Market Research Monitoring Customer Service This resource was produced by Walsall Travel and Tourism Development Group and The Alton Towers Resort for the Diploma in Travel and Tourism.

Market research is used by companies to find out what they can offer customers to meet their needs and expectations. How do you think the Alton Towers Resort could carry out Market Research? Explain the key term – Market Research– ask students to suggest how Alton Towers can find out about its customers.

Market Research Methods - Ticket Sales Car Park Questionnaire Touch Screen Data Collection (from promotional leaflets) Hotel Data Focus Groups PDA Data Collection Ticket Sales – Data on the number of adult, child, group etc… are collected and analysed. Car Park Questionnaire – These are placed on all cars in the car park and around 10% are returned. Touch Screen – These are in the hotel reception and in the park to receive guest feedback. Data Collection – Promotional leaflets have a barcode so that data can be collected on the campaign success. Guest data is also collected (frequency of visits, location etc..) Hotel Data – Details on the guests are stored. PDA Data Collection – when a new ride opens staff evaluate its success by interviewing guests at the ride exit and getting them to score the ride.

You have been asked by the resort to find out about the success of Th13teen. You will need to design a questionnaire to use on the PDA’s to collect data. You can only ask five questions – design a questionnaire to collect this data. This task requires students to think about designing some data collection sheets. They should understand open and closed questions and the importance of collecting numerical data. Students should not collect data in the resort, this task is about question design.

57% of riders stated that TH13TEEN was a driver for visiting PDA’s were used to collect data at the exit to Th13teen. The following results were obtained: 94% pre-arrival awareness, largely through TV (55%) and altontowers.com (25%) 57% of riders stated that TH13TEEN was a driver for visiting Overall ride score – over 8. These are the results from an exit survey on Th13teen, taken in its first two weeks of opening.

Market Research Monitoring Customer Service This resource was produced by Walsall Travel and Tourism Development Group and The Alton Towers Resort for the Diploma in Travel and Tourism.