Leisure Travelers Survey
At an LA INC. Sales Advisory Board meeting this past summer, results from a Hall & Partners survey of meeting professionals and leisure travelers were presented to attendees. Advisory Board members serve on a voluntary basis for a term of up to three years. Meetings are focused on issues related to how Los Angeles can more effectively sell, service and market to meeting professionals and attendees. Advisory Board meetings typically take place every 6 to 9 months.
Qualitative and quantitative research was conducted by Hall & Partners to help gauge meeting professional and consumer interest in Los Angeles. Following are highlights of the Hall & Partners survey.
Hall & Partners surveyed over 130 meeting professionals earlier this year to determine behaviors and attitudes about the desirability of the city as a meeting location, as well as gauge the appropriateness of Los Angeles facilities. A key takeaway: compared to most destinations, Los Angeles has strong appeal for meeting planners thanks to its appeal as a destination for attendees, reasonable hotel rates, quality of hotels, airport convenience and more.
Who are you planning for?
- Most are booking for fewer than 2,000 attendees.
- 24% are booking offsite for 4,000+ attendees.
- Planners are looking for lots of hotel rooms, but the fewer hotels the better, for control and convenience.
- Prior experience
- Personal research
- Board of Directors
- Recommendation of colleague
- Relationship with bureau
- Personal leisure travel
- Easy access and affordable
- 1 million gross sq. ft. for total space needs: 72% need less than 1 million sq.ft., only 6% need over 1.5 million sq.ft.
- 66% want to be walking distance between hotels and convention center.
- 22% want public transportation.
- 52% want the distance between hotels and convention center to be less than 1 mile.
- 21% are OK with distances over 3 miles.
- Less than 6 months ago: 19%
- 7-12 months ago: 8%
- More than one year: 38%
- Never booked: 36%
Overall, tourist sites, local restaurants, shops, and museums are the biggest draw for tourists. Search engines and friends and family are the top sources used in the final decision making process. Hollywood, Disneyland, Universal Studios, and the beaches are the top attractions that travelers want to see. “Safe” and “Affordability” are “must haves” for many of the travelers in the survey.
Those who have experienced LA have a much more positive outlook towards visiting LA, but those who have not experienced LA are more susceptible to believing myths that are more negative than positive.
Fortunately, we have Michael Krouse, LA INC.'s Senior VP of Sales and Client Services, to dispel several of these myths in an exclusive clip. WATCH THE VIDEO >>
