asheville 2016 visitor research · it is currently the largest ongoing study conducted of american...

Asheville 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 Asheville’s Domestic Travel Market…………………………….. 13

Overnight Expenditures……………………………………………………………...… 18

Overnight Trip Characteristics………………………………………………………… 23

Demographic Profile of Overnight Visitors…………………………………............… 56

Day Trip Expenditures……………………………………………………………...… 67

Day Trip Characteristics……………………………………………………………… 72

Demographic Profile of Day Visitors…………………………………………...........… 92

Appendix: Key Terms Defined…………………………………………………………….. 103

✓ 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 Asheville’s domestic tourism business

in 2016.

3

✓ The visitor research program is designed to provide:

✓ Estimates of domestic overnight and day visitor volumes to Asheville

✓ A profile of Asheville’s performance within its overnight travel market.

✓ Profiles of Asheville’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 Asheville, the following sample was achieved in 2016:

➢ 1,102 trips:

➢ 792 overnight trips

➢ 310 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, Asheville had 10.8 million person trips, increasing 6% from

2015. Of these trips, 34% were overnight trips. The rest were day

trips.

➢ “Visiting friends and relatives” (at 35%) was the most frequent purpose

for an overnight trip to Asheville. Marketable trips (those influenced by

marketing efforts) were 58% of the total overnight trips. Coming to tour

through the region, was the highest marketable trip purpose.

➢ For overnight trips, the top state markets for Asheville visitors were

North Carolina, Florida, and South Carolina. Among DMAs, the top

three visitor sources were Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greenville-

Spartanburg.

7

➢ Almost eight out of ten (80%) of Asheville visitors, were very satisfied with the overall trip experience. Most satisfaction elements were rated higher than 2015.

➢ Of the overnight respondents, 76% have visited Asheville at least once. Sixty (60%) percent had visited in the past year.

➢ Similar to the national average, over half (55%) of the overnight trips were planned 2 months or less before the trip. Less than the national average, seven percent (7%) did not plan anything in advance.

➢ “Advice from relatives or friends,” “online travel agencies,” and “hotel or resort,” were the most common planning sources for a Asheville overnight trip. “Hotel or resort” was the most common booking source.

8

➢ The average number of nights spent in Asheville for an overnight trip

was 2.5 nights, down from 3.1 nights in 2015. The average travel

party size was 2.8 persons.

➢ Almost eighty-percent (79%) of overnight Asheville travelers arrived

by personal car or truck.

➢ The top five activities and experiences on an overnight trip to

Asheville were “Shopping,” “Landmark/Historic Site,” “Fine Dining,”

“National/State Park,” and “Hiking/Backpacking.”

9

Size & Structure of the

U.S. Travel Market

Visits to Friends/Relatives

43%

Marketable45%

Business9%

Business-Leisure3%

Base: Overnight Person-Trips

11

12

1

-2

4

-2

-1

-5 0 5

All Overnight Trips

Visiting Friends/Relatives

Marketable Trips

Business-Leisure Trips

Business Trips

Percent Change


Size & Structure of

Asheville Domestic

Travel Market

Total Person-Trips = 10.8 Million

Day Trips66%

Overnight Trips34%

3.7 Million

7.1 Million

+3.8% vs. 2015

14

3.3 3.5 3.7

0

5

10

2013 2015 2016

Mill

ions o

f T

rips

+6%


15

+6%

VFR35%

Marketable58%

Business4%

Business-Leisure

3%

1.3 Million

2.1 Million

0.2 Million

0.1 Million

Adult Overnight Person-Trips = 3.7 Million

16

VFR27%

Marketable69%Business

3%

Business-Leisure

1%

4.9 Million

0.2 Million

0.1 Million

Adult Day Person-Trips = 7.1 Million

1.9 Million

17

Overnight Trip

Expenditures

$71

$40

$23 $18$12

0

20

40

60

80

100

Lodging Restaurant Food &Beverage

Retail Purchases Recreation/Sightseeing/

Entertainment

Transportation atDestination

Dolla

rs


19

$160

0

100

200

Leisure Business*

Do

llars

* Low base sizes


20

$206

$116

$68 $52 $350

50

100

150

200

250

300

Lodging Restaurant Food &Beverage


Entertainment


Do

llars


21

$478

0

200

400

600

Leisure Business*

Dolla

rs

* Low base sizes


22

Overnight Trip

Characteristics

35

25

9

8

6

5

2

2

2

3

0 10 20 30 40

Visiting friends/relatives

Touring

Outdoors

Special event

Resort

City trip

Casino

Conference/convention

Other business trip

Business-leisure

Percent

Marketable

Trips

58%


24

35

25

9

8

6

5

2

43

9

6

8

5

6

4

0 10 20 30 40 50


Touring

Outdoors

Special event

Resort

City trip

Casino

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


25

35

25

9

8

6

5

2

39

22

9

6

4

5

2

0 10 20 30 40


Touring

Outdoors

Special event

Resort

City trip

Casino

Percent

2016 2015


26

2

2

4

6

0 2 4 6 8 10

Conference/Convention

Other business trip

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


27

2

2

2

2

0 2 4 6 8 10


Other business trip

Percent

2016 2015


28

29

States contributing 5% or more

States contributing 3% - 5%

DMA’s contributing more than 2%


28

12

10

7

6

5

4

3

3

3

3

0 10 20 30

North Carolina

Florida

South Carolina

Georgia

Virginia

Tennessee

New York

Texas

California

Kentucky

Ohio

Percent


30

10

8

8

6

4

4

3

3

3

2

2

0 10 20

Charlotte, NC

Raleigh-Durham, NC

Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville, SC

Atlanta, GA

New York, NY/NJ/PA/CT

Greensboro-H. Point-W. Salem, NC

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, FL

Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbrn, FL

Knoxville, TN

Greenville-New Bern-Washington, NC

Columbia, SC

Percent


31

20

26

27

27

0 10 20 30 40

January-March

April-June

July-September

October-December

Percent


32

79

74

71

70

64

53

42

69

64

61

61

54

47

39

0 20 40 60 80 100

Overall trip experience

Friendliness of people

Sightseeing/ attractions

Quality of food

Quality of accomodations

Value for the money

Music/ nightlife/ entertainment

Percent

2016 2015

33


76

60

78

65

0 20 40 60 80 100

Ever

Past Year

Percent

2016 2015

34


2

17

19

22

33

7

5

14

17

17

34

13

0 10 20 30 40

More than 1 year in advance

6-12 months

3-5 months

2 months

1 month or less

Did not plan anything in advance

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


35

20

19

18

16

13

9

9

9

14

15

16

9

10

8

3

9

0 5 10 15 20 25

Advice from relatives or friends

Online travel agencies

Hotel or resort

Destination websites

Social Media

Auto club/AAA

Lodging sharing websites

Travel company websites

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


36

7

6

6

5

4

3

3

2

3

11

5

3

8

3

3

2

0 5 10 15 20 25

Visitors' bureau/gov tourism office

Airline/commercial carrier

Travel guide/other books

800/888 number

Travel agent/company

Magazine articles/ad

TV program/ad

Newspaper articles/ad

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


37

24

19

8

8

7

7

6

6

4

3

2

19

16

3

13

9

5

6

5

2

9

2

0 5 10 15 20 25

Hotel or resort

Online travel agencies

Lodging sharing websites

Airline/commercial carrier

Travel company websites

800/888 number

Auto club/AAA

Destination websites

Visitors' bureau/gov tourism office

Travel agent/company

Travel/ski show or exhibition

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


38

90

51

40

31

21

84

45

42

30

18

0 20 40 60 80 100

Used Any Device (net)

Laptop

Desktop/Home computer

Smartphone

Tablet

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


39

89

73

38

31

83

66

32

32

0 20 40 60 80 100

Used Any Device (net)

Smartphone

Tablet

Laptop

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


40

16

26

31

13

11

3

22

27

27

11

10

3

0 10 20 30 40

1 night

2 nights

3-4 nights

5-6 nights

7-13 nights

14 + nights

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm

Average Asheville

3.8 nightsAverage U.S. Norm

3.7 nights

41

34

28

27

6

5

0 10 20 30 40

1 night

2 nights

3-4 nights

5-6 nights

7 + nights

Percent

Average Nights Spent in Asheville = 2.5

Base: Overnight Person-Trips with 1+ Nights Spent In Asheville

42

34

28

27

6

5

33

27

25

9

6

0 10 20 30 40

1 night

2 nights

3-4 nights

5-6 nights

7 + nights

Percent

2016 2015

Average

2016 = 2.5 nights

2015 = 3.1 nights

Base: Overnight Person-Trips with 1+ Nights Spent In Asheville

43

2.3

2.2

0.5

0.7

0 1 2 3 4

Asheville

U.S. Norm

Average Number of People

Adults Children

Total = 2.8

Total = 2.9


44

79

15

14

5

4

2

2

2

2

67

19

23

9

9

6

1

5

3

0 20 40 60 80

Own car/truck

Rental car

Plane

Online taxi service

Taxi cab

Bus

Motorcycle

Train

Camper, R.V

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm

Base: Total Overnight Person-Trips

45

25

23

21

14

9

6

5

5

4

3

2

4

21

25

17

23

3

4

3

4

5

3

3

5

0 10 20 30

Other Hotel

Home of Friend/Relative

Motel

Resort hotel

Rented Cottage/Cabin

Rented Home/Condo/Apartment

Country Inn/Lodge

Campground/Trailer Park/RV Park

Bed & Breakfast

Time Share

Own Home/Condo/Apt/2nd Home

Other

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


46

42

33

27

24

22

17

16

14

11

9

8

8

7

33

13

20

11

7

11

5

4

15

10

5

14

6

0 15 30 45

ShoppingLandmark/Historic Site

Fine DiningNational/State ParkHiking/Backpacking

MuseumBrewery

WinerySwimming

Bar/NightclubFair/Exhibition/Festival

Beach/WaterfrontFishing

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


47

7

6

6

6

5

5

5

4

4

4

4

4

3

5

6

5

7

11

2

4

4

6

5

1

4

9

0 15 30 45

Art GalleryZoo

CampingTheaterCasino

Mountain ClimbingGolf

Boating/SailingSpa

Business MeetingRafting

BikingTheme Park

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


48

3

3

3

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

3

5

3

1

2

4

2

1

2

2

2

2

0 15 30 45

Rock/Pop Concert

Dance

Educational Seminar

Glamping

Tennis


Watch/Participate in Youth/Teenager Sports

Skiing/Snowboarding

Trade Show

Hunting

Birding

Watch/Particpate in Kids Sports Event

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


49

43

26

20

17

16

14

6

5

5

5

2

2

21

18

20

11

6

6

5

3

5

5

3

3

0 15 30 45

Historic Places

Cultural Activities/Attractions

Family Reunion

Exceptional Culinary Experiences

Brewery Tours/Beer Tasting

Winery Tours/Tasting

Wedding

Agritourism

Eco-Tourism

Traveling with Grandchildren

Religious Travel

Medical Tourism

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


50

78

39

34

26

25

16

15

14

72

33

28

25

22

14

12

13

0 20 40 60 80 100

Used any social media for travel

Posted travel photos/video online

Read travel reviews

Looked at travel photos/video online

Accessed travel news/events/deals/promotions

Read a travel blog

Contributed travel reviews

Got travel advice

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


51

78

14

11

9

8

6

5

72

14

11

10

10

6

5

0 20 40 60 80 100


Connected with others interested in travel

"Followed" a destination/attraction

Tweeted about a trip

Gave travel advice

Subscribed to a travel e-newsletter

Blogged about a trip

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


52

78

39

34

26

25

16

15

14

73

36

32

25

21

13

11

14

0 20 40 60 80 100



Read travel reviews



Read a travel blog


Got travel advice

Percent

2016 2015


53

78

14

11

9

8

6

5

73

12

12

9

11

8

6

0 20 40 60 80 100





Gave travel advice



Percent

2016 2015


54

55

43

25

4

3

42

21

7

4

0 10 20 30 40 50

AAA

AARP

National Motor Club

Better World Club

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


Demographic Profile

of Overnight Visitors

57

43

57

51

49

0 20 40 60

Male

Female

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


58

11

22

15

20

17

15

13

23

20

17

13

14

0 10 20 30

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm

Average Asheville = 45.9 Average U.S. Norm = 43.8


59

65

21

14

63

24

13

0 20 40 60 80

Married/with partner

Single/never married

Divorced/widowed/separated

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


17

40

18

16

9

20

33

19

17

11

0 15 30 45

1 member

2 members

3 members

4 members

5+ members

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


60

61

57

18

21

17

52

22

26

19

0 20 40 60

No children under 18

Any child between 13-17


Any child under 6

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


62

22

46

20

11

1

24

40

21

14

1

0 10 20 30 40 50

Post-graduate

College graduate

Some college

High school or less

Other

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


63

53

9

38

55

11

34

0 20 40 60

Full time/ self-employed

Part time

Not employed/retired/ other

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


64

5

16

12

26

41

6

16

17

22

39

0 10 20 30 40 50

$150K+

$100-$149.9K

$75-$99.9K

$50-$74.9K

<$49.9K

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


91

4

5

84

7

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

White

African-American

Other

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


65

66

95

5

91

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

No

Yes

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


Day Trip

Expenditures

Base: Day Person-Trips

$19 $18

$11$7

0

10

20

30

Restaurant Food &Beverage


Entertainment


Do

llars

68

$55

0

50

100

Leisure Business*

Dolla

rs

* Low base sizes


69

$52 $49

$31

$19

0

20

40

60

80

Restaurant Food &Beverage


Entertainment


Dolla

rs


70

$151

0

50

100

150

200

Leisure Business*

Do

llars

* Low base sizes


71

Day Trip

Characteristics

27

29

12

10

6

6

2

2

1

1

0 5 10 15 20 25 30


Touring

Outdoors

Shopping

Special event

City trip

Theme park

Conference/convention

Other business trip

Business-leisure

Percent

MarketableTrips69%


73

29

27

12

10

6

6

2

12

37

7

8

8

8

3

0 10 20 30 40

Touring


Outdoors

Shopping

Special event

City trip

Theme park

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


74

29

27

12

10

6

6

2

24

28

9

13

6

8

1

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Touring


Outdoors

Shopping

Special event

City trip

Theme park

Percent

2016 2015


75

2

4

2

5

0 2 4 6 8


Other business trip

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


76

2

4

1

7

0 2 4 6 8 10


Other business trip

Percent

2016 2015


77

78

States contributing 5% or more

States contributing 3% - 5%

DMA’s contributing more than 2%


59

15

8

4

3

0 20 40 60

North Carolina

South Carolina

Tennessee

Georgia

Texas

Percent


79

28

22

10

9

5

3

3

2

2

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Charlotte, NC

Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville, SC

Raleigh-Durham, NC

Greensboro-H. Point-W. Salem, NC

Tri-Cities, TN/VA

Atlanta, GA

Knoxville, TN

Columbia, SC

New York, NY/NJ/PA/CT

Percent


80

20

26

27

27

0 10 20 30 40

January-March

April-June

July-September

October-December

Percent


81

2.1

2.1

0.7

0.6

0 1 2 3 4

Asheville

U.S. Norm

Average Number of People

Adults Children


82

Total = 2.8

Total = 2.7

38

24

16

14

13

7

6

6

5

4

28

8

12

5

7

8

3

3

3

4

0 10 20 30 40

Shopping

Landmark/Historic Site

Fine Dining

Hiking/Backpacking

National/State Park

Museum

Art Gallery

Brewery

Winery

Fishing

Percent

Ashevillle U.S. Norm


83

3

3

3

3

2

2

2

2

2

4

4

6

5

1

3

1

2

3

0 10 20 30 40

Fair/Exhibition/Festival

Bar/Nightclub

Swimming

Zoo

Mountain Climbing

Camping

Motorcycle Touring

Rock/Pop Concert

Dance

Percent



84

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

1

2

1

4

2

1

2

4

8

0 10 20 30 40

Birding

Educational Seminar

Watch/Participate in Adult Amateur Sports

Business Meeting


Watch/Particpate in Kids Sports Event

Golf

Theater

Beach/Waterfront

Percent



85

33

18

12

10

8

7

6

6

6

4

3

3

17

14

8

15

4

2

4

4

4

3

2

2

0 10 20 30 40

Historic Places

Cultural Activities/Attractions

Exceptional Culinary Experiences

Family Reunion

Brewery Tours/Beer Tasting

Agritourism

Winery Tours/Wine Tasting

Traveling with Grandchildren

Eco-Tourism

Wedding

Religious Travel

Medical Tourism

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


86

74

36

32

25

24

15

13

12

69

31

26

24

22

12

9

13

0 20 40 60 80 100



Read travel reviews



Got travel advice


Read a travel blog

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm

87


74

11

11

9

9

6

4

69

13

10

8

8

4

6

0 20 40 60 80 100




Gave travel advice




Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm

88


74

36

32

25

24

15

13

12

66

30

29

26

22

13

10

12

0 20 40 60 80 100



Read travel reviews



Got travel advice


Read a travel blog

Percent

2016 2015


89

74

11

11

9

9

6

4

66

12

11

9

5

4

6

0 20 40 60 80 100




Gave travel advice




Percent

2016 2015


90

35

17

5

3

38

19

3

6

0 10 20 30 40

AAA

AARP

Better World Club

National MotorClub

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm

91


Demographic Profile

of Day Visitors

93

43

57

48

52

0 20 40 60

Male

Female

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


14

20

19

22

12

13

12

21

20

19

14

14

0 5 10 15 20 25

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm

Average Asheville = 44.0 Average U.S. Norm = 44.7


94

95

62

25

13

62

23

15

0 20 40 60 80

Married/ with partner

Single/never married

Divorced/widowed/separated

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


96

22

32

22

16

8

20

33

19

17

11

0 10 20 30 40

1 member

2 members

3 members

4 members

5+ members

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


97

52

25

21

15

52

22

25

18

0 20 40 60

No children under 18



Any child under 6

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


98

17

43

20

20

<1

20

39

23

17

1

0 10 20 30 40 50

Post-graduate

College graduate

Some college

High school or less

Other

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


99

50

15

35

51

11

38

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Full time/self-employed

Part-time

Not employed/retired/other

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


100

6

9

11

26

48

5

13

14

22

46

0 10 20 30 40 50

$150K+

$100-$149.9K

$75-$99.9K

$50-$74.9K

<$49.9K

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


101

85

9

6

85

6

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

White

African-American

Other

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


102

97

3

92

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

No

Yes

Percent

Asheville U.S. Norm


Appendix:

Key Terms Defined

➢ An Overnight Trip is any journey for business or pleasure, outside your community

and not part of your normal routine, where you spent one more nights away from home.

➢ A Day Trip is any journey for business or pleasure, outside your community and not

part of your normal routine, that did not include an overnight stay. Day trips involve

travel of more than 50 miles from home.

➢ A Person-Trip is one trip taken by one visitor.

➢ Person-trips are the key unit of measure for this report.

104

➢ Leisure Trips: Include all trips where the main purpose was one of the following:

➢ Visiting friends/relatives

➢ Touring through a region to experience its scenic beauty, history and culture

➢ Outdoors trip to enjoy activities such as camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, and boating

➢ Special event, such as a fair, festival, or sports event

➢ City trip

➢ Cruise

➢ Casino

➢ Theme park

➢ Resort (ocean beach, inland or mountain resort)

➢ Skiing/snowboarding

➢ Golf

➢ Business Trips:

➢ Conference/convention

➢ Other business trip

➢ Business-Leisure: a trip for business where, on the same trip, the visitor stayed for at least one

additional day to experience the same place or nearby area simply for leisure.

105

Marketable Trips:Include all leisure trips, with the exception ofvisits to friends/relatives

Total Trips = Leisure + Business + Business-Leisure

asheville 2016 visitor research · it is currently the largest ongoing study conducted of american...

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