In today’s divisive climate, it is an especially important for U.S. tourism marketing groups to convey a message of welcome to people of all cultures. But how can a DMO do this effectively? Saying it is one thing; being convincing—and authentic—is another.
Despite a growing amount of general consumer research on different domestic cultural populations, there is a lack of shared research on U.S. travelers of specific ethnic and cultural groups. Conducting custom studies on cultural traveler groups can be particularly challenging because of the difficulty in attaining adequate sample size, lack of research expertise in that cultural group, and cost. Session speakers Lauren Hansen-Flaschen from VISIT PHILADELPHIA and Michael Rodenburgh from Ipsos want you to know that it is doable—and well worth it.
Working with Ipsos, VISIT PHILADELPHIA recently completed two such studies to better understand the African-American traveler and the Latino traveler from the Northeastern United States. A major reason for these studies was to determine whether connecting and attracting these markets is effective through the general market campaign, or if VISIT PHILADELPHIA should create more tailored marketing and messaging to reach these audiences.
Based on these very recent studies, this presentation covers: