Conduct surveys to enhance the tourist experience
Understanding tourists’ preferences and needs is now a critical part of delivering exceptional experiences in today’s data-driven world. Tourist surveys are a powerful tool for gathering valuable information and turning it into actionable improvements.
From getting feedback on accommodations and attractions to understanding visitors’ cultural and culinary expectations, conducting surveys can open up new opportunities for making tourist experiences even better.
But how can you make sure that your surveys are effective and deliver reliable results? In this guide we’ll take a look at the key steps for conducting surveys that guarantee you not only collect valuable data, but make it fun for the survey respondents.
We’ll take a deep dive into the techniques for crafting powerful survey questions that guarantee survey accessibility and inclusivity as well as for analysing survey results to mine insightful information.
So, whether you’re a tourism industry professional or a destination manager, get ready to take your tourists’ experiences from ordinary to extraordinary with the power of surveys that ask the right questions.
The importance of surveys for creating better tourism experiences
In the digital age, data is the new petrol. When it comes to improving tourism experiences, data is fundamental if you’re looking to understand what tourists need and want.
Conducting surveys lets you collect valuable data that can guide strategic decisions and enhance the services your tourism destination offers.
The data you compile using surveys can provide information about visitor satisfaction with the quality of the accommodations, the friendliness of your staff, the variety of activities on offer, and much more.
Data can also reveal patterns and trends that help you identify areas for improvement and opportunities for innovation in the tourism industry.
The trick to improving the tourism experience is to conduct satisfaction surveys once guests have left the destination. They’re always got a smile on their face when they leave the information centre, but things can happen at the destination that changes their minds. So why not find out by simply asking: Would you come back? YES/NO and why? Just like they do at restaurants.
Survey types for collecting data
There are several different types of surveys that you can use depending on your specific objectives and needs when it comes to conducting surveys to help improve tourism experiences. Some of the most common types of surveys include:
1. Customer satisfaction surveys: This type of survey seeks to collect information on tourists’ overall satisfaction with their experience at a specific destination.
They can cover areas like quality of accommodations, customer service, variety of activities, and the overall quality of tourism services.
2. Consumer preferences and expectations survey: These surveys are designed to understand tourists’ preferences and expectations in terms of activities, attractions, food and culture.
They help pinpoint those aspects that tourists value most highly and what changes or improvements could make their experience even better.
3. Post-visit surveys: These surveys are designed for after tourists have already visited a destination and focus on gathering specific feedback about their experience.
They can cover issues including transport, accessibility, cleanliness and safety, among other aspects that are relevant to the tourist’s overall experience.
How do you get a tourist to fill out a survey?
That’s really what it boils down to. There’s a lot of talk about tourist satisfaction but ultimately, there’s really only two ways that you can gauge their level of satisfaction:
. In person, using one of the surveys we’ve talked about.
. Online, mainly when a tourist wants to lodge a complaint.
Which of the two do you think would give you significantly more insight into the services you offer? For example, when it comes to tourist information centre, online users account for the roughly 90% of tourists who never step foot onto the premises, a source of information that you’re losing out on. But stop and think about it for a second.
Who would want to spend more than a minute giving you feedback about your business?
Well, it’s pretty straightforward: only the ones who want to lodge a complaint, someone who has really had a bad experience, and…
How do we get them to give a positive review?
As former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would say, by giving more than what you said you would,
Does that mean gifts? Well, if you’ve got the budget for it… But that’s not really what it’s all about. It’s actually a lot easier and it comes down to truly caring about your customer.
Don’t think of it so much as a survey to gather information, and more as a way to provide tourists with a personalised service. It changes things, doesn’t it?
“Excuse me, before I get to your questions, tell me a little bit about yourself”.
Are you travelling alone, as a family, as a couple?
What are you most interested in about the destination?
What is your rough budget for this trip?
Is this your first time or are you looking to see something more local, a hidden gem?
See? It’s a survey, you’ve gathered all the information you need to deliver personalised service, and very importantly, you haven’t asked the same thing twice. For more on this tool for collecting data in a subtle way without it looking like you’re grilling the guest, I recommend you check out our modules and surveys with Cicerone.
This makes getting your tourists’ emails before you give them information a crucial step; you can then add it to your tourism CRM and send them that short satisfaction survey.
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