RESEARCH

To better understand where our visitors reside, as well what they purchase while visiting, the CVB partnered with Visit California to receive Visa cardholder geographic and spending information. With every Visa credit or debit card transaction, a cardholder’s spending data and zip code of origination is captured, which creates a picture of visitor buying characteristics in the destination. The CVB utilizes VisaVue Data Research to assist in building marketing strategies based on these spending insights. The data shows:

• Year-Round Getaway Markets: Los Angeles (which includes Riverside and Orange counties), San Francisco and San Diego MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) remained the top markets throughout the entire year, in terms of spend. As a result, these markets have been identified as “Year-Round Getaway Markets” and marketing initiatives in these areas will be implemented year-round in the 2018 media plan. In addition, Sacramento, Phoenix and Las Vegas were among top visitor markets and have been grouped with Year-round initiatives.​
   
• Seasonal Vacation Markets: Seattle, Portland, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Dallas, Boston and Atlanta were the top spend locations, respectively. These markets have been identified as “Seasonal Vacation Markets” and marketing initiatives in these areas will be implemented during the destination’s peak and shoulder season months. In addition, top Canadian markets (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Winnipeg) have been grouped with Seasonal Market initiatives. This data will continue to be used to prioritize the strongest markets, domestically, throughout the year.

The CVB launched a Visitor Intercept and Economic Study in 2015. The purpose of the study was to better understand the demographic and geographic make-up of the visitor in Greater Palm Springs. The results of the study were released in 2016 and continue to provide great insights as to who the visitor is and why they visit the destination. This information is used to guide the CVB’s sales and marketing efforts and provide areas of focus to maximize ROI.

View the Visitor Intercept Study.

To gain insight into the overall economic impact of tourism in Greater Palm Springs, the CVB contracts with Tourism Economics—An Oxford Economics Company every three years to undergo an in-depth analysis of visitor spending and its impact on the Coachella Valley. The last study, published in 2018, took an in-depth look at tourism in Greater Palm Springs in 2017.

By monitoring tourism’s economic impact, policymakers are able to make better-informed decisions regarding the funding and prioritization of tourism development. In addition, the research carefully monitors tourism’s success and future needs. To achieve this, tourism is measured in the same categories as other economic sectors, such as tax generation, employment, wages and gross domestic product. The challenge is that tourism is not easily measured in that it is not a single industry but rather a demand-side activity which affects multiple sectors to various degrees. Tourism, as a whole, spans nearly a dozen sectors including lodging, food & beverage, car rentals, taxi services, travel agents and more.

View the Economic Impact Report.

In 2018, fuseResearch collaborated with the CVB to develop, conduct and analyze a survey to assess the interest level in relocating to Greater Palm Springs with the goal of aiding in economic/employment decisions in the destination. Assessments included potential employment opportunities for college graduates in their desired fields, as well as the destination appeal of Greater Palm Springs to companies considering relocation. Key findings revealed that four out of five respondents would relocate to Greater Palm Springs if their preferred job existed; and that top career fields for relocation consideration were in agriculture, hospitality (tourism, service industry) and computers and technology.

View the Economic Impact of Canadian Visitors to Greater Palm Springs.

In 2018, fuseResearch collaborated with the CVB to develop, conduct and analyze a survey to assess the interest level in relocating to Greater Palm Springs with the goal of aiding in economic/employment decisions in the destination. Assessments included potential employment opportunities for college graduates in their desired fields, as well as the destination appeal of Greater Palm Springs to companies considering relocation. Key findings revealed that four out of five respondents would relocate to Greater Palm Springs if their preferred job existed; and that top career fields for relocation consideration were in agriculture, hospitality (tourism, service industry) and computers and technology.

View the Relocation Study.

This market includes Los Angeles/Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

• The campaign represented a cooperative initiative with 16 local Partners, targeting the drive markets during the summertime.
• Recall of the campaign was 37%.
• The CVB achieved a high level of awareness for the television spots at 26%.
• Overall awareness remains the highest among 18- to 34-year-olds.
• Travelers were aware of the 2018 campaign and report greater likelihood to visit the Greater Palm Springs area than those unaware of the ads. The campaign is associated with a 6-point lift in visit intent.

This market includes Seattle, Portland, Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Winnipeg.

• The national campaign achieved awareness measured at 47%
• Highest recall was among travelers ages 18-34, with a notable increase in ad awareness in travelers 35 to 54.
• Highest recall overall was with digital media, which is among the most efficient medium at just $0.07 per aware household.
• The 2018 campaign influenced 385k Greater Palm Springs trips. These trips represent the highest visitor trip spending measured to date—a third higher than last year.

In 2018, the CVB contracted with Strategic Marketing & Research Insights (SMARInsights) to conduct an image study with the goal of measuring the area’s image as a leisure destination. The CVB’s prior image assessment was conducted in 2011, and, since that time, the CVB has represented the destination to a new generation of travelers with a rebranding campaign, effective paid advertising and myriad public relations efforts. The CVB’s study objectives included understanding the Greater Palm Springs visitor and non-visitor perceptions, competitive markets, visitor types, barriers to visitation, brand pillar motivators for visitation, marketing opportunities and advertising recall. The study targeted major getaway and vacation markets in order to obtain valuable information which will guide future initiatives in 2019 and beyond.

View the study Image and Awareness Study.

In 2018, the CVB contracted with Destination Analysis to conduct an Image & Awareness Study focused on Greater Palm Springs as a meetings destination to provide valuable information to guide future initiatives in this important segment of visitation. Data was collected from both experienced and novice meeting planners via a survey that evaluated Greater Palm Springs as a meeting destination in such categories as perceptions, attributes, meeting size and type, timeframe, advertising and industry. 

In the ongoing search for meeting professionals, organizations, corporations, sporting events, etc. that aren’t yet familiar with Greater Palm Springs, the CVB will continue to partner with Destination Analysts (DA) and Meetings Database Institute (MDI). DA finished an Image and Awareness study of meeting planners over the summer of 2018, through those findings GPS will rework our meetings messaging. MDI finished a deep dive into our database and we are evaluating our deployment strategies and which key market segments will give us the best return on investments. These 2 resources will be of great value for our sales efforts in 2019.