2006 ESADE- eDREAMS SURVEY TRENDS IN THE PRICE SENSITIVITY OF SPANISH TOURISTS Authors: Dr. Josep-Francesc Valls, Director of the ESADE International Tourism Symposium Dr. Mar Vila, Director of ESADE's Centre for Tourism Management Research Assistant: Marta Molist

3,347 visitors to the eDreams web site who were aged between 16 and 66 63% women and 37% men Average age: 37 Number of responses: 631 (18.85%) Margin of Error: 3.51%, assuming a maximum confidence interval (p=q=0.5) and 95% confidence level Sample

Main reason for travelling Source: ESADE – eDREAMS 2006

Days holiday Source: ESADE – eDREAMS 2006

Days spent travelling Source: ESADE – eDREAMS 2006

Number of journeys carried out in the previous year Source: ESADE – eDREAMS 2006

Budget earmarked for tourism compared with the previous year

Reasons for travelling to a given destination Source: ESADE – eDREAMS % 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% There are bargain Deals on the Internet I have always gone there Friends and family recommend it It is in vogueSeeking something new Is a tourist brand that carries kudos V. high High Medium Low V. low % 10% 18% 28% 37% 40% 26% 20% 8% 5% 10% 23% 39% 23% 5% 44% 32% 18% 4% 2% 5% 16% 38% 35% 23% 21% 30% 17% 9% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% There are bargain deals on the Internet I have always gone there Friends and family recommend it It is in vogueSeeking something new Is a tourist brand that carries kudos V. high High Medium Low V. low

Trends in the quality of tourist products Source: ESADE – eDREAMS 2006

Willingness to pay more Source: ESADE – eDREAMS % 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% I am unwilling to pay more Would pay more if the tourist products were better NR No Yes % 20.44% 24% 51% 25.36% 23% 32% 42.31% 26% 13% 60.38% 26% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% I am unwilling to pay more Would pay more if the tourist products were better Would pay more if the tourist products were More exclusive Would pay more if the tourist products belonged to a prestigious brand NR No Yes Would pay more if the tourist products were more exclusive Would pay more if the tourist products belonged to a prestigious brand

Very important - J Fairly important - K Neither - L Not very important -M Unimportant - N Quality factors linked to price. Source: ESADE – eDREAMS % 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% (A)(B)(C)(D)(E)(F)(G) J K L M N

Does a higher price always mean greater quality? 6% 78% 16% Yes NoNo response 6% 93% 1%

7% 2% 46% 2% 6% 4% 21% 6% 5% 73% 87% 33% 83% 73% 46% 67% 47% 77% 65% 19% 11% 20% 15% 25% 48% 29% 32% 17% 30% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Hotels Restaurants Flight Bars Shops Museums Shows Car hire Taxis Congress services The same Dearer Cheaper Source: ESADE – eDREAMS 2006 Tourist price trends over the last three years in Spain 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Hotels Restaurants Flight Bars Shops Museums Shows Car hire Taxis Congress services Same Dearer Cheaper

Future price trends 15% 3% 37% 3% 4% 7% 6% 18% 5% 63% 81% 41% 80% 74% 50% 69% 53% 79% 53% 21% 16% 22% 17% 22% 43% 26% 29% 16% 42% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Hotels Restaurants Flight Bars Shops Museums Shows Car hire Taxis Congress services Same Dearer Cheaper Source: ESADE – eDREAMS % 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Hotels Restaurants Flight Bars Shops Museums Shows Car hire Taxis Congress services Same Dearer Cheaper 2005

Source: ESADE – eDREAMS 2006 Information search systems 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% (A)(B)(C)(D) J K L M N % 2% 7% 30% 61.0% 4% 8% 24% 43% 20.1% 20% 27% 24% 22% 7.6% 10% 19% 34% 28% 8.7% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% (A) Through the Internet (B) Through the media, guides and travel books (C) Through traditional travel agents (D) Through friends and relatives Strongly preferred - J Preferred - K Neither - L Little preferred - M Strong negative preference - N

Purchasing channels 2006 Source: ESADE – eDREAMS % 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% (A)(B) (C)(D) (E) J K L M N 10% 12% 20% 32% 26% 7% 9% 13% 35% 36% 17% 22% 30% 14% 29% 23% 20% 22% 6% 17% 22% 26% 19% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% ( A) Airline web sites (B) Online travel agents (C) Traditional travel agents (D) By phone (E) In person Strong preference - J Preferred - K Neither -L Little preferred - M Strong negative preference -N

Is it always possible to find the cheapest price? 9% 42% 49% Yes No In most cases Source: ESADE – eDREAMS % 48% 47% YNIn most cases

Important attributes when choosing a holiday 1% 13% 1% 18% 2% 3% 4% 37% 12% 32% 43% 23% 49% 41% 63% 51% 9% 36% 43% 5% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Cheap Good service Famous brand Convenience Reliability Very important Fairly important Neither Fairly unimportant Not at all important 2006

CONCLUSIONS In the second year of the ESADE-eDreams survey, the general reason for "visiting the place" continues to be the most common reason for making the trip; the tourist destination needs to be attractive, novel, and to facilitate socialisation. However, the importance respondents placed on that most passive of reasons - relaxation - and the decline of culture and business as reasons for travel are particularly noteworthy features in this year's survey % of respondents said they had 30 to 39 days of holiday a year; 20%, had between 20 and 29 days. A slight change compared with the previous year was an increase in the proportion of respondents taking 10 to 19 days a year. With regard to the number of days spent on travel, those spending 20 to 29 days remain about the same (27%), there is a fall in those spending 10 to 19 days, and a slight increase in those spending over 30 days.

CONCLUSIONS The number of people travelling 2-3 times a year and 4-6 times a year rose, while those travelling over 7 times a year fell. The amount spent by Spaniards on travel rose. The percentage of those who said they spent the same or more than in the previous year rose to 85%. Demand for cheap tourist products through the Internet strengthened. The percentage of those unwilling to pay more on tourism fell. This means there is increasing interest in value for money and a stronger belief that higher prices mean greater quality. Exclusiveness and brand prestige continue to attract 30 and 15% of respondents, who value these attributes highly.

CONCLUSIONS A greater percentage of respondents believe that there has been an improvement in the quality of tourist products. 5.Tourists consider that prices have rocketed in most tourist services, with the exception of flights and museums. A smaller number of respondents believe that hotel prices will increase. The remaining respondents believe that hotel prices will remain more or less the same. 6.Increasing use is being made of the Internet: the media, brochures and traditional travel agencies are holding their ground.

CONCLUSIONS From the standpoint of travel purchases, online travel agency webs were much more popular than company web sites (36% strongly preferred agency web sites compared with 26% in the case of company webs, a reversal of the findings for the previous year). Impulse purchasers are becoming much more important (19% increase in strong preference compared with last year). Traditional tourist agencies have picked up slightly (14% showed a strong preference). In this respect, travellers continue seeking the cheapest prices, which confirms what we found in the majority of cases for the Internet. 8. Price is the most important attribute when choosing a holiday, followed by service and reliability.