France MARKET PROFILE

Transcription

1 France MARKET PROFILE Year 2009 Results of a survey carried out between January to December 2009 Malta Tourism Authority Research Unit

2 Market Dynamics January to December 2009 Source: NSO Total France Market Absolute Change (France) 09/08 Percentage Change (France) 09/08 Tourist Departures 1,183,013 72,630-8, Nights spent 9,997, ,053-13, Average length of stay Expenditure ( 000s) 916,358 62,571-6, Av. Expenditure per capita ( ) France s share out of total visits 6.3 in in 2009 France lost market share

3 Purpose of Visit Holiday remains the main purpose of visit accounting for 77.9 of total visits by French tourists. Holiday French Tourists by Purpose of Visit Year 2009 Year The share of holiday visits decreased by 0.7 percentage points, whilst the share of business travellers increased by 0.4 percentage points. Business VFR Other Source: NSO

4 Market Profile Key Findings The results of this survey are based on a sample of 811 respondents, residing in France. Data was collected during the 12-month period January to December 2009.

5 Part 1: Who was the French visitor?

6 Region of Residence Region of Residence Ile de France 36.9 Rhone Alpes Provence Alpes Cote d Azur Midi-Pyrenees Pays de la Loire Languedoc-Roussillion Aquitaine Poitour-Charentes Bretagne Alsace Auvergne Centre Nord Pas de Calais During 2009, most French tourists visiting Malta came from the regions of: -Ile de France (36.9) -Rhone Alpes (11.8) -Provence Alpes Cote D Azur (7.5) -Midi-Pyrenees (6.2) -Pays de la Loire (4.4) -Languedoc Roussillion (4.0) In 2008, most French tourists originated from Ile de France (32.2), Provence Alpes Cote d Azur (13.6) and Rhone Alpes (11.1).

7 Socio-Demographics Gender -Male -Female Marital Status Single Married/Living together Divorced/separated Widowed Year Year

8 Age Under Over 65 years France: Age Groups Year 2009 Year With an average age of 48.4 years, the French tourist visiting Malta during 2009 was slightly younger than the French visitor in During the period under review, 25.5 of French tourists were between 45 to 54 years of age, increasing from 20.5 in Average Age: Year 2009: 48.4 years Year 2008: 50.2 years

9 Occupation & Net Income Full-time Occupation Director Manager Office / retail worker Professional of French tourists occupied a managerial position. Skilled worker / Tradesman 6.9 Manual worker Self-employed Student Housewife Unemployed Retired Percent 23.6 of respondents were retired whilst 11.7 office/retail workers. Net Income per month: 2,862.15

10 Readership Commonly read newspapers include the daily versions of: Le Monde (21.1) Le Figaro (10.7) Liberation (6.8) L Equipe (6.0) Le Parisien (5.2) The magazines which scored the highest readership were: Express (6.0) Le Point (6.0) Elle (4.0) Nouvelle Observateur (3.6) Telerama (3.5)

11 Internet Access Year 2009 Year 2008 Access to internet - From home - From work - From other pc Website accessed on a regular basis - Google - Yahoo - MSN - Orange - Facebook - Lemonde.fr

12 Internet Access Year 2009 Year 2008 Internet Usage - Search for travel info online - Book travel online Website used for booking purposes - Opodo - Expedia - Last Minute - SNCF - Go Voyages - Promo Vacances

13 Last two holidays Last Two Holidays Main Countries (Multiple Response) Percent Italy Spain USA Morocco Tunisia Greek Islands Greece Croatia Egypt Portugal UK Ireland Canada Turkey Prior to visiting Malta, most French tourists took their last two holidays in Italy, Spain and USA. Other preferred destinations included Morocco, Tunisia and Greek Islands.

14 Part 2: Journey to the Maltese Islands

15 Competing destinations Main Countries Considered Prior to Choosing Malta Percent Greece Italy Greek Islands Spain Croatia Cyprus Morocco Sicily (Italy) Portugal Tunisia Turkey Madeira (Portugal) USA Greece, Italy and the Greek Islands were the top destinations considered by French tourists prior to choosing Malta. Other preferred destinations were Spain, Croatia, Cyprus and Morocco.

16 Sources of Influence (Multiple Responses) Year 2009 () Year 2008 () Newspaper/magazine advert Newspaper/magazine article Recommendation by travel agent Travel guide Tour operator brochure Word-of-mouth recommendation remains the main influential source influencing 32.1 of French visitors to Malta. TIO literature Recommendation by friends/family Travel show/fair Internet In 2009, the internet, ranked as the second influential source followed by the tour operator brochure. Previous visit TV advert TV programme Promotional material Radio 0.2 -

17 Reason for choosing Malta (Multiple Responses) A new place to go As a result of a previous visit Year 2009 () Year 2008 () Agreeable climate remains the prime motivator for French tourists visiting Malta during Agreeable climate History/culture Accessibility Recommendation by friends/relatives This was followed by novelty of destination and history and culture. Value for money English spoken widely Only place available Maltese hospitality Value for money ranked forth, however it lost market share when compared to 2008.

18 Type of Arrangement Type of Booking Arrangement A package 52.4 Non-package (separate bookings for each travel element) 36.6 Partly package/partly nonpackage Percent - Over half of French tourists bought a package trip. - Package trips were mostly bought from tour operators/travel agents. - Non-package trips were booked directly with exclusive internet-based operators.

19 Type of Arrangement Package Non- Package Partly Package/ Partly Non- Package Total N= Share of Total Booking Operator Tour operator/travel agent Directly with supplier Exclusively internet-based operator Booking Arrangement: Flight Accommodation Transfers Vehicle hire Site/attraction visits Event tickets

20 Type of Arrangement Package 70 of package holidays were bought from a tour operator/travel agent. Around three of every ten package holidays were bought from an exclusively internet-based operator. The package mainly included flight, accommodation and transfers. Non-package 52 of non-package trips were booked directly with exclusively internetbased operator. 31 of non-package trips were booked directly with suppliers. Travellers opting for non-package type of travel arrangement mostly booked flight and accommodation. Over one of every five booked vehicle hire. Travel Operators Most mentioned tour operators/travel agents include: FRAM, Donatello, Nouvelle Frontieres, Plein Vent and Selectour. Most mentioned internet-based travel operators include: expedia, SNCF, go voyages, opodo and promo vacances.

21 Internet Booking for the Malta Trip Internet Bookings for the Malta Trip Year Year Yes The share of online bookings for the Malta trip by French tourists increased from 39.5 in 2008 to 56.3 in 2009.

22 Type of Arrangement of Internet Bookers Package Non- Package Partly Package/ Partly Non- Package Total N= Internet Booking YES Booking Operator Flight Accommodation Transfers Vehicle hire Site/attraction visits Event tickets Internet Booking made with: Tour operator/travel agent Directly with supplier Exclusively internet-based operator

23 Type of Arrangement of Internet Bookers 56 of all respondents booked travel online. Non-Package The majority (86) of non-package type travellers booked their trip online. Travel items booked mostly include flight and accommodation. In addition one of every five non-package internet bookers booked vehicle hire and around one of every ten booked transfers. 60 of non-package bookings were made with exclusively internetbased operators. Package 38 of package type travellers booked their trip online. Travel items included in package were mainly flight, accommodation and transfers. 75 of online packages were bought from exclusively-internet based operators.

24 Decision and Booking arrangements Timing of Decision and Reservation Decision Booking Less than 1 week 1 to 3 weeks 1 month 2 to 3 months 4 to 6 months Over 6 months - Three of every ten French tourists decided to travel to Malta over 2 to 3 months in advance; for others (28.9) the Malta trip was planned over 4 months in advance. - For most, booking arrangements were done in line with the decision to travel. - Late booking arrangements accounted for 28.2 of French tourists, making their reservations 3 weeks or less prior to departure.

25 Main Airports of Departure Paris Orly 41.6 Airport of Departure Paris Roissy C harles de Gaulle Marseille Marignane Provence Lyon-Saint Exupéry During year 2009, 41.6 of French surveyed tourists departed from Paris-Orly airport. Toulouse-Blagnac 9.6 Lyon Satolas Geneva International Airport This was followed by other airports of departure which included Paris- Charles de Gaulle, Marseille Marignane, Lyon-Saint Exupery and Toulouse-Blagnac. MIA passenger movements indicate that Paris-Orly remained the main airport of departure with a share of Pax Movements Paris-Orly Year Year Paris-Charles de Gaulle placed second, rising from 9.0 in 2008 to 20.9 in Paris-Charles de Gaulle Lyon-Saint Exupery Marseille Meanwhile, Lyon-Saint Exupery, ranking in third place, remained relatively constant. Toulouse-Blagnac Lourdes/Tarbes Nantes-Atlantique

26 Part 3: Experiencing the Maltese Islands

27 Visit to Malta Year 2009 Year 2008 Experience of Malta: First visit Repeat visit Number of previous visits: 1 time 2 to 3 times 4 to 6 times 7 times and over Out of previous visitors: Visited Gozo Been on a cruise trip to Malta

28 Length of stay Duration of Visit (in Malta) Year 2009 Year to 3 nights 4 to 7 nights 8 to 14 nights Over 14 nights - Most French tourists (72.3) spent 4 to 7 nights in Malta followed by 18.8 French tourists that spent 8 to 14 nights came to Malta for a short break of 1-3 nights. This decreased by 0.7 percentage points when compared to same period last year.

29 Type of Accommodation Used Accommodation Used 5 Star hotel star hotel 3 star hotel Almost nine out of ten French visitors opted to stay in hotel type of accommodation, mostly within 4-star and 3-star hotels. 2 star hotel Tourist village Apart-hotel Guesthouse/hostel Self-catering flat/apt Villa/farmhouse Timeshare Host family Friends/Relatives house Percent On the contrary, 5.4 opted for selfcatering accommodation, staying in flats or apartments, villas and farmhouses. 2.0 stayed with friends and relatives, whilst 1.6 stayed with host family. 0.8 opted for timeshare.

30 Locality of Accommodation Sliema 18.3 Mellieha Qawra St. Julians Valletta 9.3 Bugibba Cirkewwa Marfa St. Paul s Bay Floriana Ghadira Gzira Attard Xlendi (Gozo) Victoria (Rabat, Gozo) Gharb (Gozo) Xaghra (Gozo) Zebbug (Gozo) Comino Locality Stayed In During 2009, 97.4 of French tourists stayed in Malta whilst 2.3 stayed in Gozo. 0.1 of French tourists stayed in Comino. Sliema was the preferred locality of accommodation, chosen by around one out of five French tourists. This was followed by Mellieha (14.9) and Qawra (13.7).

31 Basis of accommodation Basis of Accommodation Year 2009 Year 2008 Timeshare Self-catering All Inclusive Full Board Half Board Bed and Breakfast Bed only of French tourists stayed on a half board basis of accommodation. This share registered a decline of 7.3 percentage points when compared to Over three out of ten opted for bed and breakfast type of accommodation whilst 8.3 opted for bed only basis of accommodation.

32 Travelling party Alone With spouse/partner With family With friends In an organised group With business associates Average number of people in travelling party Year 2009 () Year 2008 ()

33 (Multiple Response in ) Sports/Outdoor Activities: Swimming Diving Other water sports Walking/ Hiking Climbing Golf Attend sports events Participate in sports events Cultural Activities: Go sightseeing Visit historical sites Visit museums Visit churches Visit arts/ Crafts sites Visit local produce sites Year Activities engaged in Whilst in Malta, French tourists like to engage in a variety of activities. In 2009, the majority of French tourists went walking/hiking and swimming. French tourists also engaged in cultural activities visited historical sites whilst almost eight of every ten tourists went sightseeing and visited churches of respondents visited museums.

34 (Multiple Response in ) Cultural Events: Theatrical performance Dance Opera Music/ Concert Visual arts Festas/ Folk/ Festival Recreational Activities: Spa/ Wellness Shopping Nightlife/ Entertainment Dine at restaurants Casino Cinema Year Activities engaged in Furthermore, French tourists like to attend cultural events particularly festas and folklore activities. French tourists also like to entertain themselves by dining and shopping. 16 went to a spa and/or wellness centre.

35 Localities visited in Malta (Multiple Response) Valletta Mdina/Rabat Sliema St Julian s St Paul s Bay Mellieha Marsaxlokk Paceville Mosta Wied iz-zurrieq/ Blue Grotto Three Cities Dingli Hagar Qim/ Mnajdra Marsascala Year 2009 () Year 2008 ()

36 Gozo visit Been to Gozo () Year Year Gozo Visit Year A day trip A one night stay More than a one night stay Most French tourists went to Gozo on a day trip. The share of day trippers increased from 80.6 in 2008 to 87.7 in The share of French tourists who engaged in a more than a one night stay stood at 10.9.

37 Localities visited in Gozo (Multiple Response) Cittadella/Victoria Marsalforn Xlendi Ggantija Dwejra/Azure Window Ta Pinu Basilica Ramla Bay Other Year 2009 () Year 2008 ()

38 Comino Visit Around three in every ten French tourists visiting Malta in 2009 paid a visit to Comino. The share of Comino visitors increased from 20.6 in 2008 to 28.8 in Year 2008 Year 2009 Visit to Comino Yes No

39 Expenditure Expenditure prior to departure Expenditure during stay Per stay Per day Expenditure prior to departure includes: Flight Accommodation Excursions Transfers Vehicle Hire Other

40 Words that French tourists associate with Malta History, culture, heritage, tradition Friendly, hospitable, helpful, welcoming Sunshine, sunny island, blue sky Sea, beaches Amazing, brilliant, enjoyable, stunning, attractive Relaxing, peaceful, serene, tranquil Picturesque, scenic, landscape, nature Weather, nice climate Warm Churches, Catholic Happy, lively, smiles, colourful, bright Diverse, variety Buses, bus drivers Interesting Pleasant Unique, particular, specific, original