We conducted a research study of international and domestic US tourists planning to visit New York City in 2020, looking closely at how and when they plan their activities, and what they plan to do while in town. One of the key takeaways from this study was the importance of pre-departure planning for parents. Tourists traveling with kids are the second largest travel group and do the majority of their planning before arriving at their destination. This puts pressure on marketers to make sure their attraction is on the radar of these parents before they arrive in market.
Almost half of tourists, both international and domestic US, visiting New York City will travel with their partner at 44%, following this is traveling with their kids at 31%. Almost a third of all tourists visiting New York City in 2020 will be vacationing with their kids, making up a significant number of potential visitors to any kid friendly attraction.
Those traveling with kids between 5 and 17 are twice as likely to plan all of their trip before leaving than those traveling without kids, at 22% vs. 11%. A high 72% of parents will plan all or most of their trip before arriving in New York City, 32-points higher than those traveling without kids. Of course, some decisions will happen on the ground for parents, but this data demonstrates the importance of pre-arrival awareness of activity options, which marketers should take into account when looking at their media and communications plan.
Looking at what activities parents will book before their trip, attractions are the leading activity with 55% of parents planning to purchase tickets to attractions before they leave for their trip, 16-points higher than those traveling without kids. Next we have museums at 44%, 13-points higher than those traveling without kids. Broadway is an activity that receives an equal amount of pre-booking from both parents and non-parents alike at roughly 43%, while parents are almost twice as likely to book a bus tour before departing than non-parents.
Most marketers focus on in-market media and passes when targeting tourists, which is cost effective and makes sense, but some market segments demand a bit more attention if you’re going to grow that category, parents are one of them. It comes down to pre-market awareness. What are you doing to ensure parents are considering your attraction when making their plans? Who are your communication campaigns touching? How is your SEO in your top feeder markets? Starting your relationship with parents as early as possible in their planning is critical and will make a difference in capturing their attendance.
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