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VisitorProfileTourismTofino–Autumn2016

TheNumbers

VisitorswereinterceptedfromSeptembertoDecemberof2016.Atotalof1,359ballotswerecollectedand620surveyswerecompleted.Theresponseratewas53%.Outof620completedsurveys,6wereminorsand14wereresidentsresultingin620useablesurveys.

TheConceptandModel

ThisvisitorprofilewascreatedforTourismTofino,inpartnershipwiththelocalregion,TheSociableScientists,andVancouverIslandUniversity.BetweenSeptemberandDecember2016,tenballotboxeswereplacedacrosstheregioninbusinessesandoperationsthatvisitorsfrequent.PromptedbyaninformationposterontheVisitorExperienceSurvey,andthechancetowinaprizepackage(uponcompletionofthesurvey)providedbytourismoperatorsintheregion,visitorscouldcompleteaballotwiththeirnameandemailaddresswhileinthecommunity,thendropitintheballotbox.Approximatelytwoweekslater,TheSociableScientistssentthosevisitorsaninvitationtocompleteanonlinesurveyontheirexperienceintheregion.OncethesurveywasclosedinJanuary,TheSociableScientists,andtheVIUteamanalyzedthedata,andthencreatedthisvisitorprofile.

2

United

States 3%International

5%

Canada(other

thanBC),20%

Vancouver

Island 33%

OtherBritish

Columbia,38%

Figure2.Originofvisitors

VisitorOrigin

Figure2.Visitorswereaskedtoindicatewheretheylive.ThepiechartbelowdemonstratesthatthemajorityofsurveyparticipantswerefromBritishColumbia(71%).TheboxesshowabreakdownofvisitororiginforVancouverIsland,therestofBC,andtherestofCanada

VancouverIsland:

SouthIsland58%CentralIsland23%NorthCentral11%Cowichan5%PacificRim4%

Canada:

Alberta48%Ontario33%Saskatchewan8%Quebec4%Manitoba2%Yukon2%NewBrunswick1%NovaScotia1%

OtherBritishColumbia:

Vancouver,Coast&Mountains77%ThompsonOkanagan15%NorthernBC4%KootenayRockies4%CaribooChilcotinCoast1%

TripMotivation

Figure1.ThiswordcloudrepresentsthewordsvisitorsusedtodescribetheinspirationfortheirtriptoTofino.Outof557responses,thetopfivewerebeauty(52),surfing(48),nature(47),ocean(35),andrelaxation(47).

TripPurpose

Whenaskedaboutthepurposeoftheirvisit,85%ofvisitorsindicatedtheirtripwasforleisure,11%saidtheywerevisitingfriendsand/orrelatives,3%saiditwasforacombinationofbusinessandleisure,and1%saiditwasforbusinessorwork.

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GroupCompositionFigure3.RespondentswereaskedtoselectwhichcategoriesbestdescribedwithwhomtheyweretravellingwithontheirvisittoTofino.14%ofvisitorsweretravellingwithapet.

Figure4.Thecolumnsinthisgraphshowtheaveragenumberofpeoplepergroupineachagecategory.Thelineshowstheoverallpercentageofvisitorsineachagecategory.Forexample,34%ofallgroupshadatleastonepersonbetweenage20and29,andonaveragetheyhad3.7peopleinthisagecategory.Theaveragegroupsizewas2.9peoplepergroup;4%weresolotravellers,47%ofgroupsconsistedoftwoorthreepeople,33%hadfourtoninepeople,andonly5%had10ormorepeople.*Multipleoptionscouldbeselectedthereforecombinedpercentdoesnotequal100%.

2%

3%

5%

6%

7%

8%

14%

31%

59%

Organizedgrouportour

Alone

Parent(s)

Extendedfamily

Sibling(s)

Adultchildren

Childrenunderage19

Friend(s)

Spouse/partner

Figure3.Travellingcompanions

2.6

3.7

2.3

1.61.7

2.0 1.9

12%

34%

19%

7%

12% 12%

5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

19yearsand

under

20- 29years 30- 39years 40- 49years 50- 59years 60- 69years 70andabove

Figure4.Rangeofvisitorages

Average#ofVisitors %ofAllGroups

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SourcesofInformation

Figure6.Visitorswereaskedtoindicatewhichsourcesofinformationtheyusedtoplantheirtripbeforeandduringtheirvisit.Thetopsourcesofinformationwerefriendsandrelatives(56%),previouspersonalexperience(51%),andwebsiteofaccommodationsproviderinTofino(27%).Sourceswith5%orlesswerenotincludedinthegraph.*Multipleoptionscouldbeselectedthereforecombinedpercentdoesnotequal100%

Morethansix

months 6%Spurofthe

moment 7%

Uptoone

weekin

advance,9%

Betweenone

weekandone

month 31%

Betweenone

tosixmonths

47%

Figure5.TripplanningPlanning

Figure5.ThisfigureshowshowfarinadvancevisitorsplannedtheirtriptoTofino.Theresultsshowthat47%ofvisitorsplannedtheirtriplessthanonemonthinadvance,and53%plantheirtripatleastonemonthinadvance.

7%

8%

9%

13%

14%

15%

16%

17%

19%

21%

22%

27%

51%

56%

TravelrackonBCFerries

www.HelloBC.com

Travelbook/brochure

Blog/article/video

Visitorinformationcentre

Websitesprovidingtravellerreviews

Travelbookingwebsite

Regionaltourismguide

www.tourismtofino.com

Socialmedia

Websiteofactivity/attractioninTofino

WebsiteofaccommodationproviderinTofino

Previouspersonalexperience

Friendsandrelatives

Figure6.Sourcesoftripplanninginformation

“I would like to record the courtesy, friendliness and warmth of the staff at the Visitor Centre on the road into Tofino. They gave us a great amount of information, which we used to make our stay in Tofino

especially memorable.”

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Figure8.ThisfiguredemonstrateswhatformoftransportationvisitorsusedtogettoandfromTofinooncetheyhadarrivedonVancouverIsland(includingresidentsofVancouverIsland).

Ferry 84%

Airplane 15%

Seaplane/float

plane 1%

Figure7.TransportationtoVancouverIslandTransportation

Figure7.VisitorswereaskedtoindicatewhattypeoftransportationtheyusedtotraveltoVancouverIsland.TheresultsdonotincludevisitorsthatresideonVancouverIsland.Ofthe84%ofvisitorswhoarrivedbyferry,55%landedatDepartureBay,22%landedatDukePoint,and16%atSwartzBay.93%offerrypassengerstravelledinavehicleand7%werewalk-onpassengers.Ofthe16%whoarrivedbyair,44%landedattheVictoriaInternationalAirport,24%arrivedattheNanaimoAirport,16%landedattheComoxValleyAirport,and13%landedattheTofinoAirport.

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

3%

15%

77%

Floatplane/seaplane

Rentalrecreationalvehicle

Airplane

Bus- tourgroupmember

Bus- independenttraveller

Recreationalvehicle

Rentalvehicle

Personalvehicle

Figure8.TransportationtoandfromTofino

“Would have been helpful if shuttle bus was running - our trip was the last 2 weeks of October and we didn't have access to a car for the whole time we were staying at a resort outside of Tofino, which then meant a taxi, or

hours walk to get into Tofino. Would have been happy to pay for shuttle even if it only ran hourly.”

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LengthofStay

Figure9.VisitorswereaskedtoindicatehowmanynightstheyspentineachregionofVancouverIsland.ThecolumnsinFigure9showtheaveragenumberofnightsthatvisitorsspentineachoftheregionstheyvisited,whilethelineshowsthe%ofvisitorsthatspentatleastonenightineachoftheregions.Refertomapforregions.Onaverage,visitorstoTofinospent7.5nightsawayfromhome.*Multipleregionscouldbeselectedthereforecombinedpercentdoesnotequal100%For76%ofvisitors,Tofinowasthemaindestinationoftheirtrip,for19%ofvisitorsitwasoneofseveralplannedstopsbutnotthemaindestination,andfor5%itwasanimpulsivetripbecausetheywerevisitinganothernearbylocation.37%ofrespondentswereinTofinoforthefirsttimeand64%wererepeatvisitors.

3.1

2.52.3

3.53.3

4.5

22%

6%

22%

95%

8% 2%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

160%

180%

200%

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

SouthIsland Cowichan CentralIsland PacificRim NorthCentral NorthIsland

Figure9.Lengthofstaybyregion

Average#ofNights %ofVisitors

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Figure11.Whenaskedhowtheybookedtheiraccommodations,56%ofvisitorsbookeddirectlywiththeaccommodationprovider,17%bookedthroughavacationrentalbookingwebsite(e.g.AirBnB.comorVRBO.com),and11%usedatravelbookingwebsite(e.g.Expedia.ca,Hotwire.com).*Multipleoptionscouldbeselectedthereforecombinedpercentdoesnotequal100%.

Accommodation

Figure10.Thebarsinthisfigureshowwhatpercentofvisitorsstayedineachtypeofaccommodation,andthenumberinbracketsistheaveragenumberofnightstheystayed.90%ofvisitorsstayedovernightand10%wereinTofinoforadaytriponly.Thebarsinthisfigureshowwhatpercentageofvisitorsstayedineachtypeofaccommodation,andthenumberinbracketsistheaveragenumberofnightstheystayed.Forexample,41%ofovernightvisitorsstayedinaresort/lodge/innandonaveragetheystayed3.3nights.*Multipleaccommodationtypescouldbeselectedthereforecombinedpercentdoesnotequal100%.

2%

6%

6%

15%

15%

22%

41%

Other(3.6)

Bedandbreakfast(3.8)

Homeofafriendorfamilymember(4.0)

Campground(3.1)

Hotel/motel(2.8)

Vacationrental/guesthouse(3.6)

Resort/lodge/inn(3.3)

Figure10.Percentageofvisitorsineachaccommodationtype(average#

ofnights)

1%

2%

3%

3%

11%

17%

56%

Other

Propertymanagementcompany

Discount/couponwebsite

Travelagency/touroperator

Travelbookingwebsite

Vacationrentalbookingwebsite

Bookeddirectlywithaccommodation

Figure11.Bookingaccommodations

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Figure13.VisitorstoTofinospecifiedwhichactivitiestheirgroupsparticipatedinduringtheirstay.Thetopactivitieswerebeachactivities(81%),shopping(51%),self-guidedsightseeing(50%),andhiking(48%).Activitieswith5%ofresponsesorlesshavebeenleftoutofthisgraph.*Multipleactivitiescouldbeselectedthereforecombinedpercentdoesnotequal100%.

Activities&Attractions

Figure12.VisitorswereaskedtoindicatewhichtourismattractionstheyvisitedduringtheirstayinTofino.Themostpopularattractionswerebeaches(96%),diningout(83%),andparksandtrails(80%).Someofthe“other”responsesincludedHotSpringsCoveandmarkets.Attractionswith5%ofresponsesorlesshavebeenleftoutofthisgraph.*Multipleattractionscouldbeselectedthereforecombinedpercentdoesnotequal100%.

7%

8%

15%

23%

26%

26%

37%

43%

65%

77%

80%

83%

96%

Farmsand/orfarmers'market(s)

Playgroundsand/orwaterparks

Gardens

Museumsand/orculturalinterpretivecentres

FirstNationsfacilitiesorevents

Historicalsites

Brewery,winery,distilleryand/orcidery

Artisanstudios/workshops

Artgalleries

Localshops/boutiques

Parksandtrails

Diningout

Beaches

Figure12.Attractionsvisited

81%

51% 50% 48%

27% 19% 18%

12% 12% 7% 7%

Figure13.Activitiesparticipatedin

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Figure14.Whenaskedhowtheybookedtheactivitiesandattractionstheyparticipatedin,55%ofvisitorsbookedduringtheirstaywiththetour/activitycompanyand35%bookedaheadoftimedirectlywiththetour/activitycompany.*Multipleoptionscouldbeselectedthereforecombinedpercentdoesnotequal100%.

EventsAttended

Figure15.VisitorswereaskediftheywerevisitingTofinotoattendaspecificevent.Someoftheeventsinthe“other”categoryweretheSurfsUpforAutismandconcerts.Thecategory“otherpersonaland/orfamilyevent”referstoweddings,anniversaries,birthdays,andfamilyreunions.

1%

3%

3%

5%

10%

35%

55%

Other

BookedthroughaVisitorInformationCentre

Bookedusingatravelagencyortouroperator

Purchasedacouponusingadiscountwebsite

Bookedwithatravelbookingwebsite

Bookedaheadoftimedirectlywithtour/activitycompany

Bookedduringmystaywiththetour/activitycompany

Figure14.Bookingactivities&attractions

1%

1%

3%

4%

3%

4%

5%

12%

12%

12%

53%

WestCoastSUPSymposium

ArtistsInMotion

ClayoquotSalmonFestival

ClayoquotOysterFestival

JingleIntoChristmas

Wedding

WestCoastWeird-OffSurfContest

Other

CarvingontheEdgeFestival

QueenofthePeakWomen'sSurfChampionships

Otherpersonaland/orfamilyevent

Figure15.Eventsattended

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Figure17.Averagespendingper

group

$217Accommodation

$121Meals

$78Shopping

$69Entertainment

$64Transportation

Figure16.Themostcommonlyusedfoodandbeverageestablishmentsforvisitorswererestaurant(75%),café/coffeeshop(72%),andgrocerystores(65%).*Multipleoptionscouldbeselectedthereforecombinedpercentdoesnotequal100%.

Spending

Figure17.Togatherdataongroupspending,visitorswereaskedtoreportapproximatelyhowmuchtheirgroupspentonatypicaldayduringtheirvisittoTofinoforeach

category.Theaveragetotalspendingpergroupwas$517perday.

1%

13%

19%

30%

40%

42%

43%

65%

72%

75%

Other

Markets

In-roomdining/roomserviceorhotelrestaurant

Pub/lounge

Liquorstore

Fastfood/takeout/foodtruck

Bakery

Grocerystore

Cafe/coffeeshop

Restaurant

Figure16.Food&beverageestablishmentsutilized

“Promote local grocery shopping. We always stay where we have a kitchen on hand - we have younger children, so it's easier to eat in. We know about Tofino's great food culture, but we didn't know about the

reasonability of shopping for groceries in the Tofino/Ucluelet area. I wish we had!”

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Importance/PerformanceRatings

Figure18.VisitorswereaskedtoratetheimportanceofanumberoffeaturesintheirdecisiontovisitTofinoonascalefrom“NotAtAllImportant”(1)to“ExtremelyImportant”(5).Theywerethenaskedtoevaluateeachfeaturebasedontheiractualexperienceintheregiononascalefrom“VeryBad”(1)to“Excellent”(5).Figure18showstheaverageperformanceofeachfeaturecomparedwithvisitors’perceptionsofimportance.Theoverallsatisfactionratingwas4.9outof5(98%);theresultsshowthatTofinoisoverperforminginallattributes.

4.7

4.6

4.7

4.8

4.8

5.0

4.7

4.2

4.2

4.8

4.5

4.3

4.1

4.9

4.9

4.0

3.7

4.1

4.3

4.2

4.8

4.0

2.7

3.3

4.2

3.6

4.1

3.2

4.6

Qualityofaccommodation

Varietyofdiningoptions

Customerservice

Friendlinessofpeople

Safety

Scenicbeauty

Coastalclimate

Shoppingopportunities

Attractions&events

Outdoorrecreationactivities

Easilyaccessiblelocation

Valueformoney

Accesstowirelessinternet(wifi)

Overallatmosphereofthearea

Overallsatisfaction

Figure18.Comparisonofimportanceofdestinationattributeswith

Tofino'sperformance

Importance Performance

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Promoters 72%

Passives 7%

Dectractors

21%

Figure19.NetPromoterScore™

Figure20.VisitorswereaskedtosharethemostenjoyablepartoftheirtriptoTofinoinoneword.Theirresponsesaredisplayedinthewordcloudabove.Ofthe415responses,thetopfivewordsvisitorsusedwerebeaches(87),surfing(39),relaxing(22),scenery(21),andbeautiful(19).

“Extremely pleased with my experience in Tofino. It exceeded all my expectations. Such a beautiful

location, not too crowded. One of the most scenic beaches I've ever seen, I could have walked down the beach for

the whole day and been perfectly content. “

NetPromoterScore™

Figure19.VisitorswereaskedtoratetheirlikelinesstorecommendtheTofinoregiontotheirfamilyandfriendsonascalefrom“VeryUnlikely”(0)to“VeryLikely”(10).Thepeoplethatratebetween0and6areconsidereddetractors,thosethatrate7or8orconsideredpassives,andthosethatrate9or10areconsideredpromoters.Theresultsshowthat72%ofvisitorsarepromoters,7%arepassives,and21%aredetractors.TheNetPromoterScore™forTofinois

50.7.

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Open-endedFeedback

Visitorswereaskedanopen-endedquestionaskingforfeedbackandsuggestionsforimprovementstothetourismexperienceinTofino.Responseswereanalyzedandthemed;themainthreearesummarizedbelow.Forcompleteanalyses,seeAppendixA:Open-endedResponses.

Affordability

• Itcanbealittlepricey,thoughthatisexpectedwithworld-classdestinations.Wishwecouldaffordtogomoreoften!

• WeloveTofino.Hopefullyitwon'tbecomeaplacefortheeliteonlybecauseofpricing.• Iwouldlovetoreturn,butIsuspectthatthereareotherplacesinCanada(orelsewhere)where

wemightenjoythesameoutdoorexperiencesanddramaticsceneryatamoreaffordableprice.Welovedit,butunfortunatelyitmaybeaonceinalifetimeoccurrenceonourbudget.

• Lookslikeyoucouldusesomemorehostelsandcheaperoptionsforaccommodation.I'dimaginethesurfersareprettydamnletdownthattheyhavetobreakthebankiftheywanttostayindoors.Dittoforbackpackers.Morehostels,cheaperaccommodationoptions.

• Itwouldbegreattohavemoreaffordableaccommodationoptionsforfamilieswithyoungchildren.

• Affordabilityandavailabilityisalwaysanissue

Development

• Don't change a thing (3).

• Wehopethatitdoesnotloseitssmallvillagefeel.• Keepitsmallandaccessibletolocals.• Keepitlocal.• JustkeepTofinoassimpleaspossible.Don'tcomplicateitbytryingtomakeitoverthetop.The

beautyofTofinospeaksforitself.Keepeverythingaslocalaspossible.• KeepTofinoasnaturalaspossible...it'sverybeautiful.• IfindthattheLongBeachareaisbecomingacontrastbetweenprivatewealthandpublic

poverty.Inequalityofaccessandlivingisnothealthyforanyofus.• Don'tletitgettoobusy!That'spartofwhatmakesitspecial.(Andalsowhyweliketocome

afterthesummer.)• Don'tchangeTofino.Itsbeautyandthepeopleandwhatithasnowisperfect.Nobigchains

establishments.Thatwouldmakemestopgoing.

Seasonality

• Haveshopsopenallyearround!Noshutdownsforthewinterseason• Itwouldbeniceiftherewerealistofwhichstoresandrestaurantareopenduringstorm

seasonandthehours;oftenthingswereclosedatstrangetimesornotopenatall• Weliketobeabletocookourownmeals,andfounditwasdifficulttofindlocalfresh

seafood.Manyvenderswereclosedfortheseason,whichwasdisappointing.Iftheycouldstayopenlongeritwouldbegreat.

• Wewerethereforaslowseasonandsomerestaurants,pubs,wine/oysterbarwereclosedfortheseason

• (Wouldhavebeengoodto)knowthatsomeservicesareunavailableinSeptember• Longerhoursforartgallerysocanbeoutandaboutindayandstillhavetimetovisit.• Itwouldhavebeenhelpfultoknowwhatwasopenandthehoursofoperationaslate

Novembermanythingsareclosedorreducedhours.

Formoreinformation:

KirstenSoderExecutiveDirector,TourismTofinoC:250-725-3416;e:kirsten@tourismtofino.com