1. 7th International Forum on Tourism Statistics Stockholm, Sweden, 9-11 June 2004 NEW RESEARCH LINES ON TOURISM INFORMATION SYSTEMS: POTENTIAL DEMAND ANALYSES Valdés, L., Torres, E., Del Valle, E.

2. Tourism Information System of Asturias Traditionally, the main components of a Tourism Information System (TIS) are based on three fundamental pillars (WTO, 2002):  the analysis of current tourism demand,  the analysis of current offer and  the macroeconomic analysis of tourism activity There are an increasing demand of information from the private and public policy-makers. Some of then are:  Tourism in private accommodation  Further deepening in methodologies of tourist expenditure estimation  Tourism sustainability indicators  Potential Demand Analyses.

3. The Tourism Information System of Asturias (SITA) has been working into the aforementioned research lines, implementing several statistics operations to know the real and relevance role of the tourism in Asturias, an Objective nº1UE Region, with a particular socio economics problems and rationalization of industry.

4. Generally, the study of the tourist demand has been outlined from the viewpoint of the destination:  analysing the habits of the visitors' trip,  their preferences, attitudes,  behaviours and valuations during their trip in the visited place… Although it analyses the behaviour of the consumers of products and tourism services of the current visitor,  it does not detect the potential. This descriptive approach obviates new segments of visitors involving a weakness in tourism commercialisation plans as they repeatedly influence in the same markets and tourism typologies.

5. The Demand Analyses regarding Potential Destination (PDA) should be framed in this context trying to solve these lacks and substantially improve knowledge of the tourism demand. Basically they consist in research on the characteristics of the trips of the residents in a city and the fundamental aims are determining and segmenting the potential of that concrete geographical market, taking as reference the perceptions on a concrete destination, generically denominated Potential Destination.

6. We have defined and analysed four large blocks of potential source markets of visitors to Asturias applying the PDAs regarding Asturias.

7. OBJETIVES OF THE POTENTIAL DEMAND ANALYSIS The PDAs carried out by SITA have five fundamental objectives: 1. Determination of the geographical environment of interest; 2. Analysis of the holiday habits of the residents; 3. Study of their holiday habits with regard to the destination; 4. Evaluation of their choice dynamics of tourist destinations; 5. Forecasting the frequency and characteristics of trips in source with regard to the Potential Destination. The first phase consists on the identification, as a market of interest, of points or geographical areas where the second phase, consisting of a survey of the resident population, will be developed

8. Four fundamental principles :  The geographical principle of vicinity, in time and / or distance is the first essential element when thinking about new tourism markets.  Using secondary statistical sources can allow us knowing the main socio-demographic characteristics of the resident population of a region  analysing the services and products which tourists of the source market consume in the Potential Destination, by means of a survey in destination which determines the main characteristics of the current demand  The fourth research axis quantifies the current importance of this source market, using the demand analysis in destiny with the above mentioned indicators. DETERMINATION OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT OF INTEREST

9. Basic parameters of the survey: A personal interview structured by means of a questionnaire. the object population of this survey are the residents over 18 years of age who travel for holiday or leisure reasons. The absence of the sample frame means the design of a combined sampling of quotas plan, in function of age, sex and neighbourhood residence, and of random routes. A maximum sampling error of 5% at the confidence level of 95%. Usually the duration of the fieldwork is limited habitually from five to ten consecutive days in low tourist season METHODOLOGY OF THE SURVEY

10. Variables of the questionnaire METHODOLOGY OF THE SURVEY

11. DESCRIPTIVE RESULT

12. Examples: Importance of aspects of the accommodation

13. Examples: Organization of the trip to the Potential Destination

14. Examples: Search for information to travel to the Potential Destination

15. Examples: Estimated price of the trip

16. Examples: Perceptions of the Potential Destination Concepts / ideas on the Potential Destination Nearby regions visited Weaknesses of the Destiny opposed to other regions Strengths of the Destiny opposed to other regions.

17. CONCLUSIONS (I)  There is an increasing demand on more specific and detailed studies, with a special interest in those guided to deseasonalize tourist activity. Potential Demand Analyses are valid instruments to:  provide the necessary and required information in the decision making of different social agents, both at the level of tourism administration and the managerial sector.  They contribute information about the potentiality of tourism growth of a destination for each concrete source market,  The obtained results allow to structure useful and valuable information for the programming of institutional or managerial tourism promotion campaigns,  The image of that destination regarding the potential market, allows the structure of more direct and more specific communication policies, highlighting the excellent aspects of the destination.

18. CONCLUSIONS (II) From the managerial environment,  this type of market research is an interesting source of information for the configuration of marketing policies  They permit an estimation of the optimum duration of the trip to the Potential Destination for the residents of the source market, and in accordance with their preferences, tourism programs with the alternatives and products expected by the visitors are considered, evaluating the profitability of these packages or tourism services.  Also, the main attractiveness of the Potential Destination is identified as opposed to other regions and those products or services which are still not well known or valued enough.

19. System of Tourism Information in Asturias Post Address: E. U. “Jovellanos” de Gijón C/ Francisco Tomás y Valiente, 1 E-33201 Gijón, Asturias Spain Telephone et Fax (+34) 985 18 21 75 Mail To: sita@correo.uniovi.es www.sita.org