Our latest report NYC Tourist Study - Planning for 2019 explores New York City tourists’ plans for 2019. The report provides insights into tourists’ NYC visit history, trip specifics, pre-planning, in-market planning, media usage, activity choice, spending, media habits, etc. across key tourist demographics. The full report is available now. Please contact us here for full report.
Discounts should not be relied upon to move the needle. Tourists are buying tickets to attractions that they want to visit, not simply the cheapest option. The majority (70%) don’t look for discounted tickets as their first step in the decision-making process, but rather look up online reviews or go to the attraction website. Additionally, the majority of tourists buy their tickets at the attraction website or box office (56%), even when considering discount codes, they are most frequently purchasing a full price ticket. Finally, a high 90% of tourists who buy tourism passes will buy a ticket to an experience outside of the tourist pass.
A high 70% of tourists don’t look for discounts as their first step in researching what to do. The first step is looking up online reviews, followed by researching online to find discounted tickets at 30%. US tourists are more prone to look for discounts than international tourists at 33% vs. 26%, while international tourists are more likely to go directly to the attraction website at 32% vs. US tourists at 23%.
The majority of tourists buy their tickets at the attraction website or box office (56%), even when considering discount codes, they are most frequently purchasing a full price ticket. Domestic US tourists are much more likely to buy tickets from a third party at 29% compared to international travelers at 18%, while international tourists are much more likely to purchase attraction tickets through a tourist pass at 25% compared to US at 13%.
“If we’re not in the pass, will pass-holders still visit our attraction?” is one of the critical questions we ask ourselves as attraction marketers. The answer is yes, if pass holding tourists want to visit your attraction and you’re not in the pass, they’ll still visit. A high 90% of those who purchase tourism passes would purchase additional tickets to an attraction not available through the pass.
Discounts are not the first thing travelers are looking for. They are looking for the best way to spend their time. Campaigns focused on core values and not discounts are what will win you customers. To do this properly you need to understand what your core values are, how to communicate them properly and to what customer segments. If there is any doubt as to any of these three factors, ironing those out must be the first priority.
The full report, NYC Tourist Study - Planning for 2019 is available now for purchase. Please contact us here if interested.
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