Study on Cultural/History Travel

[gillumhouse]

This was on TripInfo this morning
http://www.tripinfo.com:80/ITM/Articles2009/ITM3238.html

 

[JBloggs]

I am going to fine tooth this article..Thanks!
I just read it all and can you see me smiling from there? This is what I do! What I try to do. What I found I can do...here. It is what I market on the website and blog. I am so excited to read these numbers.
The distance traveled info for these type of "guests" is what I say all the time, they are travelling for hours and hours to get here where some other destination B&B's have guests who travel a couple hours max. This is so interesting, and I will continue to use this information. thanks again

 

[JBloggs]

In case the link gets lost later on (like a couple I have posted) I am going to paste the article in here as well:
Internet Travel Monitor - Marketing & Research
October 28, 2009
New Study Reveals Popularity of U.S. Cultural and Heritage Travel
Large, Affluent Market Focuses on History and Tradition[/h3]WASHINGTON, DC - A recent research study reveals that 78% of all U.S. leisure travelers participate in cultural and/or heritage activities while traveling, translating to 118.3 million adults each year. With cultural and heritage travelers spending an average of $994 per trip, they contribute more than $192 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
"We discovered that an impressive number of U.S. travelers seek out cultural and heritage experiences," said Helen Marano, director, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, U.S. Department of Commerce. "With 78% of all domestic leisure travelers participating in cultural and heritage activities, their expenditures confirm that this is a strong market, and they are contributing significantly to our communities during these challenging economic times."
The study is the first to segment cultural and/or heritage travelers, showing the diverse groups that exist within this broader category of traveler. The segmentation analysis uncovered five different types of cultural and heritage travelers: Passionate, Well-rounded, Aspirational, Self-Guided, and Keeping it Light. Three segments - Passionate, Well-rounded, and Self-guided - were more serious about their travels and said that cultural and heritage activities had a greater impact on their destination choice. Together, these three segments represent 40% of all leisure travelers and contribute nearly $124 billion to the U.S. economy.
Cultural and heritage travelers as a whole are more frequent travelers, reporting an average of 5.01 leisure trips in the past 12 months. They are more frequent business travelers and more likely to have taken an international trip in the past 12 months than their non-cultural/heritage counterparts. They are also likely to travel farther to get the experiences they seek: about half of most recent overnight leisure trips were 500 miles or more from home. More than a third say they traveled between 100 and 300 miles for a day trip.
The study found that cultural and heritage travelers are more likely to participate in culinary activities, such as sampling artisan food and wines, attending food and wine festivals, visiting farmers' markets, shopping for gourmet foods, and enjoying unique dining experiences as well as fine dining.
Other cultural and heritage activities identified by travelers include visiting historic sites (66%); attending historical re-enactments (64%); visiting art museums/galleries (54%); attending an art/craft fair or festival (45%); attending a professional dance performance (44%); visiting state/national parks (41%); shopping in museum stores (32%); and exploring urban neighborhoods (30%). The vast majority of these travelers (65%) say that they seek travel experiences where the "destination, its buildings and surroundings have retained their historic character."
The study was conducted by Mandala Research for the U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Heritage Travel, Inc., a subsidiary of The National Trust for Historic Preservation, and its website www.gozaic.com was lead sponsor of the study.
from [FONT= 'Times New Roman']http://www.tripinfo.com/ITM/Articles2009/ITM3238.html[/FONT]

 

[gillumhouse]

Back in the days when we traveled with our 2-legged animals, we always were into history and culture. We NEVER took them to an amusement park on a vacation - we had Santa's Village a mile away and 6 Flags over in Gurnee - but did go to battlefields, President's homes, historic sites, the Badlands & Mt Rushmore, the Cog Railroad in NH, the art museum in Denver, Cowboy Hall of Fame, Buffalo Bill Museum, dinosaur pits in VA and in WY..... This is what my kids were subjected to, even on camping trips in later (translate it as broke) years we found historic sites like Fayette, MI where they made charcoal.

 

[Morticia]

I am going to fine tooth this article..Thanks!
I just read it all and can you see me smiling from there? This is what I do! What I try to do. What I found I can do...here. It is what I market on the website and blog. I am so excited to read these numbers.
The distance traveled info for these type of "guests" is what I say all the time, they are travelling for hours and hours to get here where some other destination B&B's have guests who travel a couple hours max. This is so interesting, and I will continue to use this information. thanks again.

It is amazing how much WE like this sort of travel but we rarely get guests who are interested. We have a list of great venues to see while here and we get a lot of eye-rolling when we mention them. Maybe we don't have the high end crowd that enjoys this sort of thing. Won't stop me from talking about it, tho!

 

[Don Draper]

This is our bread and butter, literally. Amen, because I do NOT like when my house becomes the destination.

 

[JBloggs]

This is our bread and butter, literally. Amen, because I do NOT like when my house becomes the destination..

This is our bread and butter, literally. Amen, because I do NOT like when my house becomes the destination.

You poor thing! I hear ya, I am the same...git on out there and do stuff people! So our guests DID go swimming yesterday, and they are not young, I might add. I know I promote the lake for swimming, but that is when the water is warm, not 58 degrees! ha ha It made me laugh though when they told me about it. This couple are here 6 nights and gone all day everyday (after she finished her slow breakfast)

 

[gillumhouse]

I am going to fine tooth this article..Thanks!
I just read it all and can you see me smiling from there? This is what I do! What I try to do. What I found I can do...here. It is what I market on the website and blog. I am so excited to read these numbers.
The distance traveled info for these type of "guests" is what I say all the time, they are travelling for hours and hours to get here where some other destination B&B's have guests who travel a couple hours max. This is so interesting, and I will continue to use this information. thanks again.

It is amazing how much WE like this sort of travel but we rarely get guests who are interested. We have a list of great venues to see while here and we get a lot of eye-rolling when we mention them. Maybe we don't have the high end crowd that enjoys this sort of thing. Won't stop me from talking about it, tho!
.

Hype the history/culture as part of your intro as well as the shopping. It may actually start bringing people who are looking for that.
In 1986 when we did NE & the windjammer cruise with the kids, we stopped in your town for the shopping (and again on 1994 w/friends) BUT we had already done the history and it was just for a couple hours (mainly for DH because of the Big Boy in your town). Is Maine Made still there? I ordered a sweater from there and it arrived on my birthday that year!

 

[Morticia]

I am going to fine tooth this article..Thanks!
I just read it all and can you see me smiling from there? This is what I do! What I try to do. What I found I can do...here. It is what I market on the website and blog. I am so excited to read these numbers.
The distance traveled info for these type of "guests" is what I say all the time, they are travelling for hours and hours to get here where some other destination B&B's have guests who travel a couple hours max. This is so interesting, and I will continue to use this information. thanks again.

It is amazing how much WE like this sort of travel but we rarely get guests who are interested. We have a list of great venues to see while here and we get a lot of eye-rolling when we mention them. Maybe we don't have the high end crowd that enjoys this sort of thing. Won't stop me from talking about it, tho!
.

Hype the history/culture as part of your intro as well as the shopping. It may actually start bringing people who are looking for that.
In 1986 when we did NE & the windjammer cruise with the kids, we stopped in your town for the shopping (and again on 1994 w/friends) BUT we had already done the history and it was just for a couple hours (mainly for DH because of the Big Boy in your town). Is Maine Made still there? I ordered a sweater from there and it arrived on my birthday that year!
.

Maine Made went out and is now back. Altho I don't think the store is open yet, I've seen signs.