Travel Market Switzerland

This paper estimates the expenditures of Swiss travellers by means of a hedonic regression. Based on the constituting elements of a trip (number of travel companions from the same household, duration of trip, choice of destination, means of transport and accommodation), the overall and marginal costs of a trip (and thus expenditures) are estimated by log-linear regression. The key determinants of travel expenditure are (1) with regard to domestic tourism the number of participating household members, and (2) with regard to international tourism the duration of a trip. With regard to all forms of tourism, the type of accommodation has the comparably highest effect on trip expenditures.

This study examines solo travel, and offers a conceptual framework of solo travelers, a profile of these types of travelers (by socio-demographic characteristics), and a profile of travels (by specific descriptors). The data for this study emerged from a comprehensive survey of Swiss travel behavior conducted 2004 by the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). The conceptual model proposes an a priori segmentation of four types of solo travel, delineated on the combination of the departure status (a single, one-person household, compared to a collective, multi-persons household) and arrival status (solo travel, compared to group travel), thus creating a two-by-two matrix with four segments overall. The results of the profiling reveal significant differences between the solo travel groups, as well as towards a control group incorporating all other travel. They include income, profession, and age, as well as familiarity with the destination, choice of type of accommodation, expenditures and various types of trips. However, no significant differences can be reported with regard to the choice of destination.

Whilst destination marketing organizations around the world invest many resources into tourism marketing, little focus is placed on Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel. A primary reason for this has been linked to the assumed lack of benefits to commercial accommodation operators. However, not all VFR travelers stay with the friends or relatives that they travel to see. This research aims to contribute to the small body of literature that has considered the behaviors of those VFR travelers who select commercial accommodation. Focusing on the Swiss market as a typical mature travel market, this research has found several key differences between VFR travelers who stay with their friends or relatives and those who choose commercial accommodation. A key finding has been a significant difference in length of stay, whereby VFRs staying in commercial accommodation enjoy longer periods of stay in the region. Those VFRs also travel greater distances.

This study examines solo travel, and offers (1) a conceptual framework of solo travelers, (2) a profile of these types of travelers (by socio-demographic characteristics), and (3) a profile of travels (by specific descriptors). The data for this study stem from a comprehensive survey of Swiss travel behavior conducted 2004 by the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). The conceptual model is derived from transportation research. It proposes an a priori segmentation of four types of solo travel, delineated on the combination of the (1) departure status (a single, one-person household, compared to a collective, multi-persons household) and (2) arrival status (solo travel, compared to group travel), thus creating a two-by-two matrix with four segments overall. Solo travelers basically either tend to foster an existing social network or try to nurse their curiosity and at the same time look for new social contacts. The results of the profiling further reveal significant differences between the solo travel groups, as well as towards a control group incorporating all other travel. They include income, profession, and age, as well as familiarity with the destination, choice of type of accommodation, expenditures and various types of trips. However, no significant differences can be reported with regard to the choice of destination.

Technical Report and Results - In 2007, for the seventeenth time since 1972, a survey on the travel behaviour of the Swiss population was conducted. The database resulting from this project (Travel Market Switzerland 2007) is still the most extensive on private trips by the Swiss resident population. Private trips are defined/ delimited as all journeys by private persons with at least one overnight stay outside their home and their normal life and work environment. They include all types of leisure motivations, but no business purposes. This report overviews: -the method/ procedure of data collection (Chapter 2) -the results of this data collection (Chapter 3) -publications that draw on previous editions of Travel Market Switzerland (Chapter 4) -variables available in the database of Travel Market Switzerland for further analysis and special reports (Chapter 5). Results (selection): -Travel propensities: Switzerland experienced one of its most travel-intensive travel years ever, mainly due to the economic prosperity, an optimistic outlook and cheap transport during large parts of the reporting year. -The duration of trips: most trips now last less than one week. The "classic" two-week trip has been supplanted by shorter as well as longer trips. -The choice of destination: Switzerland remains the favoured destination. However, non-neighbouring countries in Europe as well as overseas destinations have achieved considerable market share increases. -The month of departure: July remains the strongest month. More than half of all travel occurred between March and July. Other than in 2004, and signalling a long-term trend, travel increasingly occurred in the first half of the year, with varying market shares for spring and autumn. -Travel motivation: people wanted to be pampered, diverted/ entertained and rid themselves of obligations. Time issues (motivation factors such as having time for family or for oneself) are less dominant than in previous years, although still strong. -Sources of information: three major sources of information exist: the WWW, friends and relatives, and destination brochures. Occasionally (and especially when travelling internationally), tour operator brochures and travel guides inhibit prominent position. However, and most importantly, the major source of information is previous experi-ence. -Modes of transport: 2007 has been the year of the plane, with flying as the mode of transport gaining the highest market share ever, attributable to capacity increases of the network carriers as well as a proliferation of low-cost airlines. Cars lost market share, mainly due to the choice of destination, and trains also continued to lose market share. -Type of accommodation: the hotel industry in general, and four- and five-star hotels in particular, gained market share. Because travellers from Switzerland prefer to stay in hotels when travelling internationally, and international travel has gained market share, this was expected. In summary, a prosperous 2007 led to increased travel activity, which generated above-average demand for long-haul travel, and therefore increased demand for flights and hotel accommodation. The overall trend of stagnation was interrupted in 2007; however, it is uncertain whether this is a temporary phase, considering the less-than-favourable economic outlook and higher transport costs for the time being.

This study investigates predictors (stated motivation and reported leisure activities) of health travel as opposed to a control group incorporating all other travel of the Swiss resident population, a well matured market. An a-priori segmentation of more than 11,000 trip cases (health travel as opposed to non health travel) was chosen as means of methodological concept, and stepwise logistic regression of 25 types of motivations and 72 types of activities towards group membership served as means of analysis. There appears to be a mature perception of health travel in the developed Swiss market, comprising rewarding elements of beauty, indulgence, and regeneration combined with demanding elements such as (challenging and stimulating) sports, including mountain biking, hiking, and golf.

In 2004, for the 16th time since 1972, a survey on the travel behaviour of the Swiss population was conducted. The database resulting from this project (Travel Market Switzerland 2004) is still the most extensive one on private trips of the Swiss population. This report gives an overview on - Method/ procedure of data collection (cf. chapter 2), and - Results (cf. chapter 3). Furthermore, 1998 research on the clustering of travel situations based on motivation factors was replicated as part of this report (Market segmentation by motivation: results of 1998 research revisited). Please refer to chapter 4. To give insight into previous publications on Travel Market Switzerland, we made a compilation of all related papers published by the authors of this report; please refer to chapter 5. Finally, a list of all currently available variables gives an impression of data available for research (cf. chapter 6).

This paper estimates the expenditures of Swiss travellers by means of a hedonic regression. Based on the constituting elements of a trip (number of travel companions from the same household, duration of trip, choice of destination, means of transport and accommodation), the overall and marginal costs of a trip (and thus expenditures) are estimated by log-linear regression. The key determinants of travel expenditure are (1) with regard to domestic tourism the number of participating household members, and (2) with regard to international tourism the duration of a trip. With regard to all forms of tourism, the type of accommodation has the comparably highest effect on trip expenditures.

People travel to different destinations for different reasons. In this study, we investigate the viability of market segmentation by personal traits (based on and exemplified by Jungian MBTI variables) of travellers from Switzerland. We performed a data-driven a-posteriori segmentation by means of k-means clustering. To identify the segmentation power of personal traits, this analysis was complemented with a multiple discriminant analysis as well as a number of contingency tests to identify differences between the segments. We identified four clearly delimitable segments. They not only differ in terms of the psychographic traits of the segment members but also in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics as well as travel profiles. Despite a growing body of work on classical market segmentation, there is still a limited number of works on potentialities of psychographic approaches relating to a traveller's traits and/ or personality as a segmentation basis in tourism.