NATIONAL REPORT – The hospitality industry has always been fiercely competitive, but recent economic cycles have found hotels and travel-related businesses vying for any business at all. As hotels scramble to stay on top of the game, they look to identify and target upcoming markets.
Geotourism has been an industry buzz word for awhile, but recent research is shedding new light on the popular trend. The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) has just completed Phase II of a two-part study on the consumer market.
Geotourism, is a term – created by Jonathan Tourtellot, head of the tourism institute at the National Geographic Society – meaning tourism that sustains the environmental, cultural and aesthetic character of a locality. However, the true meaning of the term encompasses all aspects of travel, not just the environment.
“Geotourism is an emerging trend that will endure,” said Dawn Drew Vice President and Publisher of the National Geographic Society. “Sustaining the local environment or bringing in a bit of the local color can mean the difference between a discounted rate [and] higher rate, [and] can develop increased seasonal traffic, and spur local tourism.”
The very idea of geotourism makes sense when you consider the fact that about 73% of travelers place a high importance on a clean, unpolluted environment when they take a leisure trip, combined with the verity that 80% of American travelers greatly value striking scenery.
“I was pleased that there were so many people that can be classified as geotourists,” said Suzanne Cook, Senior VP of Research for TIA. “We found that the number of people who incorporate those activities on their trips is growing much faster than the amount of people who travel in general.”
Those numbers transfer to the travel industry with significant potential. In general, 43 million Americans or about 28% say they buy products and services from specific companies that make an effort to preserve and protect the environment. However, the standard for travel companies run higher – 54 million Americans are inclined to select travel companies based on their preservation of their local environment. A smaller group of 11% said the environment was the main issue when making decisions about which travel companies to patronize.
Locales of diverse heritages – yet another aspect of geotourism – also possess the power to lure those culturally-conscious travelers, as well as some undecided. More than 95 million American travelers or about 62% believe it is important to learn about other cultures when they travel.
Therein lays a potentially untapped marketing concept for many in the travel industry, considering that one in three or 34% of travelers support travel companies that try to protect and preserve the history and culture of destinations. While four in 10 travelers, or 40%, say they visit historic sites and museums in their local areas. Additionally, about one third of travelers – 31%, or 47.7 million – say it is important that the travel companies they use employ local people and support local communities.
“I can think of many places that are environmentally aware, which I wouldn’t know until I got there,” said Cook. “Some hotels have a booklet of local history and community activities, but why can’t every hotel do that? Generally, I don’t see much trumpeting of that, so I would assume they could do better getting the word out.”
There are indications that travel companies’ geotourism efforts do get noticed by a portion of travelers, as one third of all travelers are influenced by a travel company’s actions to preserve the environment, history and culture of destinations.
That number is not as modest as it sounds considering that only about half of all travelers are aware of at least one practice employed by travel companies to preserve and protect the environment of destinations.
The market is expected to grow as there is wide range of age groups who can be categorized as geotourists. The travel habits of three geotourist segments—geo-savvys, urban sophisticates, and good citizens, as classified in the study, make up the majority of the market. One in four geosavvys is under age 35, while urban sophisticates are the most affluent travelers with strong preferences for culture. Good Citizens, while older and less sophisticated, are socially-conscious travelers.
“I think it is a long-term trend because more people are looking for enrichment, and you’re getting it from two angles – the baby-boomer now and generation X, as more of them will be educated,” said Cook. “The population is becoming more educated in traditional ways, like school, but they are also becoming educated in the travel business.”
