April Grail Research. Travel and Tourism Credentials

Transcription

1 April 2011 Grail Research Travel and Tourism Credentials

2 Section I Introduction to Grail Research April 2011

3 In A New World, A New Model for Answers Combine the best elements of strategy consulting and market research and improve them Strategy Consulting Personalized and Customized Insightful Rigorous Market Research Speed of execution Cost-effective Data rich Repeatable Immediate, Global and Concise 3

4 Who is Grail Research? Grail Research is the global strategic research and decision support division of Integreon that provides organizations with accurate, succinct answers to their most important business questions Global firms rely on Grail Research to deliver market intelligence required to make strategic decisions, such as entering new markets, increasing penetration in existing markets, launching and enhancing service offerings, targeting the right customer segments and tracking brand perception and loyalty Grail Research was founded by Monitor Group, one of the world s leading business advisory and investment firms, with its own USD 2Bn+ private equity firm. Grail Research is now division of Integreon, the largest and most trusted provider of legal, research and business support solutions Grail Research s global capabilities include conducting research in 110+ countries and 35+ languages. We have a global delivery network with over 2,000 employees worldwide Office location Countries where we have conducted research In the travel and tourism sector, we have completed 65+ engagements focusing on 70+ countries, involving benchmarking, customer preference surveys and cluster analysis. We ve helped our clients to improve their city s tourism competitiveness and supported new investment decisions, among other projects Our clients span the private, public and non-profit sectors and include national and regional tourism boards, hotels chains, airlines, consulting firms, investment banks, pharmaceutical, technology and other Fortune 100 blue chip companies 4

5 Our CRISP TM Approach to Research and Analytics Research Rigorous and consistent Triangulation: secondary, experts, surveys Ensure approach meets the required burden of proof Insights Clear so what s Context to make data meaningful Question Charge Extract logical conclusions Explain the non-obvious insights Answer Reframe business need as a research question Know why the question is being asked Weigh the importance of the question Identify the audience Confirm that the right question is being asked Determine whether the question can be answered Synthesis Simple but not superficial Articulate nuanced summary in 1-2 pages Presentation Concise Powerful graphics Provide visual metaphors to make insights from data intuitive and easy to grasp Address the underlying need behind the initial question Highlight and explain findings that are surprising, new, or provocative State what remains unanswered Leverage for future value 5

6 Research Methodologies We Use We have invested in a broad and deep set of capabilities and combine them as needed to ensure that each engagement has been approached in a customized fashion to meet the unique needs of the business objective at hand Distill large volumes of disparate publicly available material through credible sources such as UNWTO, WTTC and national tourism departments with insight generating proprietary approaches (e.g., Scanalytics TM ) Meta-analysis Primary Deliver deep market insights from traveler surveys and focus-group discussions, specifically related to brand tracking, marketing campaigns and goto-market strategies Access to thousands of experts (e.g., travel writers) to use as interviewees and project support Leverage technology and proprietary approaches to gain insight about travelers experiences through online media (e.g., blogs and discussion forums) Use proprietary approaches to manage knowledge assets of a firm, thus support informed decision-making Networks MROCs Social Media Analytics KM Services Ability to establish and maintain communities of travelers and channel partners (e.g., tour operators) that can be tapped for market research Provide ongoing insights from transaction data (e.g., travel receipts, customer volume) for strategic decisionmaking related to airfares, tour packages, hotel rentals, etc., for seasonal vs. peak times Question Answer 6

7 Section II Our Travel and Tourism Capabilities April 2011

8 Our Global Travel and Tourism Research Experience Grail Research has extensive experience in conducting global as well as regional research; we also have expertise in hard-to-reach markets such as the Middle East and Africa Asia Pacific (38) Americas (35) Mexico Canada United States Jamaica Aruba Project Objectives: Investment Colombia Decision to Improve Hotel Infrastructure, Understanding Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Drivers Types of Services: Competitive Analysis, Market Sizing, Product Profiling, Destination Brand Assessment and Monitoring, Customer Profiling (Including Evaluation of Loyalty Drivers) Chile Venezuela Tourism Research Experience (#) Number of Projects Europe (35) Project Objectives: Increasing City Competitiveness, Understanding Online Travel Booking Behavior Types of Services: City Development, Trend Analysis, Market Profiling, Destination Brand Assessment and Monitoring, Consumer Profiling, Benchmarking Tourism Products and Offerings Brazil Senegal Sweden Finland Norway United Netherlands Kingdom Germany Poland Czech Republic France Switzerland Moldova Croatia Serbia & Montenegro Spain Italy Turkey Armenia Turkmenistan Portugal Greece Cyprus Syria Tunisia Lebanon Morocco Israel Iraq Iran Jordan Kuwait Algeria Bahrain Libya Egypt Qatar Nigeria Angola DR Congo Botswana South Africa Kenya Saudi Arabia Eritrea UAE Oman Middle East and Africa (49) Russia Kyrgyzstan India Bhutan Mongolia Project Objectives: Development of City Mozambique Infrastructure, Creation of Tourism Strategy, Introduction of Tourism Products, Implementation of Tourism Strategy, Due Diligence for Setting up Tourism Board s Satellite Offices in Other Countries Types of Services: Benchmarking Tourism Products and Offerings, Destination Brand Assessment, Destination Brand Monitoring, Consumer Profiling China Thailand Project Objectives: Creation of Tourism Strategy for Long-Haul Tourists, Due Diligence for Investment in Luxury / Heritage Hotel Segment Types of Services: Market Profiling, Destination Brand Assessment and Monitoring, Consumer Profiling, Benchmarking Tourism Products and Japan Offerings Malaysia Singapore Vietnam South Korea Taiwan Hong Kong Philippines Australia New Zealand 8

9 Targeted Offerings for Clients We have completed projects across a range of business requirements, for a diverse group of public, private and non-profit clients within the travel and tourism sector Project and Client Diversity Industry Analysis Competitive Intelligence Destination Brand Perceptions and Tracking Offerings Enrichment/ New Launches Promotional and Marketing Strategy Customer Segmentation, Satisfaction and Buying Behavior Market Entry Assessment Tourism Boards and Ministries Hotels, Casinos and Restaurants Tour Operators Foundations/Tourism Investment Companies Sports and Events Organizers Civil Aviation/Airlines 9

10 Grail Research Understands the Tourism Industry The significant change in the economic and political environment over the last three years has directly impacted the travel habits of consumers globally Market Trends Emerging Competition: The tourism industry is evolving and becoming more competitive with the emergence of new destinations such as the UAE, Morocco, Turkey, Malaysia and Brazil Increasing Competitive Pressures: In 2010, there were 4 major sporting events that enabled countries to enhance their global brands; the Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Ryder Cup and the Common Wealth Games Changing Marketing Plans: Countries have realigned their marketing plans to reflect changing consumer trends. For instance, Greece projected itself as an affordable tourist destination through their a masterpiece you can afford campaign Theme-Based Tourism: Markets are branding themselves under themes related to Adventure, Business, the Environment, Sports and Events, Medicine, Health and Wellness, Volunteerism and Culture to attract tourists Sustainable Tourism: The growing, global concern for the environment is causing governments and other key stakeholders to develop policies and strategies that focus on promoting sustainable tourism. E.g., develop awareness campaigns, provide sustainability certifications to tourism destinations, and develop eco-tourism infrastructure Consumer Trends Price Sensitivity: Due to the global economic downturn, consumers are becoming increasingly price sensitive and are seeking value for money destinations Reduced Travel Spend: Consumers have reduced their travel expenditures in the last 2-3 years. E.g., booking time has moved closer to travel dates as consumers wait longer to obtain better deals Increased Local Travel: In recent years, travel in domestic/neighboring countries has been gaining prominence over foreign tourism, driven by the economic recession and weaker currencies in Europe and the US. Rising fuel prices and growing awareness of the environmental costs of air travel have also cut down longhaul travel Information Overload: The increasing volume of information on consumers travel behavior makes it cumbersome for clients to decipher key insights effectively Adoption of Technology: Social media has become a key influencer in consumer travel choices; more people are using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other websites such as Trip Advisor to post reviews on their travels and obtain feedback from others 10

11 Our Tried and Tested Research Frameworks We have a credible point of view for understanding various aspects of the travel and tourism landscape and have developed several unique frameworks to meet the needs of our clients Our Tourism Research Frameworks Tourism Competitiveness Approach Our approach to analyze Tourism Competitiveness provides an end-to-end solution, starting from current situation analysis continuing all the way to developing a tourism strategy and roadmap Segmentation Methodology Our robust Segmentation Approach generates deeper insights about consumers and their buying process to drive choices around activation strategies Destination Brand Tracking Framework Our Destination Brand Tracking Framework examines brand assessment (destination) across three elements: Beliefs, Presence, and Preferences to provide a longitudinal analysis of the destinations Visitor Survey Framework Our Visitor Survey Framework generates insights into visitors expectations, preferences, spending behavior, usage profile, and satisfaction from a destination and helps us identify the product, information, and service-level gaps experienced by visitors Marketing/RTM Strategy Framework We have a proprietary Marketing/Route-to-Market Strategy Framework that encompasses a mix of components to help our clients develop the most effective growth and promotional strategies in each of their visitor markets Marketing Investment Optimization Framework Our Marketing Investment Optimization Framework helps assess the return on marketing investment in priority markets for our clients. Some of the underlying issues this framework answers include time lags between marketing activities and purchase decisions by customers and cost of doing business and its impact on marketing investments 11

12 Typical Questions Faced by our Clients Grail Research facilitates in defining, articulating and resolving simple-to-complex travel and tourism related questions, including analyzing, tracking and measuring tourism trends Consumers Who are our target high-value consumers? What motivates our target consumers to select their travel destinations? Where do our target consumers get their information from? Where do we lose consumers along the conversion curve? Destination Brand Channels What channels do our high-value consumers use to make their purchase? What do the channels tell consumers about our destination? What additional information do the channels need about our destination? Events What products do consumers most associate with our destination? How is our brand perception evolving over time? Which destinations have successfully defined their brand? What can we learn from them? How do they evolve over time to maintain their high brand value? Competitors What events can we host (e.g., global sporting events, conferences)? What are the criteria for hosting these events? What can we learn from past successful hosts? Who are our past, current and future competitors? What is their value proposition? What can we learn from them over time? What are their strengths and weaknesses? 12

13 What A Few Customers Say About Grail Research Tourism Client Testimonials General Manager: Research, South African Tourism Over the past 5 years, SA Tourism has worked with Grail Research on more than 20 strategic research projects. Our relationship started with the Grail team supporting our brand tracking study and has grown to where they are a trusted partner we look to for help on projects that influence our strategy, business planning and marketing decisions. They understand our business, our organization and are able to provide the level of insight we need to confidently take action. It has been a wonderful experience working with Grail as they are open and honest about the things they can and can t help us with. They are responsive to our changing needs, always meet deadlines and offer us with thoughts and insights that are relevant to taking the business of tourism forward. City Lodge was considering entering a new market and we needed support developing a detailed understanding of the traveler behavior in the market and business case for entry. We engaged Grail Research because they understood our business, had expertise in the market we were considering and knew how to quickly gather the information we needed to make decisions. We were extremely pleased with the quality of insight the team delivered and with the way they helped us think through important positioning and branding decisions. The analysis Grail prepared was very powerful and appropriate for use by our senior executives when presenting the business case to our board. I highly recommend Grail as a strategic research partner for organizations that are evaluating high stakes decisions. Henri Joubert, International Business Development Manager, City Lodge Hotels 13

14 Section III Our Experience and Case Studies April 2011

15 Case Studies Strategic Business Challenges faced by Clients in Travel and Tourism How Should We Promote Tourism? Enter into New Markets? Which Segments Should We Prioritize? Who Are Our Key Competitors? What Are Our Customers Preferences? Leverage Events? 15

16 Case Studies How Should We Promote Tourism? It s important to know when your target market will be thinking about selecting their next vacation or business destination, and attract them with the most appropriate and unique products and services as well as visually attractive marketing materials How Should We Promote Tourism? Who Are Our Key Competitors? Enter Into New Markets? What Are Our Customer s Preferences? Which Segments Should We Prioritize? Leverage Events? Innovative Tourism Offerings for input into Tourism Strategy Study Objective: The Ministry of Tourism for an Asian country wanted to develop a tourism strategy for its coastal destination based on an evaluation on how similar vacation spots have positioned themselves to European travelers Our Role: Identified and profiled best practices followed by countries to market and promote their tourism offerings. In addition, Grail Research analyzed the training programs for the tourism workforce, and developed case studies on innovative tourism products and services Development of Tourism Marketing Material Study Objective: A national tourism department for an African country wanted to develop marketing material for distribution in relevant international travel forums and promote its offerings to channel partners in 16 countries Our Role: Analyzed longitudinal, quantitative survey-based data for a six year period across countries to understand trends and behavioral travel preferences and design marketing materials that profiled the customer segments for each of the 16 countries 16

17 Case Studies Enter Into New Markets? While consumers across the globe tend to travel for similar reasons to similar destinations, each region has a unique set of expectations. To accommodate this, travel and tourism companies need to have a deep understanding of their target customers behavior, preferences, brand perceptions and the travel purchasing process How Should We Promote Tourism? Who Are Our Key Competitors? Enter Into New Markets? What Are Our Customer s Preferences? Which Segments Should We Prioritize? Leverage Events? Route to Market Strategy Study Objective: A country s national tourism department had identified four potential countries to enter and invest in by opening dedicated offices to promote tourism and increase visitation and revenues Our Role: Undertook an assessment of the four markets to evaluate the most effective channel mechanisms to leverage and prioritize target segments in each of the countries. This included a deep review of the regulatory and business environment to help create an effective implementation plan along with metrics to track the tourism departments longitudinally Market Assessment for Limited Service Hotels Study Objective: A global hotel chain considering market entry into 2-3 countries in Asia wanted to understand the travel behavior and accommodation preferences of the business traveler in the potential markets Our Role: Conducted a quantitative usage and attitude study among business travelers in major cities, identifying the travelers perceptions of brand name and appeal, travel frequency, behavior and preferences, and key factors that influence their selection of accommodation 17

18 Case Studies Which Segments Should We Prioritize? Given the broad travel audience, it is imperative to identify and target the most appropriate and lucrative consumers. The right set of socio-demographic metrics (family size, travel expenditure, travel behavior, etc.) must be used to select target segments How Should We Promote Tourism? Who Are Our Key Competitors? Enter Into New Markets? What Are Our Customer s Preferences? Which Segments Should We Prioritize? Leverage Events? International High Income Leisure Traveler Segmentation Study Objective: A country s tourism board wanted to develop a global segmentation framework with prioritized segments in ten markets to target for increasing visitation, recommendations and tourism receipts Our Role: Undertook a multi-country segmentation exercise that involved executing qualitative and quantitative research among 15,000 potential travelers to map possible segments in comparison to the client s tourism offerings. The end result was a market map with deep segment understanding for implementing a localized communication strategy International Long-haul Tourism Strategy for a Southeast Asian Country Study Objective: A Southeast Asian government wanted to indentify tourism products that it should develop to cater to the needs and expectations of high-spending, inbound, long-haul tourists Our Role: Developed a tourism framework for long-haul markets to formulate a detailed market outlook for outbound tourism from these markets. Summarized actionable recommendations to attract high-spending tourists, and help build an integrated tourism strategy 18

19 Case Studies Who Are Our Key Competitors? It s important to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in the tourism industry. New competitors emerge from time to time, both regionally and internationally, and they should be evaluated in a timely manner How Should We Promote Tourism? Who Are Our Key Competitors? Enter Into New Markets? What Are Our Customer s Preferences? Which Segments Should We Prioritize? Leverage Events? Tourism Competitiveness Study Study Objective: A country s national tourism board wanted to evaluate its internal strengths and assess its external competitive environment Our Role: Conducted a study involving internal benchmarking (vis-à-vis other sectors), external benchmarking (vis-à-vis competing nations indentified during the study), an overview of the internal socio-economic environment, and customer satisfaction through quantitative surveys and the use of social media analysis Analysis of Hotel Infrastructure vis-à-vis Competitors Study Objective: A major hotel chain needed to benchmark its IT infrastructure with its competitors to formulate a long-term enterprise-wide IT strategy Our Role: Conducted a competitive intelligence study and developed a detailed understanding of the key IT trends for the hospitality industry, competitors IT strategies and planned future investments by leveraging expert interviews and secondary research 19

20 Case Studies What Are Our Customer Preferences? It is essential to track the customers overall perceptions and experience with the quality of services, and to match these with their preferences in order to ensure customer satisfaction and retention How Should We Promote Tourism? Who Are Our Key Competitors? Enter Into New Markets? What Are Our Customer s Preferences? Which Segments Should We Prioritize? Leverage Events? Airline Customer Perception Study Study Objective: A major regional air carrier wanted to evaluate its brand strength, recognition and perception among travelers to make future strategic marketing decisions Our Role: Conducted primary research to evaluate frequency of visit, experience, preferred airlines, etc., through a quantitative survey across a prioritized group of traveler segments. The information gathered helped in making choices about route planning as well as brand positioning Spa Loyalty Drivers and Differentiators Study Study Objective: A North American multi-channel spa and retail products company wanted to evaluate the customer preferences and loyalty drivers among European and American customers Our Role: Designed and fielded a quantitative survey to gauge the factors behind the brand s customer retention, and analyzed data using SPSS. Additionally, conducted a study on competitors and key geographic characteristics 20

21 Case Studies Leverage Events? When hosting international festivals, sports, and cultural events, it is important to consider event feasibility, location as a tourist destination, infrastructure facilities, target audience, and travel frequency, in order to fully leverage the potential of events as major tourist attractions How Should We Promote Tourism? Who Are Our Key Competitors? Enter Into New Markets? What Are Our Customer s Preferences? Which Segments Should We Prioritize? Leverage Events? Assessment of Destination Readiness for Global Sports Event Study Objective: A tourism client was preparing for a major global sporting event and needed to ensure that it was prepared to accommodate the expected increase in visitors Our Role: Developed a model to estimate tourist arrivals and assess infrastructure facilities using regional tourism data and information gathered from past events hosted in other geographies. In addition, we benchmarked the performance pre and post this major event to provide the client with a review of the key success parameters as well as an early read of the return on investment across a predefined set of metrics Profiling Festivals and Events to Boost Tourism Study Objective: A national tourism board wanted to identify and evaluate cultural and sporting events that could potentially be hosted to boost tourism revenue Our Role: Undertook a detailed review of the global cultural and sporting events; validated them on several parameters such as location, event frequency, sponsors and viewership; and provided a detailed profile of the most feasible and relevant events for the client to consider hosting 21

22 Our Publications on Travel and Tourism The Rise of Medical Tourism Published in August 2009 A point-of-view document on the history and future of medical tourism, analyzing drivers and barriers to growth, emerging destinations and impact on the healthcare ecosystem 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa TM : Changes in Public Perception Mar 09 to Mar 10 - Published in May 2010 This report showcases the result from our longitudinal study to evaluate change in global perceptions of South Africa in a year (between Mar 09 and Mar 10). The study has been conducted using eavesdropping, a proprietary social media monitoring tool Mobile Survey on Public Perception of South Africa Pre & Post World Cup Published in October 2010 Documented results from mobile surveys conducted before and after the 2010 FIFA World Cup to track public perception about South Africa as the host of the World Cup. This study showcases the viability and reach of mobile platform for consumer surveys The report can be accessed through: The report can be accessed through: Perception The report can be accessed through: Survey 22

23 For More Information Contact: Grail Research Copyright 2012 by Grail Research, a division of Integreon No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of Grail Research, a division of Integreon April 2011