UPEI's Tourism Research Centre releases study on ‘Anne’ visitors

The Tourism Research Centre (TRC) at the School of Business of the University of PEI and the Tourism Advisory Council (TAC) today announced the release of a report profiling the tourism market for “Anne” related activities during the summer of 2007.

The report follows closely on the heels of the full exit survey report released two weeks ago and is based on responses to two questions on the Exit Survey of visitors to PEI that is managed by the TRC. The first question concerns travel activities visitors participated in while on PEI, while the second concerns the primary feature that attracted first-time visitors to PEI. The data analyzed was collected from June 28 to September 30, 2007, from 3,173 completed surveys.

For activities, the report examines differences between visitors who visited Anne of Green Gables attractions versus those who did not. The report touches on many characteristics of the two types of visitors, such as place of residence, travel party type (i.e., couples, families with young children, etc.), regions stayed in overnight, and spending.

The second section of the report focuses on first-time visitors to PEI, specifically the differences between visitors who selected the “World of Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maud Montgomery” as the primary feature that attracted them to the Island versus those who selected other options.

“The Exit Survey was designed so results could be cross-analyzed to provide a depth of data for further analysis. This report is the first example of what we can do with the exit survey data beyond a basic, top-line analysis. We were able to isolate a specific segment of visitors and compare and contrast them with PEI visitors as a whole,” stated Sean Hennessey, Faculty Director of the TRC. “Anne of Green Gables is the ‘face’” of PEI around the world; she is a character that is closely associated with the Island tourism industry. Studying the ‘Anne’ market was an unplanned opportunity, but we felt it important to analyze this important niche visitor. Some of the results are quite surprising and really highlight areas where we are doing well, and where we have the potential to do even better.”

This is the second report to be released from data collected by the Exit Survey. Over the next ten weeks, a series of reports profiling different segments of PEI visitors, based on activities, origin, regions visited while on the Island, and more, will be released. The full report is available on the TRC’s Website at www.trc.upei.ca/exitsurvey. Some highlights of the report include:

· A total of 53,000 visitor parties (169,000 people) visited Anne of Green Gables attractions during the study period in 2007. This was equivalent to a quarter (25.3 percent) of total pleasure visitors.

· Visitors to Anne attractions originated from all market areas. Canadian markets were the leading source of visitors (74 percent). The US ranked second (16 percent), and International markets supplied the remaining 10 per cent.

· The ratios of visitation by origin were the reverse of volumes. Fuelled by Japanese visitors (75 percent visited Anne attractions), almost one half (49 per cent) of international visitors visited Anne attractions. US visitors ranked second (39 per cent visited) and Canadian visitors ranked a distant third (approximately 21 per cent visited Anne attractions).

· Visitors to Anne attractions tended to participate in a wider variety of travel activities and at higher rates than non-visitors to Anne attractions. Exceptions were outdoor- and sport-related activities (including golf) where participation rates for Anne visitors were lower.

· Well under half of visitors to Anne attractions (43 per cent) attended plays, performances or live theatre.

· Anne attractions drew a modestly above average ratio of family travellers. Families accounted for 26.4 per cent of visitors to Anne attractions. A leading 31.2 per cent of total visitors to Anne attractions were in the age range 35-54. Only slightly less (30.8 per cent) were 55 plus. Children under 18 years of age accounted for 20 per cent of total visitors to Anne attractions.

· While Anne attractions had fairly universal appeal to Island visitors, there were some notable weaknesses. Visitation was weak for return visitors. First-time visitors visited Anne attractions at more than three times the rate of returning visitors (50.0 per cent of first-time visitors visited Anne attractions as compared to only 13.7 per cent of returning visitors).

· A total of 61,300 travel parties visited Prince Edward Island for the first time during the study period in 2007. Approximately 6,500 of these first-time visitor parties (10.7 per cent) indicated the main reason they were attracted to the Island was because of Anne of Green Gables and the World of Lucy Maud Montgomery.

· First-time visitors attracted primarily by Anne leaned toward females by a ratio of almost 60:40. An above average 14.1 per cent of first-time family visitors were attracted by Anne as compared to only 8.5 per cent of adult couple visitors.

· First-time visitors attracted mainly by Anne were on longer trips than other first-time visitors, yet they stayed considerably less time on the Island (3.5 versus 4.3 nights). As a result, Anne visitors spent only 30.4 per cent of their trip nights on the Island as compared to 43.3 per cent of nights spent by non-Anne visitors.

· They spent an average $87.88 per person per night which was almost identical to the average expenditure of other first-time visitors. Because of their shorter length of stay, their total trip expenditures averaged $1,065 as compared to $1,131 for non-Anne visitors.

· First-time visitors attracted mainly by Anne gave the Island good (on average) ratings on travel services, complaints, and travel evaluation with the exception of intent to revisit, which they rated somewhat below average.

“Anne of Green Gables has been a fixture of Prince Edward Island for 100 years. As this is the 100th anniversary of the publication of the first Anne novel, it is only appropriate that we try to learn more about the effects Anne has on our tourism industry and who she is drawing to the Island. This report documents the substantial influence Anne has on the tourism industry on PEI,” stated David MacKenzie, Chair of the TAC. “Armed with this knowledge, industry and government alike can make even better informed decisions about the Anne tourism experience, programming and product development, as well as providing a benchmark for measurement of the Anne 2008 impact.”

Further information about the report can be obtained from the Tourism Research Centre, School of Business, University of PEI, at (902) 566-6096 or trc@upei.ca.