In April 2013, focus groups were conducted on behalf of the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. The overall objective was to explore vacation-related attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of North Carolina residents regarding vacation travel in North Carolina.
Why is this study important? Approximately 1/3 of our state’s travel revenue comes from North Carolina residents who travel within the state. Yet, the study indicates that, with two exceptions (a week at the beach and traditional family vacations), those travelers do not consider in-state travel as a “true vacation”.
Equally as important, it indicates that those North Carolina residents who do not travel in-state do not perceive destinations in North Carolina to be a “true vacation”.
Let’s qualify this by pointing out that these are focus group participants and this is a qualitative study, not a quantitative one. It is directional, not conclusive, but it certainly uncovers some thinking that needs to be quantified and understood if we want to increase in-state travel and overnight stays.
The focus groups were held in Raleigh and Charlotte. Each city had two groups. One was made up of NC residents who had taken a leisure trip within the last 12 months within the state. The other was made up of NC residents who had taken a leisure trip within the last 12 months to a neighboring state, but had not taken a leisure trip within North Carolina.
The respondents in all four groups perceived definitive differences between in-state and out-of-state travel.
The majority of participants considered in-state trips to be more spontaneous, shorter in duration (one to three days), involve less planning and are less expensive than out-of-state trips. Many of the in-state travelers said that in-state leisure travel was a “getaway”, not a “true vacation.”
Among the non-visitors, North Carolina destinations were not typically in their consideration sets. There was a sense that North Carolina destinations are too familiar (not new and different) and, like the visitor groups, they do not consider in-state travel to be a “true vacation.”
There were discussions about how to grow in-state travel. One particularly interesting idea was to have North Carolina Resident Pricing. This was suggested, unaided, by a non-visitor and other participants readily agreed that discounted resident pricing would be appealing and would motivate in-state travel. Florida does this extensively.
Have any of you considered this? Or, do you have other promotions you’ve used to motivate North Carolina residents to increase their in-state travel?
