UK Consumer Behaviour and Attitudes

Topic PaperNovember 2013

Insight Department

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Background A UK segmentation model is a vital part of VisitScotland’s marketing strategy for the UK market. Segmentation basically means putting customers into groups (or ‘segments’) which have something in common - for example lifestyle, spending power, media consumption, attitudes and behaviours.

Originally developed in 2006, the VisitScotland UK segmentation model divided customers into segments based around the following factors:

10 segments were developed in 2006 and VisitScotland identified 6 priority segments which have been used to guide VisitScotland’s UK marketing to date.

However, segmentation models should never remain static as they need to take into account changing behaviours in the consumer market. Back in 2006, travel review websites were relatively new on the horizon, some of Scotland’s older consumers were just dipping into the ‘internet unknown’ and smart phones were not commonplace.

2013/2014 brings a new focus on segmenting the UK population for VisitScotland. Whilst the 2006 UK segmentation model was refreshed in 2010, VisitScotland believe this is now a good time to review more fully the current consumer behaviours in the UK market place and to rebuild its UK segmentation model.

The first stage of this segmentation review has been research conducted with over 10,000 UK consumers during 2013.

Read more to find out about UK consumer’s general holiday taking behaviours and their attitudes towards Scotland.

geographical location

attitudes and behaviours to

Scotland

methods of planning and

booking a holiday

internet usage

loyalty to Scotland

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Using and Interpreting Consumer Research

Please use the following as guidance notes when interpreting the results from this research. Further details can be found in the Appendix.

n Online survey.

n Over 10,000 UK holiday takers took part.

n Respondents were a mix of people whose details were on the VisitScotland database or consumers sourced via a cold panel (a ‘cold panel’ being a research database of consumers who are willing to participate in research. They may or may not have any links to VisitScotland).

n Rejecters of Scotland as a holiday destination were excluded from the research.

n Results from the online survey were weighted against a UK representative omnibus survey.

n The results can be described as a UK representative sample of non rejecters of Scotland as a holiday destination.

n The fieldwork was conducted between June and July 2013 and focused on consumer behaviour in the past year (Jan-Dec 2012) and in the current year (2013). Specific questions were used to investigate current trends. The research data cannot be compared back to the 2006 research which informed the development of VisitScotland’s original 2006 UK segmentation model.

n Some questions focused on general holiday taking, others focused more specifically on Scotland.

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Over the last 20-30 years, holidays and short breaks have become less of a luxury and even in hard economic times, holidays are something many consumers are unwilling to give up entirely.

Survey participants were asked to record their household spend on all holidays and short breaks in 2012:

Time and Money Spent on Holidays

Average spend on holidays in 2012 by survey participants was £1,910 (spend on all holidays)

64% of this total was spent on

holidays abroad

(Q. How much did your household spend on all holidays and short breaks in total (inc. travel, accommodation and all that you spent while you were away Base: 10,754 ).

Key aspects when choosing a holiday destination (identified by survey participants) resonate strongly with what Scotland can offer as a holiday destination.

Shortlisting a Holiday Destination

36% on domestic holidays

Breathtaking scenery and landscape

Relaxing place to unwind

Fascinating history and

culture

Welcoming and friendly

to visitors

Lots of new and interesting things

to discover

The Top 5 Important Aspects When Choosing a Holiday Destination (home or abroad):

(Which of these aspects are important to you when choosing a destination? Select 3 most important. Base 10,754)

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And there is evidence that those surveyed believe Scotland can deliver on these important elements of a holiday, with a strong expectation of being welcome in Scotland. In contrast, looking at some potential barriers to visiting Scotland (weather, distance), attitudes are less polarised.

Holiday Statement Strongly Agree

Slightly Agree

Slightly Disagree

Strongly Disagree

I feel I will be welcome in Scotland 37% 52% 10% 1%

Scotland isn’t that different to the rest of the UK for a holiday/short break

3% 26% 50% 21%

A holiday or short break offers good value for money 11% 62% 24% 3%

Getting to your destination in Scotland can be quite difficult 11% 43% 30% 16%

The unreliable weather really puts me off taking a holiday or short break in Scotland

11% 39% 30% 20%

(Base: 10,754)

Planning a holiday is part of the enjoyment of the holiday experience for many UK holidaytakers. And whilst the destination itself is the driving force behind many holiday decisions, the role of deals and offers also has a strong influence for a proportion of consumers.

Holiday Statement Strongly Agree

Slightly Agree

Slightly Disagree

Strongly Disagree

I really enjoy taking time to plan holidays 35% 48% 14% 2%

Getting a good deal is more important than the destination itself

6% 24% 46% 25%

I usually wait for last minute deals rather than planning my holiday in advance

4% 21% 45% 30%

(Base: 10,754)

Thinking about the inspiration for destination choice, word of mouth stands out as a vital source of ideas and inspiration for consumers on new destinations, but recommendations work alongside a variety of both online and off line sources of influence.

Planning and Booking

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Top 10 Sources of Influence & Inspiration for New Destinations (home or abroad)

Recommendations from close family and friends 37%

Online travel review websites 28%

Travel books/guidebooks/brochure 28%

Official tourism country websites 22%

Direct flights from local airports 20%

Discount deals/offer emails 18%

Other travel websites/blogs 17%

Newspapers/magazines 17%

TV programmes 17%

Holiday price comparison websites 15%

(Thinking about new destination you have visited in the past 3 years, which of the following inspired or influenced you to choose this/these destinations? Base:10,754)

To understand about the more active stage of planning a holiday, participants were asked questions about their recent holidays or short breaks. Word of mouth remains important, but other more information intensive sources feature more highly, with online travel review websites moving to top of this list of holiday planning tools.

Top 10 Sources of Information for Planning a Recent Break (home or abroad)

Online travel review websites 50%

Travel books/guidebooks/brochures 38%

Official country tourism websites 37%

Recommendation from close family/friends 35%

Other travel websites/blogs 32%

Holiday price comparison websites 25%

Travel agents/tour operators 20%

Newspapers/magazines 20%

Discount deals/offers emails 18%

Looking at photos/posts from friends on social media 12%

(Q Which if any of the following have you used to get information to plan recent holidays or short breaks? Base 10,754)

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Consumers enjoy a range of activities on their UK/Irelend holidays and these resonate well with what Scotland can offer. The Top 20 activities undertaken by survey participants on domestic holidays (any UK/Ireland holiday) were identified as:

Visiting natural sites (70%)

Short walks (< 2 miles) (69%)

Sightseeing (67%)

Trying local speciality food and drink (54%)

Visiting castles/monuments (67%)

Visiting parks/gardens (59%)

Visiting museums/galleries (54%)

Long walks (>2 miles) (48%)

Centre based walking (42%)

Wildlife watching (29%)

Other visitor attractions (24%)

Cycling (roads/paths) (19%)

Adventure activities (14%)

Visiting theme/amusement parks (23%)

Hill climbing/walking (19%)

Visiting TV/film locations (13%)

Saling/boating/watersports (13%)

Horseriding/pony trekking (10%)

Visiting aquarium/zoo/safari park (34%)

Golf (10%)

When on Holiday

Top 20 Activities on UK/Ireland Holidays

(Q. Which if any of the following do you enjoy doing on a holiday or short break in the UK/Ireland Base (10,754)

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Past research for VisitScotland has gathered views on what makes Scotland stand out as a holiday destination. Research has highlighted that Scotland’s cultural and historical icons are strong and distinctive and that the scenery is a core expectation of all our visitors. It has told us that visitors expect friendly and hospitable people who are proud and independent but welcoming and down to earth. These attributes underpin Scotland’s brand essence of Enduring, Dramatic and Human.

And the UK consumer research in 2013 continues to support these pillars of Scotland’s brand with the top 10 key attributes of Scotland identified by survey participants as:

When asked what type of holiday Scotland is best for, whilst short breaks are top of mind amongst many, longer holidays also feature for over 30% of those surveyed.

Attitudes Towards Scotland

Attitudes to Scotland - Top 10 Key Attributes of Scotland as a Destination:

Breathtaking scenery and landscapes

86%

Unspoilt nature75%

Fascinating history and culture73%

Relaxing place to unwind60%

Welcoming and friendly to visitors57%

Both traditional and contemporary attractions

53%

Great range of outdoor activities52%

Something for people of all ages

45%

Lots of new and interesting things to discover

45%

Country with great food and drink experiences

44%

(Q. Which, if any, of the following statements do you think particularly apply to Scotland as a holiday or short break destination? Base: 10,754)

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Attitudes to Scotland - Type of Holiday Scotland is Best For:

The main holiday of the year

15%

A longer holiday (a week or more) but not the

main holiday of the year 19%

A short break (1-6 nights)

66%

(Q. Which, if any, of the following statements do you think particularly apply to Scotland as a holiday or short break destination? Base: 10,754)

Many survey participants feel they have a connection to Scotland, in the broadest sense. 62% felt they had a connection to Scotland.

Connections to Scotland

Currently live in Scotland 12%

Lived in Scotland in the past 9%

Have travelled to Scotland on business 21%

Have studied in Scotland in the past 5%

Have good friends currently living in Scotland 18%

Have relatives currently living in Scotland 15%

Definitely have Scottish ancestry 16%

Possibly have Scottish ancestry 7%

None of these 38%

(Q. Which, if any, of the following statements do you think particularly apply to Scotland as a holiday or short break destination? Base: 10,754)

Connections to Scotland

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Social media use is high amongst the UK sample, only 22% stated they did not have an active social media account. However, this rises to 40% for the over 55 age group. Facebook is the most popular social media account, although there is a range of other sources being used and on a daily to weekly basis.

Social media active accounts

Facebook 68%

Twitter 30%

YouTube 25%

Linkedin 24%

GooglePlus 18%

Friends Reunited 9%

Pinterest 7%

Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps

Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedinSeveral times a day 49% 35% 17% 5%Once a day 21% 17% 15% 9%Every couple of days 13% 17% 29% 21%Once a week 7% 9% 17% 23%Every couple of weeks 4% 8% 11% 19%Once a month 2% 6% 6% 11%Less often 3% 9% 5% 12%

Frequency of social media account usage

Social Media

(Q On which of the following social media channels do you have an active account? Base: 10,754)

(Q. How often do you use each of the following social media channels? Base: Varies - all who have active account on each)

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When on holiday, just under half stated they would not undertake any social media activity (45%), whereas 55% would. Amongst these consumers, a range of social media activities would be popular:

Upload trip photos (39%)

Update Facebook status (32%)

Leave reviews on travel websites

(25%)

Upload trip videos (6%)

Tweet about trip (8%)

Write blog about trip (3%)

How likely consumers are to recommend Scotland as a holiday or short break destination, is a key measure of advocacy. The power of word of mouth, which we have seen already features highly as a source of inspiration for destinations.

Asked on a scale of 1-10 (1: extremely unlikely, 10: extremely likely), the average score across the UK sample was 7, which is a positive score but provides room to move more consumers up the scale to become active promoters of Scotland. 33% of the sample answered 9 or 10 (i.e. extremley likely to recommend Scotland) and these participants can be viewed as active promoters of Scotland.

(Q. How likely would you be to recommend Scotland as a destination for a holiday or short break, to a friend or family member? 1+extremely unlikely, 10-extremley likely)

Likelihood to Spend Time in Scotland over the Next Three YearsThree-quarters expect to spend more time in Scotland in next 3 years: 23% very likely and 50% quite likely. 26% are not likely to spend time in Scotland (23% not very likely and 3% not at all likely).

Advocacy/Word of Mouth

(Q. Thinking about social media, which of the following do you usually do in relation to your holidays?)

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Appendix The UK consumer segmentation survey (quantitative survey) was conducted by Fraoch Marketing on behalf of VisitScotland in 2013. Fieldwork was conducted online between June and July 2013.

The research focused on current and potential visitors to Scotland; ‘rejecters’ of Scotland as a holiday destination were excluded from the research.

Sample Breakdown (10,754 respondents)

Gender: 51% female, 49% male

Age:

16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+7% 26% 18% 21% 18% 10%

Social grade:

A B C1 C2 D E11% 32% 32% 11% 7% 9%

Working status:

Full time Part time unemployed Not working/other

Full time student Retired

54% 16% 3% 7% 4% 16%

Role of Segmentation for VisitScotland

• Optimise marketing spend by ensuring communications are targeted at the right channels within the UK

• To maximise the number of visitors to Scotland from the UK market

• A new segmentation model to guide VisitScotland’s marketing strategy will be available in 2014

• VisitScotland will use the quantitative results to confirm the development of specific UK segments or groups. This segmentation work will continue into mid 2014

Links

Research & Statistics section on VisitScotland’s corporate websitewww.visitscotland.org/research_and_statistics.aspx

VisitScotland’s Current UK segments (2006-2013)www.visitscotland.org/research_and_statistics/visitor_research/uk_visitors/uk_consumer_segmentation.aspx

VisitScotland UK brand research paper www.visitscotland.org/pdf/VS%20Insights%20Brand%20Values%20(Version3)%20(2).pdf

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Insight DepartmentVisitScotlandOcean Point One94 Ocean DriveEdinburgh EH6 6JH

T: 0131 472 2222research@visitscotland.comwww.visitscotland.org

Contact us

Disclaimer: VisitScotland has published this report in good faith to update stakeholders on its activity. VisitScotland has taken all reasonable steps to confirm the information contained in the publication is correct. However, VisitScotland does not warrant or assume any legal liability for the accuracy of any information disclosed and accepts no responsibility for any error or omissions.

Images: © VisitScotland/Scottish Viewpoint and © Thinkstock

November 2013