Kyle Anderson, a young man who joined our sales and marketing staff last year, has done a great job of profiling the readers of our various magazines using Survey Monkey. He has completed two surveys for the readers of Select Traveler, who represent the most upscale group planners in our publishing universe. To those of you who have taken the time to respond to these online surveys, we extend our thanks.
Here are just a few results thus far that you may find interesting regarding your peers who plan trips for banks, chambers, alumni programs, museums and other similarly professional institutions:
• About 72% of respondents offer trips costing $3,000 or more. This explains why your programs are so sought after by professional tour companies.
• For North American trips, including Mexico and Canada, the most popular five regions for respondents are, in order, the Northeast, Canada, the South, the Midwest and the Northwest.
• More than 84% of respondents are now taking international trips outside North America, with Europe being by far the most popular continent, followed by South America, then Asia.
• As you might expect, trips of six to 10 days are the most widely offered by this group.
• As evidence of the effectiveness of industry education offered by this magazine and the Select Traveler Conference, more than 76% of respondents now use convention and visitors bureaus, and destination marketing organizations to help them research destinations for their groups. This information supplements what they receive from professional tour companies.
• And to our considerable satisfaction, Select Traveler respondents list travel magazines and tourism conferences as their top two sources for new travel ideas, followed by online searches and word of mouth.
Email me anytime with your thoughts at maclacy@grouptravelleader.com.