Travel, hospitality & leisure

Understand how travelers choose where to go

Decide what to emphasize in destination marketing, which attraction features to develop, or how to serve different travel occasions. Russell designs the research around the people making that choice and the alternatives they consider.

Discuss a Travel Study See Destination Tracking Work

Three decisions that call for different research

A destination campaign, a new attraction, and a roadside stop each involve a different choice. These examples show how the audience and research design would change with the question.

Destination marketing

Which reasons to visit should your campaign emphasize?

Who the research needs to include: People in the destination's target markets, with relevant travel plans and experience. Define which traveler groups need separate comparisons.
How we would study it: Measure the factors behind destination choice and responses to the campaign over time. Review those findings alongside website activity and occupancy data to give the marketing team a fuller view of performance.

Explore destination and brand tracking

Attractions and visitor experiences

Which features and ticket offers are worth developing?

Who the research needs to include: Potential visitors in the intended market. Current customers can help evaluate an extension, but the sample must also reflect the people the new offer is meant to attract.
How we would study it: Explain the proposed experience, compare feature priorities, and examine which combinations appeal to different visitors. When price is part of the decision, test offers that require people to weigh features against ticket cost and alternatives.

See how we study features and price

Travel stops and trip occasions

What does the traveler need on this particular stop?

Who the research needs to include: Travelers describing a specific trip or stop. Separate trip circumstances from personal characteristics, and distinguish professional-driver needs when they are part of the assignment.
How we would study it: Examine the purpose of the stop, time available, needs, and alternatives considered. A quick refueling visit and a longer break may call for different services even when the traveler is the same person.

Explore occasion-based demand research

Destination research used in marketing decisions

In this published engagement, a tourism bureau used recurring research to revise communications and assess target-audience response through changing travel conditions.

Travelers in an airport terminal as a plane takes off outside

Published case study

Tracking that guided a destination's marketing

A multi-year tracker measured vacation-decision drivers and campaign response. The destination used an interactive dashboard to review survey results alongside hotel occupancy and website visits.

Tracking program: Multi-year; The measurement continued through changing conditions.
Data sources: 3; Survey, hotel occupancy, and website data appeared together.

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What decision is your team preparing to make?

Tell us about the destination, attraction, or travel service, who you need to understand, and when the decision is due. Include any existing research or visitor data the study should build on.

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