E-mail this page2007 Lake Placid - Essex County
Leisure Travel Information Study
This study was commissioned to ascertain key marketing program statistics for the Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau (the Bureau). This study was targeted toward the leisure travel market exclusively and does not reflect any impact produced by the meeting and events market segments. This is the fifth consecutive year that this research has been conducted for the Bureau by the Technical Assistance Center. The Bureau is responsible for marketing Essex County's tourism assets. The primary focus of the research was to determine the return on investment ratio for Essex County public marketing dollars expended during 2007 and the conversion rate factor that measures the number of visitors to the region. The studies conducted for 2003 through 2007 have established a reliable benchmark to which key statistics may be compared. Results from 2007 continue to affirm a majority of the findings in the previous studies. This year the conversion rate increased slightly to 82% while the average per party per day expenditures dropped to $356.01. The marketing dollar return on investment ratio of 90:1 reflects the decrease in per party spending. This ratio was calculated using the occupancy tax and I Love NY matching funds dollars collected in Essex County in 2007. Again for the second year, in addition to using occupancy tax revenue and I Love NY Matching Funds, the ROI has been calculated based solely on Occpancy Tax dollars, the total Bureau budget and the total Bureau budget plus all of the co-op marketing dollars utilized. The ROI if calculated on the Occupancy Tax alone is 98:1, while the total Bureau budget yields a 68:1 ROI and the total budget including co-op funding ROI is 51:1.
This year the Bureau generated 96,197 leads, clightly more than 2006 but very consistent with the past. A total of 2,118 surveys were returned, representing a response rate fo over six percent. This is considered a sound response rate from a research perspective.
This year the conversion rate and ROI decreased as a result of the $50.00 decrease in per party per day expenditures compared to the previous year. The total revenue generated exceeded $140 million in 2007 compared to $179 million in 2006. When looking over the four year average and consistent with past studies conducted by TAC, this year's study still reveals a strong return on investment from marketing expenditures. In addition, 94% of the respondents indicated that they plan to visit the region in the future, with 70% planning to visit within one year.
The respondents reported an average annual income of $86,585 in 2007 compared to $95,543 in 2006. The four year study average is $89,015, validating the high affluence of leisure visitors to the county. These results support recent industry trends indicating that resort market destinations are attracting a younger, more affluent traveler. Of the visitors surveyed, over 90% used the Internet as the primary means of researching their vacation, reinforcing the critical importance of Internet marketing in all tourism related marketing efforts. The respondents indicated a high satisfaction level (93%) with the material they received from the Bureau. The average expenditure for all visitors was $356.00 per visitor party per day. The five-day average length of stay compared to 5.7 last year and has remained consistent over the study history.
This report again indicates positive results for Essex County's marketing campaign, as well as the economic benefits to Essex County for the tourism marketing dollars expended. The study can be used to enhance and evaluate future marketing efforts, techniques, marketing channels and resources. The data generated by this study has been consistent over the past four years, strengthening the credibility of the findings over the study period.
Contact Information
For more information about the Technical Assistance Center at SUNY Plattsburgh, please contact:
E-mail: tac@plattsburgh.edu
Phone: (518) 564-2214
194 US Oval
Plattsburgh, NY 12903