Post on 25-Dec-2015
METHOD – a short reminder
• The first survey since 2010
• Co-funded by Marketing Manchester, TfGM, CityCo and Virgin Trains
• A face-to-face survey of visitors
• Across all 10 GM districts
• 757 interviews
• Fieldwork 24th May to 2nd November 2014
• ‘Leisure Visitor’ defined as on:
- a day trip from home, over 3 hours spent, over 20 miles
- an overnight stay away from home for leisure
VISITOR PROFILES
•More on day trip than in 2010 (52%)
•Day and staying visitor ratios varies
• - in City Centre 45% are staying;
• - in rest of GM 32% are staying (excluding Salford and Trafford)
VISITOR PROFILES
• Northwest main source of domestic visitors (41%)
• International visitors from wide range of countries, led by USA (13% of international visitors)
• More overseas visitors on day trip in 2014 (4% vs 1%)
• Overseas visitors are more likely to be found in the city centre (20%)
VISITOR PROFILES
•Staying (44%) more likely than day visitors (20%) to be 1st time visitors
•Proportion of recent visitors has increased since 2010(64% : 59%)
•91% of previous visitors have been in the last two years and 49% of those had visited 6 times or more
VISITOR PROFILESage
49% 51%aged 44 or under aged 45+
seg
68% 27% ABC1 C2DE
• Similar to 2010• … but caution: women more
likely to take part in research
gender
43% 57% male female
• Visitor age well-distributed across age ranges• Similar to 2010• City Centre has younger visitor age than other areas
• Higher proportion of ABC1 • visitors in City Centre (72%) • than other areas
STAYING VISITORS
•More choosing to stay in GM than in 2010 (93% vs 89%)
•Majority (64%) stay in Manchester
•Majority (70%) staying in ‘paid-for’ accommodation
•On average spending 3.35 nights – less than 2010 (4.52)
•‘Paid-for’ stays are shorter (2.85 paid-for: 4.49 vfr)
93% chose to stay in Greater Manchester
ABOUT THE VISIT – main reason
•Day and staying visitors agree but:
- Day visitors more likely to visit for an attraction, museum, exhibition or shopping
- staying visitors more likely to visit just for a break/day out (24%)
ABOUT THE VISIT – all activities
• Staying visitors more likely to include a visit to attraction/ museum (68%)
• Geography makes a difference – eg Trafford visitors most likely to visit attraction / museum (76%)
• Friends and Family groups are more likely to visit an attraction or museum
62% visit an attraction/museum
ABOUT THE VISIT – all activities
•Top 3 shopping areas visited:
• Manchester Arndale (55%)
• Market Street (36%)
• Deansgate (25%)
•Majority are not visiting with specific shop in mind (61%)
•However, target shops include:- M&S (33%), Primark (26%) House of Fraser and Next (23%) Harvey Nichols and Selfridges (21%)
23% overall go shopping
ABOUT THE VISIT - moving around
•More likely to stay in GM than in 2010 (83%)
•Liverpool / Merseyside most likely destination out of GM
•Interviewees in Salford most likely to visit other GM districts
TRAVEL & TRANSPORT - mode of transport
•Arrival by car higher amongst day visitors (57% vs 41%)
•Visitors to City Centre least likely to arrive by car (37%)
•Since 2010, arrival by....
… car has dropped (50% vs 62%)
… train has increased (27% vs 20%)
TRAVEL & TRANSPORT - public transport
• Metrolink (58%) and bus (38%) are most popular
• Majority who don’t use public transport think ‘there’s no need to’ (77%)
26% using public transport during visit
TRAVEL & TRANSPORT - Smartcard
• More appealing to staying than day visitors (53% vs 34%)
42% encouraged by Smartcard to use public transport
EXPENDITURE - average spend
• Staying visitors, in paid accommodation, are highest spenders (£96.77)
• Age matters – 45-54s highest spenders; 16-24s lowest
• Spend in 2014 lower across everything except ‘accommodation’ and ‘other expenses’
£53.40average spend pp/day
RATINGS - the experience
Consistently high ratings across offer…
•... only car parking vfm given significant negative rating (22%)
•Gaps in perceptions beyond personal experience
96% of visitors say their visit to Greater Manchester
RATINGS - future visits
Strongest propensity amongst…
• Day visitors (96%)
• 35-44 year olds (98%)
• Visitors to districts outside City Centre, Salford & Trafford (97%)
• Repeat visitors (96%)
91% likely to make future leisure visit
POINTS TO NOTE• Higher % of day trippers than before
• Strong pattern of returning visitors – and proportion of new visitors stable
• Importance of attractions/ museums in motivating visits
• Evidence of economic climate impacting – on spend, but also on length of stay, type of accommodation
• Different motivations of day and staying visitors
• ‘The offer’ performs strongly – but is ‘experience’ working harder than ‘reputation’?
• The roles of City Centre, Salford & Trafford and the other districts:
- higher average spend
- higher % of staying visitors
- lower % of vfr