Louisville 2016 Visitor Research
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..…
3
Research Objectives…………………………………………………………………..……..
4
Methodology………………………………………………………………………….………..
5
Key Findings……………………………………………………………………………………
6
Size & Structure of the U.S. Travel Market……………………………………..………..
10
Size & Structure of Louisville’s Domestic Travel Market……………………………..
14
Overnight Expenditures……………………………………………………………...…
21
Overnight Trip Characteristics…………………………………………………………
27
Demographic Profile of Overnight Visitors…………………………………............…
60
Day Trip Expenditures……………………………………………………………...…
71
Day Trip Characteristics………………………………………………………………
77
Demographic Profile of Day Visitors…………………………………………...........…
96
Appendix: Key Terms Defined……………………………………………………………..
107
✓ 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, with the benefits of rapid turnaround, enhanced flexibility and interactivity, as well as greater respondent involvement. ✓ It is currently the largest ongoing study conducted of American travelers, providing our clients with more reliable data and greater ability to home in on key market segments of interest. ✓ This report provides an overview for Louisville’s domestic tourism business in 2016.
3
✓ The visitor research program is designed to provide: ✓ Estimates of domestic overnight and day visitor volumes to Louisville. ✓ A profile of Louisville’s performance within its overnight travel market. ✓ Domestic visitor expenditures in Louisville. ✓ Profiles of Louisville’s day travel market. ✓ Relevant trends in each of these areas.
4
➢ Each quarter, a random, projectable sample of adult members (18 years of age and over) of a major U.S. consumer panel is invited to participate in the Travel USA® survey: ➢ Selected to be representative of the U.S. adult population
➢ For the 2016 travel year, this yielded : ➢ 308,946 trips for analysis nationally: ➢ 216,738 overnight trips ➢ 92,208 day trips
➢ For Louisville, the following sample was achieved in 2016: ➢ 1,181 trips: ➢ 710 overnight trips ➢ 471 day trips
➢ For analysis, data were weighted on key demographics to correct for any differences between the sample and U.S. population targets. 5
Key Findings
➢ In 2016, Louisville had 24.7 million person trips, increasing 2% from 2015. Of these trips, 37% were overnight trips. The rest were day trips. ➢ The overnight trips generated $1.32 billion in spending, increasing 3% from 2015. ➢ “Visiting friends and relatives” (at 45%) was the most frequent purpose for an overnight trip to Louisville. Marketable trips (those influenced by marketing efforts) were 39% of the total overnight trips. Coming for a special event was the highest marketable trip purpose. ➢ For overnight trips, the top state markets for Louisville visitors were Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Among DMAs, the top three visitor sources were Lexington, Nashville, and Chicago.
7
➢ Over two-thirds (71%) of Louisville visitors were very satisfied with the overall trip experience. Most satisfaction elements were similar to 2015. ➢ Of the overnight respondents, 80% have visited Louisville at least once. Sixty-eight percent (68%) had visited in the past year. ➢ Similar to the national average, over half (56%) of the overnight trips were planned 2 months or less before the trip. Similar to the national average, ten percent (10%) did not plan anything in advance. ➢ “Hotel or resort,” “online travel agencies,” and “advice from relatives or friends” were the most common planning sources for a Louisville overnight trip. “Hotel or resort” was the most common booking source.
8
➢ The average number of nights spent in Louisville for an overnight trip was 2.4 nights, down from 2.5 nights in 2015. The average travel party size was 2.8 persons. ➢ Eighty percent (80%) of overnight Louisville travelers arrived by personal car or truck. ➢ The top five overnight Louisville trip activities and experiences were “Shopping,” “Fine Dining,” “Landmark/Historic Site,” “Museum,” and “Swimming.” ➢ The highest social media activities on an overnight trip to Louisville were “posting photos online,” “reading travel reviews,” “looking at photos online,” and “accessing the internet to learn about travel deals, news, events, or promotions.” The usage of social media on the overnight trip slightly higher than 2015. 9
Size & Structure of the U.S. Travel Market
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
1.1%
Millions of Trips
2,000
1,500
1,000
1,451
1,480
1,532
1,568
1,585
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
500
0
11
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Visits to Friends/Relatives 43%
Business-Leisure 3%
Business 9%
12
Marketable 45%
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
All Overnight Trips
1
Visiting Friends/Relatives
-2
Marketable Trips
4
Business-Leisure Trips
-2
Business Trips
-1
-5
0 Percent Change
13
5
Size & Structure of Louisville’s Domestic Travel Market
Total Person-Trips = 24.7 Million +2.0% vs. 2015
Overnight Trips 37% 9.1 Million
15
Day Trips 63% 15.6 Million
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Millions of Trips
15
+5%
+2%
8.5
8.9
9.1
2014
2015
2016
10
5
0
16
Total Overnight Person-Trips = 9.1 Million
Adults 73% 6.6 Million
Children 27% 2.5 Million
17
Adult Overnight Person-Trips = 6.6 Million VFR 45% 3.0 Million BusinessLeisure 2% 0.1 Million Business 14% 0.9 Million
18
Marketable 39% 2.6 Million
Total Day Person-Trips = 15.6 Million Adults 72% 11.2 Million
Children 28% 4.4 Million
19
Adult Day Person-Trips = 11.2 Million VFR 38% 4.3 Million
BusinessLeisure 2% 0.2 Million Business 11% 1.2 Million
20
Marketable 49% 5.5 Million
Overnight Trip Expenditures
Total Spending = $1.316 Billion +2.6% vs. 2015 Restaurant Food & Beverage 23%
Lodging 40%
$305 Million
$525 Million
Recreation 12% $165 Million
Retail 14% Transportation 11% $141 Million
22
$180 Million
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
80
Dollars
60
40 $58 20
$34
$20
$18
$16
Recreation/ Sightseeing/ Entertainment
Transportation at Destination
0
Lodging
23
Restaurant Food & Retail Purchases Beverage
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
400
Dollars
300
200 $296 100 $129 0
Leisure
24
Business
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
200
Dollars
150
100 $168 50
$98 $58
$53
$45
Recreation/ Sightseeing/ Entertainment
Transportation at Destination
0
Lodging
25
Restaurant Food & Retail Purchases Beverage
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
800
Dollars
600
400 $613 200
$397
0
Leisure
26
Business
Overnight Trip Characteristics
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Visiting friends/relatives Special event City trip Marketable Touring Trips Outdoors 39% Theme park Casino
45 14
7 7 4 4 2
Other business trip Conference/convention
7 7
Business-leisure
2
0
10
20
30 Percent
28
40
50
Base: Overnight Person-Trips 45
Visiting friends/relatives
43 14
Special event
8 7
City trip
6 7
Touring
9
4
Outdoors
6 4 4
Theme park 2
Casino
4
0
10
20
30
40
Percent
Louisville 29
U.S. Norm
50
Base: Overnight Person-Trips 45
Visiting friends/relatives
44 14
Special event
14 7
City trip
4
7
Touring
9
Outdoors
4
Theme park
4
6
3 2
Casino
1
0
10
20
30 Percent
2016 30
2015
40
50
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
7
Conference/Convention 4
7
Other business trip 6
0
2
4
6
8
Percent
Louisville 31
U.S. Norm
10
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
7
Conference/Convention 7
7
Other business trip 8
0
2
4
6
Percent
2016 32
2015
8
10
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
States contributing 5% or more States contributing 3% - 5% DMA’s contributing more than 2% 33
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Kentucky Indiana Ohio Illinois Tennessee Florida California Texas New York Missouri Michigan
23 10 9 8 7 6 3 3 3 3 3
0
5
10 Percent
34
15
20
25
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Lexington, KY Nashville, KY/TN Chicago, IL Cincinnati, OH/KY Indianapolis-Lafayette, IN Louisville, KY Charleston-Huntington, KY/OH/WV Evansville, IL/IN/KY New York, NY/NJ/PA/CT Birmingham, AL Columbus, OH St. Louis, IL/MO
8 7 6 6 5 5
4 3 3 2 2 2
0
5 Percent
35
10
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
January-March
23
April-June
27
July-September
26
October-December
24
0
10
20 Percent
36
30
40
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Overall Trip Experience
71 67
Quality of Food
65 60
Friendliness of People
63 63
Quality of Accommodation
61 60
Value for Money
56 54
Sightseeing and Attractions
53 54
Music, Nightlife, and Entertainment
45 43
0
20
40 Percent
2016 37
2015
60
80
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
80
Ever in the Past
76
68
Past Year 66
0
20
40
60
Percent
2016 38
2015
80
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
4 5
More than 1 year in advance
10
6-12 months
14 20
3-5 months
17 18 17
2 months
38
1 month or less
34 10
Did not plan anything in advance
13
0
10
20
30
Percent
Louisville 39
U.S. Norm
40
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Hotel or resort
18 16
Online travel agencies
17 15 15
Advice from relatives or friends
14
Social Media
11 10 10
Destination websites
9
Travel company websites
8 9
Auto club/AAA
7 8
Airline/commercial carrier
5 11
Travel agent/company
5 8
0
5
10
15
Percent
Louisville 40
U.S. Norm
20
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Visitors' bureau/gov tourism office
4 3
Travel guide/other books
4 5
Magazine articles/ad
3 3
TV program/ad
3
3
800/888 number
3 3
Newspaper articles/ad
3 2
Lodging sharing websites
2 3
Radio show/ad
2 2
0
5
10
15
Percent
Louisville 41
U.S. Norm
20
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Hotel or resort
21 19
Online travel agencies
18 16
Travel agent/company
9 9
Travel company websites
7
Airline/commercial carrier
7
Auto club/AAA
6 6
9 13
Destination websites
5 5
Lodging sharing websites
3 3
800/888 number
3
Visitors' bureau/gov tourism office
2 2
5
0
5
10
15
20
Percent
Louisville 42
U.S. Norm
25
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
85
Used Any Device (net)
84 47
Laptop
45 40
Desktop/Home computer
42 35
Smartphone
30
17
Tablet
18
0
20
40
60
Percent
Louisville 43
U.S. Norm
80
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
85
Used Any Device (net)
83 71
Smartphone
66 35
Laptop
32 32
Tablet
32
0
20
40 Percent
Louisville 44
U.S. Norm
60
80
Average Louisville 3.4 nights
Average U.S. Norm 3.7 nights
1 night
23 22
2 nights
27
3-4 nights
26 27
30
5-6 nights
11 11
7-13 nights
8 10
14 + nights
2 3
0
10
20
30
Percent
Louisville 45
U.S. Norm
Base: Overnight Person-Trips with 1+ Nights Spent In Louisville
Average Nights Spent in Louisville = 2.4
1 night
41
2 nights
28
3-4 nights
21
5-6 nights
6
7 + nights
4
0
10
20
30
Percent 46
40
50
Base: Overnight Person-Trips with 1+ Nights Spent In Louisville
41
1 night
41 28
2 nights
32 21
3-4 nights
Average 2016 = 2.4 nights 2015 = 2.5 nights
17 6
5-6 nights
5 4
7 + nights
5
0
10
20
30 Percent
2016 47
2015
40
50
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Louisville
2.1
U.S. Norm
2.2
0
0.7
1
2 Average Number of People
Adults 48
Total = 2.8
0.7
Children
Total = 2.9
3
4
Base: Total Overnight Person-Trips 80
Own car/truck
67
Rental car
13
Plane
12
19 23
Taxi cab
7
Online taxi service
7
9 9 4 6
Bus 2 3
Camper, R.V 0
20
40
60
Percent
Louisville 49
U.S. Norm
80
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Hotel Home of Friend/Relative Motel Resort hotel Bed & Breakfast Other Rented Cottage/Cabin Campground/Trailer Park/RV Park Rented Home/Condo/Apartment Own Home/Condo/Apt/2nd Home Country Inn/Lodge Time Share
33
21 24 25 20
17 16
23
5 5 4 5 3 3 3 4 3 4 3 3 2 3 2 3
0
10
20
30
Percent
Louisville 50
U.S. Norm
40
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Shopping Fine Dining Landmark/Historic Site Museum Swimming Bar/Nightclub National/State Park Brewery Zoo Business Meeting Theme Park Hiking/Backpacking
31 33 17
20 14 13 13 11 12 15 10 10 9 11 9 5 8 6 8 5 8 9 6 7
0
10
20
30
Percent
Louisville 51
U.S. Norm
40
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Fair/Exhibition/Festival Dance Casino Theater Rock/Pop Concert Camping Winery Fishing Beach/Waterfront Conference/Convention Boating/Sailing Educational Seminar
6 5 6
5 6 11 6 7 6 3 6 5 6 4 5 6 5 14 4 4 4 4 4 3
0
10
20
30
Percent
Louisville 52
U.S. Norm
40
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Art Gallery Pro/College Sports Watch/Part. in Youth Sports Event Golf Biking Watch/Part. in Kids Sports Event Spa Trade Show Hunting Mountain Climbing Birding Rafting Watch/Part. in adult amateur sport
4 5 4 3 3 2 3 4 3 4 3 2 3 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2
0 53
10
Louisville
Percent
20
30
U.S. Norm
40
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Historic Places Family Reunion Cultural Activities/Attractions Brewery Tours/Beer Tasting Winery Tours/Tasting Exceptional Culinary Experiences Wedding Religious Travel Traveling with Grandchildren Eco-Tourism Medical Tourism Agritourism*
21 21 20 20 17 6 6
8 8
11
6
5 5
3
4 3
5 5
3 3 3 3
0
5
10
Louisville 54
*Added in 2016
18
9
Percent
15
20
U.S. Norm
25
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Used any social media for travel
78 72
Posted travel photos/video online
38 33 35
Read travel reviews
28 30 25 29 22
Looked at travel photos/video online Accessed travel news/events/deals/promotions Read a travel blog
15 14 14 12 13 13
Contributed travel reviews Got travel advice 0
20
40
60
Percent
Louisville 55
U.S. Norm
80
Base: Overnight Person-Trips 78
Used any social media for travel
72
13 14
Connected with others interested in travel Tweeted about a trip
11 10
"Followed" a destination/attraction
10 11
Gave travel advice
9 10 6 6
Subscribed to a travel e-newsletter
5 5
Blogged about a trip 0
20
40
60
Percent
Louisville 56
U.S. Norm
80
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Used any social media for travel
78 74
Posted travel photos/video online
38 40 35
Read travel reviews
27 30 25 29 28
Looked at travel photos/video online Accessed travel news/events/deals/promotions Read a travel blog
15 15 14 10 13 15
Contributed travel reviews Got travel advice 0
20
40
60
80
Percent
2016 57
2015
100
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Used any social media for travel
78 74
Connected with others interested in travel
13 15
Tweeted about a trip
11 10
"Followed" a destination/attraction
10 12
Gave travel advice
9 12
Subscribed to a travel e-newsletter
6 5
Blogged about a trip
5 7
0
20
40
60
80
Percent
2016 58
2015
100
Base: Overnight Person-Trips 39
AAA
42 19
AARP
21 6
National Motor Club
7 3
Better World Club
4
0
10
20
30
40
Percent
Louisville 59
U.S. Norm
50
Demographic Profile of Overnight Visitors
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
47
Male 51
53
Female 49
0
20
40
60
Percent
Louisville 61
U.S. Norm
80
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
Average U.S. Norm = 43.8
Average Louisville = 42.1 11
18-24
13 24
25-34
23 26
35-44
20
45-54
19 17 14
55-64
13 6
65+
14
0
10
Louisville 62
Percent
20
U.S. Norm
30
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
58
Married/with partner
63
23
Single/never married
24
Divorced/widowed/ separated
19 13
0
20
40
60
Percent
Louisville 63
U.S. Norm
80
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
17
1 member
20 35
2 members
33 20
3 members
19 13
4 members
17 15
5+ members
11
0
10
20
30
Percent
Louisville 64
U.S. Norm
40
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
44
No children under 18
52 21
Any child between 13-17
22 30
Any child between 6-12
26 25
Any child under 6
19
0
20
40 Percent
Louisville 65
U.S. Norm
60
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
21
Post-graduate
24 38
College graduate
40 26
Some college
21 15
High school or less
14 0
Other
1
0
10
20
30
Percent
Louisville 66
U.S. Norm
40
50
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
62
Full time/self-employed 55
11
Part time
11
27
Not employed/retired/other
34
0
10
20
30
40
Percent
Louisville 67
U.S. Norm
50
60
70
Base: Overnight Person-Trips
4
$150K+
6 12
$100-$149.9K
16 14
$75-$99.9K
17 23
$50-$74.9K
22 47