CORNWALL VISITOR FREQUENCY SURVEY Analysis and Report from PFA Research Ltd 2 nd December 2015 Authors: Robert Rush, Managing Director robert.rush@pfa-research.com Emma Lydon, Research & Marketing Consultant emma.lydon@pfa-research.com pfa-research.com
Contents 1 Executive Summary... 2 1.1 Background... 2 1.2 Key Findings... 2 2 Survey Results in Detail... 3 3 Appendix 1 - Sample Profile... 6 1
1 Executive Summary 1.1 Background This report presents the results of a survey of 874 UK residents aged 18 or over conducted through an online (web) questionnaire during the period 30 th October to 13 th November 2015. Participants were recruited from members of the PropertyPriceAdvice.co.uk (homeowners) database. 1.2 Key Findings The headlines from this survey are: 82% take short breaks or holidays in the UK, of which o 1 have taken a short break or holidayed in Cornwall within the last 12 months and a further 26% (i.e. 40% in total) within the last 5 years. o Overall 66% have taken a short break or holiday in Cornwall sometime in the past. o 10% say they holiday in Cornwall at least once a year. o Overall, 46% are fairly likely to or will definitely visit Cornwall within the next three years. This rises to 83% for those who have already visited within the last 12 months. 2
2 Survey Results in Detail Our survey sample is described in Appendix 1. Analyses have been weighted to reflect the national gender and age profile. Q. Do you ever take short breaks or holidays in the UK? 82% said they take holidays in the UK. 18% said they don t. Q. (If Yes) Have you ever holidayed in Cornwall? And when was the last time? 66% of UK holiday makers have taken short breaks or holidays in Cornwall (or 5 of the sample population as a whole.) 1 of have visited Cornwall within the last 12 months and a further 26% within the last 5 years; i.e. A third of the whole adult population or around 15 million people - have taken a break or holiday in Cornwall within the last five years. Figure 2.1 Last Holiday in Cornwall No 3 Yes 66% Last 6 months 6 to 12 months ago 1 to 2 years ago 3 to 5 years ago More than 5 years ago 26% n=722: Those who take UK holidays 3
10% of those who take UK holidays take a short break or holiday in Cornwall at least once a year. See Figure 2.2. Q. (If Yes) Approximately how often do you take a short break or a holiday in Cornwall? Figure 2.2 Frequency of Taking Holidays in Cornwall No 3 Yes 66% 5% 5% 1 Two or more times a year About once a year Every couple of years Once every 3 to 5 years Less than every 5 years Only been to Cornwall once Don't know n=722: Those who take UK holidays Figure 2.3 shows the likeliness of people to take a short break or holiday in Cornwall within the next three years, for all participants and by their previous visit status. Overall, 46% are fairly likely to or will definitely visit. This rises to 83% for those who have visited within the last 12 months and 93% for those who say they visit annually. 4
Figure 2.3 Likelihood to Visit 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 13% 4 6 33% 3 2 23% 28% 6% 4 6% 0% 0% 5% All Visited recently (last 12 months) Annual Visitor Infrequent visitor (>5 yrs ago) 20% 3% 28% Definitely Fairly likely Fairly unlikely Definitely not Don't know n=722: Those who take UK holidays For those who say they are unlikely to or will definitely not be taking a short break or holiday in Cornwall, for more than half it s just too far to travel and for many (2) the weather is unpredictable. Other reasons mentioned and not shown on the chart include Cornwall simply not being in peoples minds, other destinations being more of a priority, or other personal reasons as variations on those already provided in the chart. Suffice to say, reasons for not visiting Cornwall are generally not related to the type or quality of the product, with only 2% saying they would enjoy it and just suggesting quality is an issue. Figure 2.4 Reasons for Not Visiting Cornwall Too far to travel 53% Cannot guarantee the weather 2 Not expecting to take a holiday at all 12% Too expensive 6% Didn't or wouldn't enjoy the place Quality is not up to my expectations / standards 2% Other 23% Base: n=234, Those unlikely to or definitely not going to visit Cornwall 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 5
3 Appendix 1 - Sample Profile Figure 3.2 below presents the age profile of the sample by gender and against the national profile (based upon a dataset for England Office for National Statistics, 2011 Census.) Our survey sample is not completely representative of the UK as a whole in terms of age, i.e. there is an under representation in the under 25s and over 65s age groups, and over representation in the middle age groups; but this is to be expected from a sample drawn from a database of people who are most likely to be in the property market (see Figure 3.1.) Therefore our analysis has been weighted to reflect the national gender and age profile. Figure 3.1 - Age Distribution of Household Reference Persons (HRPs) 1 1 Source: ONS, 2011 Census data 6
Figure 3.2 - Age Profile 35% 30% 25% 20% 10% 5% 0% 12% 1 1 16% 1 16% 2% 2 20% 22% 28% 26% 30% 2 25% 16% 10% 2% 2% 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 to 74 75 years or older Base: n=847; all answering 1 1 UK Survey Male Female 3% Completing the sample profile, Figure 3.3 presents the sample distribution in terms of household income and occupation is shown in Figure 3.4. Figure 3.3 - Household Income Base: n=712; all answering 2 5% Less than 15,000 15,000 to 24,999 1 25,000 to 44,999 45,000 to 64,999 65,000 to 84,999 85,000 to 99,999 3 100,000 to 199,999 200,000 or more 7
Figure 3.4 - Occupation Professional / Director/ Senior Manager 23% Business Manager / Executive Business Proprietor / Self-employed Teacher / Nurse / Police or other trained service worker Clerical / Sales Employee 12% Farm Owner / Manager Technical / Mechanical / Skilled Worker Home-maker (not otherwise employed) Student Retired 16% Unemployed / Beneficiary Don't know / Prefer not to say 6% 0% 10% 20% 30% Base: n=874, all respondents Q. Which of the following social media sites do you use? Figure 3.5 Social Media Facebook Youtube LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Pinterest Others Foursquare None at all 18% 2 38% 50% 6 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Base: n=866, all responding 8