First results from our monthly website visitor survey are in, with over 6,000 responses in July. Consumers completed the survey by clicking on a pop-up window that appears on 10 destination websites for destinations in Devon, including Visit South Devon and Visit Devon. Consequently, it must be remembered when interpreting the results that these are consumers already showing an interest in the county by virtue of them visiting one of the websites.
Over 43% of all respondents had visited Devon for a holiday during the last 12 months, and 31% have booked to travel in the next 12 months.
The booking lead time for trips tends to be very short (up to 4 weeks), or long term (3-6 months), both accounting for 26% of all travellers. Not surprisingly, when planning a trip, 32% stated that they used destination websites for information, with 20% using accommodation websites, and a significant 17% using review sites such as TripAdvisor.
Over one-half (51%) of travellers booked their holiday directly with the providers (mainly accommodation), with a further 28% using an online travel agent (OTA). Booking.com was by far the most popular accounting for 51% of OTA bookings, with Airbnb accounting for 22%.
The average length of stay of overnight trips was 4.8 nights, with day trips being for an average of 5.4 hours. Travel by own car dominates the mode of transport used (83%), with the next most popular being train at 9%. Nearly one-half (47%) of all respondents travelled as a couple, with almost one-quarter (24%) travelling with their immediate family. A significant 9% were travelling alone.
Satisfaction is high, with the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which is calculated on a scale of -100 (the worst) to +100 (the best), being 73. This indicates the positivity of recommendations made to friends, family and colleagues. As 9% of all trips were based on recommendations, the NPS is an important indicator.
Analysis of consumer perceptions and intentions by area (Plymouth, Exeter, English Riviera, North Devon Coast, South Devon Coast, and the Rest of Devon) is available via The Hub.
