 <1 Don’t know 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 2 AVSP 7 – Section 6: Visitor Profile - Satisfaction, Repeat Travel, and Trip Planning McDowell Group Page 6-7 Returning to Alaska Visitors were asked how likely they were to return to Alaska in the next five years. Over half of visitors (60 percent) said they were very likely (40 percent) or likely (20 percent) to return. One-third (32 percent) said they were unlikely (25 percent) or very unlikely (7 percent), while 8 percent didn’t know. While the rate of “very likely” responses increased slightly between 2011 and 2016 (from 38 to 40 percent), the “likely” rate fell (from 23 to 20 percent), and the “unlikely” rate increased (from 19 to 25 percent).
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