Georgia 2010 Visitor Report Table of Contents Introduction….....…………………................................................................................................................. 4 Methodology….…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7 Georgia Regional Map…………..……………………………………………………………………………….. 9 Size & Structure of the U.S. Domestic Travel Market…………………………………………………………. 10 Size & Structure of Georgia’s Travel Market………………………………………………………………….. 16 Overnight Expenditures………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17 Day Expenditures…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 35 Overnight Marketable Trip Detail…......…………….……………...…………………………………………… 38 Sources of Business………………………………………………………………………………………. 39 Traveler Profile…………………………………………………………………………………………...... 42 Planning & Booking………………………………………………………………………………………... 53 Trip Characteristics……………..…………………………………………………………………………. 69 Trip Experiences…………………………………………………………………………………………… 82 Civil War Site Visitation…………………………………………………………………………................ 103 2 Table of Contents (Cont’d) Day Trip Detail………………………………………......………………………………………………………… 107 Sources of Business……..………………………………………………………………………………… 108 Traveler Profile………………………………………………………………………………...................... 111 Planning & Booking……………………………………………………………………….......................... 122 Trip Characteristics…………………………………………………………………………………………. 132 Trip Experiences…………………………………………………………………………………....…....... 139 Civil War Site Visitation……………………………………………………………………………………. 156 Georgia’s Image & Product Delivery…………………………………………………………………………….. 160 3 Introduction Longwoods International began tracking American travelers in 1985, and has conducted large-scale syndicated visitor research quarterly since 1990. In 2007, our proprietary Longwoods Travel USA® program was migrated from mail to online, using the MarketTools Inc. ZoomPanel™, with the benefits of rapid turnaround, enhanced flexibility and interactivity, as well as greater respondent involvement. Travel USA® is currently the largest ongoing study ever conducted of American travelers, providing our clients with more reliable data and greater ability to home in on key market segments of interest. 4 Introduction In 2009, Longwoods International was commissioned by the State of Georgia to undertake a ongoing program of visitor research. This report presents the detailed findings for the 2010 travel year. The 2010 results are drawn from three studies conducted throughout the year by Longwoods International: Travel USA® 2010 — Longwoods’ syndicated national study of domestic travel in the U.S. Georgia 2010 Overnight Visitor Study — a custom study of overnight travel to Georgia, commissioned by the State Georgia 2010 Day Visitor Study — a custom study of day travel to Georgia, commissioned by the State 5 Introduction The results consist of: Estimates of the volume of overnight and day travel to Georgia. Characteristics and profile of overnight and day trips to the State. Measures of visitation and intent to visit Georgia’s civil war sites over the next 4 years Ratings of Georgia’s image as a travel destination and perceived delivery on its product amongst overnight visitors to the State. 6 Methodology — Travel USA® Each quarter, a random cross-section of 500,000 panel members is sent an e-mail invitation to participate in a national survey of the U.S. travel market. A reminder is e-mailed several days later to non-responders. In 2010, the completion rate for those accessing the Travel USA® questionnaire was 91%. For the 2010 travel year, this yielded : 209,724 trips for analysis nationally: 136,453 overnight trips 68,443 day trips For Georgia, the following sample was achieved in 2010: 6,634 trips: 4,586 overnight trips 2,048 day trips For analysis, data were weighted on key demographics to correct for any differences between the sample and U.S. population targets. 7 Methodology — Custom Visitor Research To augment the information from Travel USA®, we returned to a representative sample of overnight and day visitors identified through the syndicated program. The overnight “return to sample” study yielded 1,229 trips for analysis The day study yielded 541 trips The goal of this custom research was to provide more in depth information about trips taken to Georgia in 2010. Visitors were asked to provide further detail about trip characteristics, planning and booking behavior and the specific regions and attractions visited within the state. The State’s nine tourism regions were identified to respondents with the aid of visual map. Respondents were also asked to rate their impression of Georgia’s tourism product based on a series of over 60 image attributes. 8 Georgia Regional Map 9 Size & Structure of the U.S. Domestic Travel Market Size of the U.S. Overnight Travel Market Base: Total Overnight Trips - 8% + 4% 2,000 1,500 1,000 1,426 1,312 1,367 Millions of Trips of Millions 500 0 2008 2009 2010 11 Size of the U.S. Overnight Travel Market — Adults vs. Children Total Person-Trips = 1,367 Million 1,104 Million Adults 81% 263 Million Children 19% 12 Structure of the U.S. Travel Market — 2010 Overnight Trips Base: Adult Overnight Person-Trips Visits to Friends/Relatives 44% Marketable Leisure Trips 40% Business Trips Business-Leisure 12% Trips 4% 13 U.S. Market Trends for Overnight Trips — 2010 vs. 2009 Base: Adult Overnight Person-Trips All Overnight Trips 4 Marketable Trips 4 Visiting Friends/Relatives 6 Business Trips 7 -15 -5 5 15 Percent Change 14 U.S. Overnight Marketable Trip Mix — 2010 Travel Year Base: Overnight Marketable Trips Special event 19 Touring 18 Outdoors 14 Casino 12 Resort 10 Business-Leisure 8 City trip 8 Theme park 6 Cruise 4 Ski/Snowboarding 1 0 5 10 15 20 25 Percent 15 Size & Structure of Georgia’s Travel Market Total Size of Georgia’s 2010 Travel Market Total Person-Trips* = 115.9 Million 63.6 Million Day Trips 55% 52.3 Million Overnight Trips 45% 17 *Total volume includes both adults and children Georgia’s Share of Adult Domestic Trips Share of Day Trips Share of Overnight Trips 5.0% 4.0% 3.0% Percent 2.0% 3.9% 3.8% 3.4% 3.6% 3.5% 3.7% 1.0% 0.0% 2008 2009 2008 2009 18 Size of the Georgia’s Overnight Travel Market – 2010 vs. 2009 Base: Total Overnight Trips + 1.7% 80 60 40 51.4 52.3 Millions of Trips of Millions 20 0 2009 2010 19 Size of Georgia’s 2010 Overnight Travel Market — Adults vs. Children Total Overnight Trips = 52.3 Million 41.7 Million Adults 80% 10.6 Million Children 20% 20 Overnight Trips Including Georgia in 2010 Total Person Trips = 52.3 Million 4.0 Million Pass Through Trips (No Nights) 8% 21 Georgia’s Overnight Travel Market — By Trip Purpose Base: Adult Overnight Trips Visits to Friends/Relatives 48% Marketable Trips 31% Business-Leisure 5% Business 16% 22 Georgia’s Overnight Marketable Trip Mix Base: Overnight Marketable Trips 24 Special event 19 23 Touring 18 13 Business-Leisure 8 12 Outdoors 14 10 Resort 10 9 City trip 8 6 Theme park 6 2 Cruise 4 1 Casino 12 0 5 10 15 20 25 Percent Georgia US Norm 23 Georgia’s Overnight Marketable Trip Mix Base: Overnight Marketable Trips 24 Special event 24 23 Touring 22 13 Business-Leisure 13 12 Outdoors 11 10 Resort 10 9 City trip 8 6 Theme park 8 2 Cruise 2 1 Casino 2 0 5 10 15 20 25 Percent 2010 2009 24 Season of Overnight Trip Base: Adult Overnight Trips 24 January-March 25 25 April-June 25 27 July-September 22 23 October-December 22 0 10 20 30 40 Percent 2010 2009 25 Size of Georgia’s 2010 Day Travel Market — Adults vs. Children Total Day Person-Trips = 63.6 Million 50.1Million Adults 79% 13.5 Million Children 21% 26 Georgia’s 2010 Day Travel Market — By Trip Purpose Base: Adult Day Trips Visits to Friends/Relatives 35% Marketable Leisure Trips 50% Business-Leisure 4% Business 11% 27 Georgia’s Day Marketable Trip Mix Base: Day Marketable Trips 23 Touring 19 23 Shopping 18 16 Special Event 17 12 City trip 11 11 Outdoors 11 7 Business-leisure 5 4 Theme pak 5 3 Resort 2 1 Casino 10 <1 Cruise 1 0 5 10 15 20 25 Percent Georgia US Norm 28 Georgia’s Day Marketable Trip Mix Base: Day Marketable Trips 23 Touring 19 23 Shopping 22 16 Special Event 21 12 City trip 14 11 Outdoors 11 7 Business-leisure 6 4 Theme pak 6 3 Resort 1 1 Casino <1 <1 Cruise 1 0 5 10 15 20 25 Percent 2010 2009 29 Season of Day Trip Base: Adult Day Trips 26 January-March 26 25 April-June 26 28 July-September 27 21 October-December 20 0 10 20 30 40 Percent 2010 2009 30 Overnight Expenditures Total Overnight Spending — by Sector Total Spending = $9.3 Billion Food & Lodging Beverage 36% 25% $3.3 Billion $2.3 Billion Retail Recreation 17% 9% $1.6 Billion $0.9 Billion Transportation 13% $1.2 Billion 32 Average Per Person Expenditures on Overnight Trips — By Sector Base: Total Overnight Trips 80 60 40 Dollars $64 $56 20 $44 $40 $30 $26 $23 $18 $17 $17 0 Lodging Restaurant Food & Retail Purchases Transportation at Recreation/ Beverage Destination Sightseeing/ Entertainment 2010 2009 33 Average Per Person Expenditures on Overnight — by Trip Purpose Base: Total Overnight Trips 350 300 250 200 Dollars 150 $299 $261 100 $154 $140 50 0 Leisure Business 2010 2009 34 Day Trip Expenditures Total Day Travel Spending — by Sector Total Spending = $3.2 Billion Food & Beverage Retail 33% 36% $1.1 Billion $1.2 Billion Transportation Recreation 16% 15% $0.5 Billion $0.4 Billion 36 Average Per Person Expenditures on Day Trips — By Sector Base: Total Day Trips 30 20 Dollars 10 $17 $17 $18 $15 $7 $8 $8 $7 0 Restaurant Food & Retail Purchases Recreation/ Sightseeing/ Transportation at Beverage Entertainment Destination 2010 2009 37 Overnight Marketable Trip Detail Overnight Marketable Trip Sources of Business State Origin Of Trip Base: Overnight Marketable Trips to Georgia Georgia 35 Florida 15 Tennessee 6 South Carolina 6 North Carolina 5 Alabama 5 Ohio 3 Virginia 2 New York 2 Michigan 2 Illinois 2 Kentucky 2 0 10 20 30 40 Percent 40 DMA Origin Of Trip Base: Overnight Marketable Trips to Georgia Atlanta, GA 23 Macon, GA 4 Jacksonville, FL/GA 4 Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbrn, FL 3 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, FL 3 Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville, SC 3 Nashville, KY/TN 3 Tallahassee-Thomasville, FL 2 New York, NY 2 Savannah, GA/SC 2 Raleigh-Durham, NC 2 Augusta, GA 2 Miami-Ft.