Report Summary "Survey on Second Home Ownership in the Lago Maggiore e Valli Region, "

Introduction

This report is a summary of the results of a survey about second home ownership in the Lago Maggiore e Valli (LMV) region, with the support of the four local tourist offices. Within the Canton Ticino tourism sector, our region has a particularly strong hotel and visitor accommodation business. It also has a high number of homes owned by non-residents, who over the course of the year spend certain periods of time here. To better understand this phenomenon, the four local tourist offices asked the Tourism Observatory of Canton Ticino to survey a select number of second home owners in the Lago Maggiore e Valli region. In February 2013, a questionnaire was sent to 11'910 individuals who own a second home in our region. The present document is a summary of the findings based on 1’291 questionnaires, with a participation rate of 10.84%. 68.7% of the responses were submitted on paper and the remaining online.

Reasons for Second Home Ownership in the LMV Region

The reasons for owning a vacation home in Ticino are varied. The aim of the questionnaire was to understand the main reason that led participants to purchase or find themselves owning a home near Lago Maggiore. The results indicate that more than 60% purchased a home because they loved the area, while a little less than 20% inherited the property.

Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Participants

About 60% of participants are male. The average age is 64 years, which is consistent with the number of people who report being retired (43.5%). As to those employed, 18.4% work independently and 13.5% are employees. In regard to marital status, about 80% of participants report being married.

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Origin of Second Home Owners The data on the origin of second home owners indicates that more than 85% are Swiss, of whom about one third

3.7% resides near Zurich. The second most represented Svizzera nationality is German, with a total of 11% of participants,

11.0% followed (in much smaller percentages) by owners residing in (0.6%), France (0.6%), Lichtenstein (0.6%), Austria (0.4%), the Netherlands (0.3%), and Germania Luxembourg (0.3%).

Looking more closely at Swiss participants, we note that 85.4% more than 90% of second home owners are from altri paesi German-speaking : about one third from Zurich (28.4% of the total number of participants), followed by Canton Aargau and Basel. More than two thirds of all German participants come from southern Germany (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria) as well as North- Westphalia.

Company, Means of Transportation, and Places Visited

More than 90% of participants report that they regularly come to Lago Maggiore accompanied by their partner (66.0%) or with the whole family (23.3%), while the rest comes alone (7.6%) or with friends (3.1%). The preferred means of transportation of second home owners is, unsurprisingly, the car (80.5%), followed by the train (14.8%). The remaining 4.7% is divided among bus, motorcycle, and other means of transportation. A close analysis of the data shows that, when in Ticino, second home owners visit other places outside of the Lago Maggiore region but are unlikely to cross the border and journey to nearby Italy.

Length of Stay of Second Home Owners in the LMV Region

Over the course of the year, participants report staying an average of 64 days. The duration of each stay varies greatly according to the season: during the spring (March-May) the average stay is of 17 days; during the summer (June-August) 23 days, and in the fall (September-November) 16 days. The shortest average stay occurs during winter, when owners of second homes stay an average of 9 days.

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Stay During the Holidays For 64.2% of second home owners, Easter is a popular Natale 22.8% 77.2% period to travel to our region; over the Christmas holidays Pasqua 64.2% 35.8% attendance is above 20%.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% % of participants si no

Activities and Reasons for Visiting

The survey results show that the favorite activities of second home owners in the Lago Maggiore region are "spending time at home relaxing", "walking through towns and villages", and "going to the lake", followed by "enjoying the local cuisine", "participating in family activities", "taking part in cultural and music events", and "hiking in the mountains". Responses indicate that factors that weigh more are those that allow second home owners to take advantage of the scenery and natural environment, the nice Ticino climate, and the possibility to easily be in contact with nature. Two other factors considered to be important are the desire to escape everyday life and the desire to rest and relax. The weather forecast is relevant in the decision to travel to our region, with 53% of participants stating that the weather forecast influences "a good deal" or "a great deal" their choice to come to Ticino.

Use of Services by Owners of Second Homes and Satisfaction Level

In regards to the use that individuals make of the services available in the region, results show great diversity, from restaurants and grottos, to shops and supermarkets, to hiking trails. The local tourist information desks are well regarded but scarcely used, due to the fact that owners of second homes already know the area quite well.

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Psychological Aspects related to Ownership of a Second Home in the LMV Region

An interesting finding is that more than 60% of participants don't feel like tourists when they come to our region. Additionally, 98% of participants report that they like staying in Ticino "a good deal" or a "great deal". Also, 85% consider their relationship with locals to be "good" or "very good", and more than 30% say that there is a "high" possibility that they will relocate permanently to Ticino in the future.

Enjoyment, Satisfaction, and Ties to the Lago Maggiore e Valli Region

quanto si sente legato alla regione (6.1) 92.6%

quanto le piace la regione (6.5) 97.9%

quanto le piace soggiornare nella regione (6.6) 98.2%

quanto è soddisfatto di avere una proprietà nella 91.4% regione (6.3)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% % of participants poco neutrale molto

Conclusion

A large number of individuals who participated in the survey decided to buy a home in the LMV region due to the characteristics of the area: sunshine, landscape, mountains, lake. These are also key factors in compelling participants to visit their vacation homes, motivated by a desire to stay in an "exotic" place, away from everyday life. The analysis of the data gathered allowed us to identify three segments of individuals based on activities and reasons for coming here:

 The first segment is made up of participants who travel to their vacation homes in order to "detach" from everyday life and, if applicable, spend more time with family. This segment seems to seek relaxation and quiet and is not necessarily in search of activities.  The second segment connects more to events and tends to take advantage of a second home to enjoy events that take place in the region. From this we can infer that this group of individuals looks to socialize with local residents.  The third segment relates mostly to physical activity and the outdoors: for these individuals, activities tied to the mountains (hiking) and the lake (water sports) offer the perfect excuse for coming to Ticino.

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