Target audience: 100% online including members of dedicated staycation group, Baje Vacations (285), and Barbados Jazz Festival Lovers (364) followers on facebook; and an estimated 10% of my facebook friends (931) who would have visited my page or paid attention to my network activity. This total was discounted by 8% to 742 since there were some overlaps across all three groups and the potential for viral spreading of the information was extremely low since the invitations largely went to members via email , around 2% as the invitations to use the poll were very specific to these audiences.
The questions were:
Have you taken a staycation for the year 2009? Yes or No
Are you planning to take a staycation? Yes or No or I don’t know
Which of the following options do you normally take that you are giving up to have your staycation?
Travel to another Caribbean island
Travel to the US/ UK or Canada
I have never traveled out of Barbados before
I was not planning to travel this year
How important is taking a staycation to you? (Open-ended)
*All four questions were compulsory
RESULTSThere were 40 out of a potential *742 responses in total or 5% were received over the five-day period. It is also admitted that the process for calculating the potential number of respondents could have been more scientific but that would have been too time consuming. Perhaps that question could have appeared in the questionnaire .
82.5% were yet to take a staycation but 52.5% were planning to do so and 30% were undecided.
All persons polled have travelled outside of Barbados before however 30% were not planning to travel this year while 45.5% were willing to defer travel to the US, UK or Canada to take a staycation. A significant 35.5% were willing to forego travel to the Caribbean.
25% saw staycationing as very important, 22.5% saw it as moderately important. 20% thought it was important to enjoy what people travel from so far to enjoy that is right at your fingertips and approximately 10% thought it was good for the economy to keep resources at home. 7.5% saw it as a great way to save money and an equal amount were keen if the prices were right.
One person complained that the specials did not coincide with the summer vacation period, one said it was only important depending on the rate of airfares and two were unsure whether it was important to take a staycation.
CONCLUSION
Barbadians on Facebook seem to think that staycations are a worthwhile effort. Many see it as a great way to stem foreign exchange outflows and thereby protect the economy, while giving locals a chance to “get to sample your home product without spending a great deal of money especially with the current economic crisis”.
Many are undecided about taking a staycation though over 52% of those polled gave their status as actively planning a staycation. This brings into the light the marketing strategy of the BHTA regarding the staycation packages which have been largely newspaper oriented with very little online, TV or radio marketing, if any at all.
Perhaps they may need to reconsider their marketing mix. With further scientific research among those who’ve already taken staycations in the past could help greatly in finding out what can be improved.
.jpg){kind=small}
5 comments:
hmm interesting, does ur research give an idea of the age group that takes staycations...i must say i havnt seen alot of promotions aiming at my segment
Dernell, I couldn't speak authoritatively on their marketing efforts but I did see a stream of adverts in the print media and grated their website is currently being revamped. Other than that I can't scarcely recall seeing a TV/ radio ad or an online campaign so I am not surprised at your comment.
However, as an old friend told me today, you shouldn't need a campaign to tell you to enjoy your Barbados!
While I realise that the StayCation promotion is a BHTA initiative,does any proportion of the $100 million plus BTA marketing budget go to supporting DOMESTIC tourism?
Dear Anonymous
Let me first say that this is my personal blog and I therefore am speak on my own behalf, even though I do work for the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA).
The Authority's mandate is primarily to drive inbound arrivals and generate the corresponding foreign exchange which, without a doubt, keeps our economic engine well oiled; more so than any other sector.
Let me add that I personally believe that only good can come from encouraging Bajans to staycation.
I recently said so on Barbados Free Press during a related discussion and I've not backed down from my stance in anyway to date.
It would increase the amount of money circulating in the sector; would expose more Barbadians to their country's chief economic sector and thus give them the onus to promote it to others; and it would ensure that people remain employed, especially during challenging times line the ones we are now up against.
Though it is not within my power to make the allocation of the requisite marketing dollars, I certainly do what I can in my own small way as a patriotic citizen of Barbados, like this staycation poll, the results of which I've shared publicly as well as drawing them to the attention of the BHTA and the local business media.
Perhaps the powers that be will consider this idea of domestic tourism marketing going forward and see how it can fit within the restructured BTA going forward.
For example, maybe the new VP Caribbean can have that as part of their responsibility, rather than having a dedicated person.
Nevertheless it is encouraging that there are some Barbadians who, without prompting, participate in the tourism product - family lunches at restaurants, weekends with their partners at various types of accommodation, island tours for them and their relatives during the holidays, etc.
They must be commended and it is hoped that more persons will follow suit. I hope that includes you, Anonymous!
So I agree with you wholeheartedly, a little prompting through an organized marketing strategy using some of the BTA's allocations in combination with those of the BHTA, with clear and realistic ROI expectations is not far-fetched.
Cheers!
Interesting Christal. We actually did test the program during the summer months starting in April until June, with a very limited budget because we had to prove to the powers that be that it would work. It netted over 500 room nights in two months. We got the go ahead to do it until October and now there is resounding confidence in the program for us to do it for another 12 months. The predominate use of the print media was due to several factors. But the new campaign will be more web based and will look very different that the pilot.
Domestic tourism is VERY important. We have noticed that hotels and restaurants with a large percentage of local business are surviving the economic downturn. Those that were largely visitor based are in touble or have closed. Domestic tourism must play a more significant role in the BTA's marketing. Maybe the success of Staycation will help them to see this.
St. Lucia certainly did and quickly copied Barbados with a staycation St. Lucia promotion.
Post a Comment