Chapter by chapter slides based on "Fundamentals of Destination Management and Marketing," provided by Destination Marketing Association International in cooperation with American Hotel & Lodging Association Education Institute.

1. © 2005, Educational Institute
Chapter 4
Tourism Research and
Performance Reporting
Fundamentals of Destination Management and Marketing
(323TXT)

2. © 2005, Educational Institute
The Role of Research at the CVB
• Creating and implementing long-term marketing
and operational plans
• Setting organizational goals and policies
• Developing and/or expanding a CVB’s funding
resources
• Formulating a destination’s tourism master plan
• Determining the CVB’s contribution to the local
economy

3. © 2005, Educational Institute
The CVB Research Function
• Determines what the questions are and attempts
to find the answers
• Should be centralized with an individual clearly
responsible for its direction and management
• Must have a clearly defined and active role
• Must have extensive and open channels of
communication

4. © 2005, Educational Institute
Roles in the Research Function
• Research manager
o Works with CVB staff, stakeholders, and
industry partners to identify what marketplace
questions should be answered and how the
research should be done
• Research communicator
o Acts as the bridge between the research results
and their intended users
o Links results back to the original question

5. © 2005, Educational Institute
Research Function Responsibilities
• Design, develop, and manage short- and long-term
information and market research programs.
• Direct ongoing performance reporting.
• Manage a complete research publication and
communication program.
• Manage vendors to produce field research.
• Act as liaison in developing cooperative market
research programs.
• Direct and conduct annual research development
planning.

6. © 2005, Educational Institute
Destination Research
• Includes visitor volume, market share, and profile
studies
• Yields answers to basic marketing questions
 To whom should we sell our destination?
 How do we find them?
 What do we tell them about the destination so they
will come?
• The more information the CVB can gather about its
visitors, the more likely the CVB and its partners will
be able to successfully produce tourism products of
interest and communicate them in compelling ways.

7. © 2005, Educational Institute
Key Visitor Attributes
• Where the visitor lives
• Spending and spending categories
• Mode of transportation
• Demographics
• Leisure activities
• Accommodations
• Party size and composition
• Length of stay
• Purpose of trip
• Trip information sources

8. © 2005, Educational Institute
Tourism’s Economic Impact
Tourism impact studies produce two sets of data—
direct and secondary (also called indirect)
• Direct data: total visitor spending and spending
by specific categories such as lodging or
transportation
• Secondary data: illustrates the degree to which
the visitor dollar moves through the community
until it leaks out of the local economy

9. © 2005, Educational Institute
Brand Image Studies
• A destination depends on how consumers feel
about it.
• Brand image studies give the CVB insight into
how visitors perceive the destination.
• Research methodologies range from written or
verbal questionnaires to in-depth focus groups.

10. © 2005, Educational Institute
Forecasting
• Attempts to estimate the most likely level of visitor
volume and demand
• Useful for both short- and long-term planning
• Assists the CVB in deciding how to shift marketing
dollars from one market segment to another

11. © 2005, Educational Institute
Secondary Research
• Pre-existing research that measures and monitors
tourism activity at city, state, and national levels
• Sources include government agencies, trade
associations, colleges and universities, periodicals,
and Web sites
• Tourism barometer: monitors tourism-related
activities on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or
annual basis

12. © 2005, Educational Institute
CVB Performance Reporting
• Two questions are asked throughout the process
o Are we measuring the right things?
o Are we measuring these things right?
• Recommended process includes three functional
areas:
o Convention sales
o Travel trade sales
o Marketing and communication

13. © 2005, Educational Institute
Elements of Performance Reporting
• Activity: a physical action taken by a CVB
functional area that ultimately supports its mission
• Performance measure: defines and quantifies the
results of CVB activities
• Productivity metric: illustrates the relationship
between the CVB’s performance and its resources;
usually expressed as a ratio

14. © 2005, Educational Institute
Convention Sales Performance Reporting
• Personnel productivity metrics
• Leads per sales manager
• Bookings per sales manager
• Booked room nights per sales manager
• Repeat business ratios
• Measured in terms of the number of bookings or
total room nights
• Cost productivity ratios
• Cost per lead
• Cost per booking
• Cost per booked room night
(continued)

15. © 2005, Educational Institute
Convention Sales Performance Reporting
(continued)
• Lead conversion ratios
• Booking ratios
• Lost opportunity ratios
• Convention booking to room supply ratio
• Demand ratio

16. © 2005, Educational Institute
Travel Trade Performance Reporting
• Personnel productivity metrics
o Leads per sales manager
o Bookings per sales manager
o Booked room nights per sales manager
• Cost productivity metrics
o Cost per lead
o Cost per booking
o Cost per booked room night
• Lead-to-bookings conversion ratio

17. © 2005, Educational Institute
Marketing and Communications
Performance Reporting
• Efforts focus on various kinds of conversion
studies
o CVBs should not use the total number of
visitors to the destination because it is
extremely unlikely that they generated every
single one.
• Inquiry conversion ratio
• Look-to-book ratios
• Web-based package conversions

18. © 2005, Educational Institute
Return on Investment (ROI)
ROI approaches quantify financial impact on local
communities
• Return on total operating budget
• Return on functional area direct operating budget
• Return on functional area direct and indirect
operating budget
• Return on convention sales function direct
operating budget