The Profile of First-time & Repeat Trips to Maine Maine Overnight Visitor Studies - Special Analytics Prepared for the: Maine Office of Tourism November 1, 2004

Travel Years 2 Profile of First-time Trips Background  This report profiles the similarities and differences between first-time trip takers and repeat overnight trip takers to Maine.  First-time trips account for approximately one-in-five of Maine’s overnight Marketable trips.

Travel Years 3 First-time Trips as a Proportion of Maine’s Overall Marketable Trips Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 4 Profile of First-time Trips Analytical Method  Source: Maine Overnight Visitor Studies  Data was collapsed across the three travel years to yield a meaningful base size of First-time Marketable Trips to Maine for these analytics.

Findings

Travel Years 6 Trip-Type Mix  91% of repeat trips are pleasure trips.  45% are VFR and 46% are Marketable trips  85% of first-time trips are pleasure trips  30% are VFR and 55% are Marketable trips.  Touring trips, on their own, account for 52% of these first-time Marketable trips.  Special Event trips rank second with 14%.  The comparative importance of Cruise trips is also noteworthy. They account for 9% of first-time trips versus 3% of repeat trips.

Travel Years 7 Trip-Type Mix Base: Overnight Trips

Travel Years 8 Marketable Trip Mix Base: Overnight Marketable Trips Note: Maine is but one stop on the Cruise trips. <1%

Focus on Marketable Trips

Travel Years 10 Sources of Business  Repeat trips are predominantly accounted for by five states:  Massachusetts (31%)  Maine itself (19%)  New Hampshire (9%), New York (8%), and Connecticut (6%).  The source of first-time trips is far less focused.  New York contributes the largest single-share at 12% but twelve other states contribute between 3% and 7% each.  Larger urban centers contribute proportionately more to first- time trips than repeat trips. (55% vs. 37%).

Travel Years 11 State Sources of Business Base: Overnight Marketable Trips List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 12 State Sources of Business cont’d Base: Overnight Marketable Trips <1%

Travel Years 13 Urban Sources of First-time Trips* Base: Overnight Marketable Trips * DMA of residence

Travel Years 14 Urban Sources of Repeat Trips* Base: Overnight Marketable Trips * DMA of residence

Travel Years 15 Community Size Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 16 Demographic Profile  The profile of travelers on first-time trips leans a little more:  female than those on repeat visits (58% vs. 42%),  younger (36% vs. 25% are under 34 years of age), and hence includes more singles and one-person households.  They also lean to a higher socio-economic group in terms of job type, income, education.

Travel Years 17 Gender Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 18 Age Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 19 Marital Status Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 20 Household Size Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 21 Children in Household Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 22 Employment Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 23 Occupation Base: Overnight Marketable Trips by Those Employed

Travel Years 24 Income Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 25 Education Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 26 Trip Planning and Booking  First-time trips tend to be planned and booked farther ahead than repeat trips.  The first-time travelers are also more likely to:  use outside information sources including the internet  47% use the internet compared with 27% of repeat trips;  book through a travel agent (19%) or over the internet (50%) when they do book ahead;  avail themselves of pre-paid packages (21%) and escorted group tours (11%).

Travel Years 27 Planning Cycle Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 28 Information Sources Used for Planning Base: Overnight Marketable Trips List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 29 Information Sources Used for Planning cont’d Base: Overnight Marketable Trips <1%

Travel Years 30 Use of Information Services for Planning Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 31 Percent Who Booked In Advance Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 32 Booking Cycle Base: Overnight Marketable Trips Booked in Advance

Travel Years 33 Methods of Booking Base: Overnight Marketable Trips Booked in Advance

Travel Years 34 Use of Vacation Packages & Group Travel Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 35 Marketable Trip Characteristics  Compared with repeat trips, first-time travelers:  have comparably sized travel parties but are less likely to include children;  arrive from much farther away (80% vs. 22% come from 500+ miles away);  are on much longer trips (9.6 vs. 5.6 nights);  are more likely to travel in October-December (22% vs. 13%).

Travel Years 36 Marketable Trip Characteristics cont’d  First-time travelers are also more likely to arrive by commercial transportation.  44% vs. 70% of repeat travelers arrive in their own car.  Many come instead by rental car (14%), plane (9%), and ferry or other boat (16%).  They likewise rely more on all types of commercial accommodation rather than private or rented houses, cottages, or cabins.

Travel Years 37 Size of Travel Party Base: Overnight Marketable Trips Total: 3.3 Total: 3.4

Travel Years 38 Composition of Travel Party Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 39 Distance Traveled Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 40 Total Nights Away Base: Overnight Marketable Trips First-timeRepeat Average # of Nights9.65.6

Travel Years 41 Length of Stay Base: Overnight Marketable Trips Total: 9.6 Total: 5.6

Travel Years 42 Season of Trip Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 43 Transportation Used to Enter Maine Base: Overnight Marketable Trips Personal Commercial

Travel Years 44 Transportation Used in Maine Base: Overnight Marketable Trips Personal Commercial

Travel Years 45 Accommodations Used * * Percent of trip nights spent in each type of accommodation Base: Overnight Marketable Trips <1%

Travel Years 46 Regions & Places Visited  First-time visitors visit more regions than repeat visitors.  Of particular note, however, is Downeast & Acadia,  51% of first-timers spend at least some time in it and it is the main destination for 39% of them.  Only 23% of repeat visitors travel there and their first choice is the Southern Coast.  Specific places that they are far more likely to visit are:  Portland, Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park, Kennebunkport, and The Forks.

Travel Years 47 Regions Spent Time In Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 48 Main Destination in Maine Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

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Travel Years 50 Places Visited in Maine cont’d Base: Overnight Marketable Trips List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 51 Places Visited in Maine cont’d Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 52 Activities in Maine  First-time travelers engage more in a variety of activities on their trips than do repeat travelers.

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Travel Years 54 Activities in Maine cont’d List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 55 Activities in Maine cont’d List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 56 Activities in Maine cont’d List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 57 Activities in Maine cont’d List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 58 Activities in Maine cont’d <1% List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 59 Activities in Maine cont’d <1% List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 60 Activities in Maine cont’d Where percentage is not specified, level is less than 1%.

Travel Years 61 Maine Product Delivery  First-time travelers rated their Maine experience more favorably than repeat travelers for:  being Exciting and having good Entertainment.  They rated it less favorably for:  Family Atmosphere, being Popular, and especially Affordability.

Travel Years 62 Maine Product Delivery cont’d  Their experience was comparable with regards to:  Sightseeing  except for shopping and having interesting antiques and crafts;  being Unique  except for having interesting inns & B&B’s, and interesting customs and traditions;  Sports & Recreation  except for boating/water sports, kayaking, river rafting, golfing, swimming, and hunting.

Travel Years 63 Adult Atmosphere Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 64 Exciting Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 65 Family Atmosphere Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 66 Worry-Free Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 67 Popular Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 68 Unique Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 69 Climate Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 70 Sightseeing Base: Overnight Marketable Trips List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 71 Sightseeing cont’d Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 72 Luxurious Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 73 Sports & Recreation Base: Overnight Marketable Trips List continues on next slide …

Travel Years 74 Sports & Recreation cont’d

Travel Years 75 Affordable Base: Overnight Marketable Trips

Travel Years 76 Entertainment Base: Overnight Marketable Trips