CAPITAL REGION TOURISM STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT MARKET RESEARCH REPORT JANUARY 2004

1. CAPITAL REGION TOURISMSTRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTMARKET RESEARCH REPORTJANUARY 2004

2. CONTENTS (1) Page A BACKGROUND 4 B APPROACH 6 C METHOD 7 D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 10 E CONCLUSIONS 25 STAGE ONE: OMNIBUS SURVEY 30 1 APPEAL OF SOUTH WALES 31 2 DESTINATION AWARENESS 35 3 DESTINATIONS WOULD CONSIDER 37 4 SHORT-BREAK BEHAVIOUR 45

3. CONTENTS (2) Page STAGE TWO: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 47 1 SHORT-BREAK BEHAVIOUR 48 2 SPONTANEOUS ATTITUDES TO AREA 52 3 AREA DESIGNATION 57 4 PROMPTED DESTINATIONS 60 5 PROMPTED THEMES 80 6 STRATEGY BOARDS 89 7 DRAGON SYMBOL 91 APPENDIX: STIMULUS MATERIALS

4. A BACKGROUND (1) • Capital Region Tourism is currently undertaking a brand and market review. • A key issue within this review is to establish a coherent and effective architecture for the Capital Region Tourism brand, most especially to determine the extent to which existing, recognised leisure destinations within the Capital Region Tourism region should be used/promoted within marketing programmes for the region. • As part of this process a report has been prepared by Locum Destination Marketing which has proposed that Cardiff should be used as a single 'attack brand'. • Stakeholders now feel that research is needed in order to test out this proposition amongst the target market (defined later). • This document sets out the findings of this research project.

5. A BACKGROUND (2) • The key objectives of this project were to: • obtain a quantitative socio-demographic analysis of the appeal of South East Wales as a leisure destination; • obtain a quantitative socio-demographic analysis of the appeal of specific South East Wales tourist destinations; • look at short break behaviour and needs/wants; • look at attitudes to South East Wales as a potential holiday/short-break destination, within its competitive context; • awareness and image of specific destinations within the region (using projective techniques); • identifications of key strengths, weaknesses and opportunities; • probe the concept of using Cardiff as an 'attack brand' when compared with alternative strategies.

6. B APPROACH (1) • We felt that a two stage approach was called for. • The first stage was a quantitative research exercise which established the appeal of South East Wales (and other key brands within the region) as leisure destinations. • As well as allowing us to evaluate the socio-demographic and geo-demographic appeal of South Wales this element of the project also allowed us to compare the appeal of key destinations. • The information also formed the basis of the sample used for the second, qualitative stage of research. • The second stage of research consisted of an in-depth examination of all the brand strategy issues set out in the previous section. • In order to obtain maximum value from the qualitative research a range of branding and positioning concepts was developed to use as stimulus within the research. • Stimulus used for this project are included as an Appendix to this document.

7. C METHOD (1) • Stage One - Quantitative Research • The requirement for this stage of research was to reach a nationally representative sample of GB Adults on a cost-effective basis. • It was decided that the most effective way to achieve this was by use of an Omnibus survey. • Omnibus surveys access large scale, nationally representative samples on a regular basis and allow clients to 'buy' questions. • Questions were asked of a nationally representative sample of 2000 adults aged 16 and over during the third week of October 2003. • Respondents were interviewed personally. • The RSGB Omnibus survey was used.

8. C METHOD (2) • Stage Two - Qualitative Research • Focus groups were used for Stage Two data collection as this method gave us the flexibility and depth of information we required as well as enabling us to reach a significant sample of potential consumers on a reasonably cost-effective basis. • The base sample for this element of the project was defined as: • BC1C2 GB Adults; • regular UK holiday/short-break takers (non-VFR); • 50% to have seriously considered South East Wales as a leisure break destination; • all to be non-rejecters of South East Wales as a short-break/leisure destination.

9. C METHOD (3) • Stage Two - Qualitative Research • Within this overall definition, our sample was structures by life-stage, as below: • singles/married, no children, aged 20 – 29; • families, aged 30 – 44; • empty nesters, aged 45 – 64. • 12 focus groups were conducted across four sampling points. • Each group contained 8 respondents and lasted up to 1½ hours.

10. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (1) 1 Appeal Of South Wales • South Wales would be considered as a holiday or short-break destination by around one-quarter of the GB population. • North Wales has a similar level of appeal. Q: Which of the following areas of the UK might you consider as a possible destination for a holiday or short-break?

11. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (2) • Awareness of Destinations • As can be seen overleaf, Cardiff and Newport were the best known destinations in South Wales. • It was interesting to note that awareness of Cardiff was flat across age breaks, whereas awareness of other destinations tended to be significantly higher amongst the older age groups (45+). • Awareness of all destinations was higher amongst ABC1 than amongst C2DE social grades.

12. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (3) • Awareness of Destinations Q: Which of the following destinations in South Wales have you heard of?

13. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (4) 3 Destinations Would Consider • Although Cardiff was the destination that the highest proportion of the sample said they would consider visiting, many other of the destinations in South East Wales also had highly significant levels of appeal. • The South East Wales rural destinations were thought to be significantly more attractive than towns. Q: And which of the following destinations might you consider as a destination for a holiday or short-break?

14. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (5) 3 Destinations Would Consider • As can be seen overleaf, Cardiff had twice the level of appeal as a destination amongst younger respondents (16 – 44, 26%) than amongst older respondents (45+, 13%). • Other destinations tended to have a higher appeal amongst the older age group.

15. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (6) 3 Destinations Would Consider Q: And which of the following destinations might you consider as a destination for a holiday or short-break?

16. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (7) 3 Destinations Would Consider • By looking at the relationship between the proportion of the sample who were aware of each destination and the proportion who would consider visiting each destination it is possible to rank the destinations in order of relative appeal (amongst those aware of the destination). • These figures give an indication of the relative strengths of the inherent appeal of each destination or brand. • The figures clearly demonstrate the strength of potential appeal for the rural products in South East Wales.

17. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (8) 3 Destinations Would Consider Q: And which of the following destinations might you consider as a destination for a holiday or short-break?

18. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (9) 3 Destinations Would Consider • The table overleaf breaks out those who would consider each destination by whether Cardiff appealed or not i.e. of the total number who found any destination appealing, and what proportion also found Cardiff appealing (or not appealing). • As can be seen, around 40 – 50 per cent of those who found the South East Wales rural destination appealing said that they would not consider visiting Cardiff. • This suggests that around one-half of the potential market for rural breaks in South East Wales would be unlikely to be attracted by any promotional strategy that used Cardiff as the central plank of communication.

19. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (10) 3 Destinations Would Consider

20. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (11) • The qualitative work conducted very much supported the findings of the quantitative research, in that, the appeal of Cardiff was clearly very much stronger amongst younger age groups. • Awareness/appeal of Cardiff as a short break destination was significantly higher amongst younger age groups. • Older respondents tended to be far more aware of Cardiff's industrial past and tended to see it as having very little to offer as a short break destination. • (Although) Cardiff did have some appeal arising from its position as the Capital City of Wales and therefore a City that should be visited at some stage. • Older respondents tended to be more aware of/attracted by Southern Wales' rural destinations: • Brecon Beacons; • Wye Valley; • Gower; • Pembrokeshire.

21. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (12) • Younger respondents tended to have an image of Cardiff as: • modern; • thriving; • safe/inexpensive; • with a good night-life. • The Millennium Stadium and word of mouth communication were both very important in the creation of this image. • Older respondents (45+) tended to have an image of Cardiff as: • industrial; • not very prosperous; • with little/nothing to recommend it as a short-break destination.

22. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (13) • Those older respondents who regularly took City-breaks were more likely to visit destinations such as: • Bath; • Oxford; • Stratford; • Canterbury; • York. • They were far less likely to visit cities such as: • Manchester; • Leeds; • Bristol; • Cardiff. • Although the 'word is out' about Cardiff, for the moment this is largely restricted to the younger age groups. • We feel that the less than positive image of Cardiff amongst the older age groups will be difficult to overcome, and that its emergence as a youth-orientated destination might increase, rather than decrease negativity.

23. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (14) • Communications aimed at positioning Cardiff as a short break destination for older age groups are unlikely to be effective as attitudes are strongly ingrained. • Older respondents were far more likely to be attracted by the rural locations in South East Wales. • The findings of the quantitative research were very much backed up by the findings from the consumer groups conducted, in that, Southern Wales has some brands with significant levels of awareness and appeal (other than Cardiff): • Brecon Beacons; • The Wye Valley; • The Valleys of South Wales.

24. D SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (15) • These destinations appear to have significant potential as short break destinations for older age groups as they are seen as: • quiet/rural/unspoilt; • areas of great natural beauty; • areas of interest. • Also, although awareness of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast is not high, it is nevertheless thought to sound like an interesting/appealing destination and would appear to have potential. • Attitudes to communication concepts that led with heritage and cultural messages were less than positive. • Cultural and heritage breaks, especially, were thought to sound rather ‘worthy’ (if not boring) by the majority of respondents, who were generally looking for a far more ‘rounded’ proposition. • Respondents (particularly empty nesters) felt, however, that rural/countryside product propositions would be of interest as the beauty of the scenery/environment were obviously key motivators for those looking for a quiet/relaxing break.

25. E CONCLUSIONS (1) • The basic strategic issue this research was asked to address was whether Cardiff should be used as the main attack brand for the promotion of the Capital Region Tourism area. • Put simply, we do not think it should, as we do not feel that the strategy of using Cardiff an attack brand takes into account the following factors: • the poor image/lack of appeal of Cardiff amongst the older short break taker (especially the empty nester); • the importance of the empty nester sector in terms of short-break taking volume; • the lack of appeal of the evolving image and reputation of Cardiff as 'a great place for younger people' to older age groups; • the fact that around half of those who would consider visiting the rural destinations of South East Wales would not consider visiting Cardiff; • the need for Southern Wales rural products to be supported so that they can realise their potential, remain competitive with other rural destinations and support the businesses that rely on them; • the need for Southern Wales to promote itself with balance and not on a one-dimensional urban platform.

26. E CONCLUSIONS (2) • We feel that the information contained in this report clearly leads to the conclusion that, for the moment, Cardiff is not a strong enough brand to be used as the attack brand for the Southern Wales region. • However, Cardiff is obviously a fast developing brand and this situation might change in the longer term. • In the short and medium term, however, there are brands (and businesses) in the Southern Wales area with significant potential (particularly within the very important empty nester market) which would not be being effectively supported if Cardiff were to be adopted as the attack brand for the region. • The other strategic issue which arises from this research is whether a destination or product led approach to marketing communications for the region would be more effective. • The research suggests that there are certain products clearly have a very limited appeal, and that these can tend to obscure the strength of the underlying destination brands. • For instance, both the heritage and cultural product concepts we looked at had very limited appeal, and tended not to ‘engage’ with consumers and their short break requirements. • Just because there are enough museums, castles and centres of historical importance to justify a heritage product it does not necessarily follow that a mass market for (what was generally seen to be) a rather ‘one-dimensional’ product must exist.

27. E CONCLUSIONS (3) • The key aspiration for the bulk of the short break market is to get away from it all for a few days – within an attractive/exciting environment, with comfortable accommodation, nice places to eat and, perhaps, with a bit of culture or heritage (and maybe a bit of walking or shopping) thrown in. • Propositioning the short break market with overt heritage and cultural messages is, in our view, overly proscriptive, unless relevant and cost-effective vertical media are being used. • However, we do feel that a broad based approach to the marketing of products could be effective in certain areas. • The key strength of all four major destination brands (other than Cardiff) identified on this research (Brecon Beacons, Wye Valley, Valleys and Glamorgan Heritage Coast) is perceived to be the beauty of the countryside/environment and we feel that these products could be effectively assimilated into a ‘countryside/rural’ product offer for the region, aimed at those looking for a quiet/relaxing break. • In addition, the golfing break market is an easily recognisable and well understood sector, and (especially given the up-coming Ryder Cup) there does appear to be a strong argument for supporting the Southern Wales golfing product offer. • We also feel that other key activity based markets would be worth examining and that, ultimately, an activity-based product offer for the region might also be worthy of consideration.

28. E CONCLUSIONS (4) • Overall, we feel that both the quantitative and qualitative information strongly suggest that the most effective communication strategy available to Capital Region Tourism would be to develop three strands of communication: • Strand One • Brand: Cardiff. • Sector: City Breaks. • Target: Younger (SINKS/DINKS). • Propositions: Young, modern city. Plenty to see and do. Great nightlife. Good value. Safe. • Tone: Young, vibrant, exciting. • Strand Two • Brands: Wye Valley, Brecon Beacons, The Valleys, Glamorgan Heritage Coast • Sector: Countryside/Rural Breaks. • Target: Older (Empty Nester) • Propositions: Beautiful scenery. Pretty towns and villages. Lots to explore. • Tone: Quiet, relaxing.

29. E CONCLUSIONS (5) • Strand 3 • Key vertical activity markets should be evaluated in terms of: • the scale of the market/appeal; • the quality of the Southern Wales product offer; • the availability of, and cost-effectiveness, of appropriate media. • The golfing break market is one obvious candidate for this strand of communication, but we feel that other possibilities should be identified and audited. • Once this has been done, the viability of promoting an activity based product for the region will become more evident.

30. STAGE ONEOMNIBUS SURVEY FINDINGS

31. 1 APPEAL OF SOUTH WALES (1) • Just over 1 in 4 respondents said that they might consider South Wales as a destination for a holiday or short-break (see over). • A similar proportion (27%) of the sample said that they would consider North Wales as a short-break/holiday destination. • Appeal of the South West of England as a short-break/holiday destination was significantly higher at 55 per cent.

32. 1 APPEAL OF SOUTH WALES (2) Q: Which of the following areas of the UK might you consider as a possible destination for a holiday or short-break?

33. 1 APPEAL OF SOUTH WALES (3) • Appeal of South Wales as a destination for a holiday or short-break was flat across: • age; • sex; • marital status. • Appeal was higher amongst the higher social groupings: • ABC1 29% • C2DE 22% • Appeal was also higher amongst those with internet access: • With 30% • Without 21%

34. 1 APPEAL OF SOUTH WALES (4) • Appeal of South Wales as a holiday/short-break destination was particularly strong in the North West, Yorkshire and the South/South-East of England.

35. 2 DESTINATION AWARENESS (1) • As can be seen overleaf, Cardiff and Newport were the best known destinations in South Wales. • It was interesting to note that awareness of Cardiff was flat across age breaks, whereas awareness of other destinations tended to be significantly higher amongst the older age groups (45+). • Awareness of all destinations was higher amongst ABC1s than amongst C2DEs.

36. 2 DESTINATION AWARENESS (2) Q: Which of the following destinations in South Wales have you heard of?

37. 3 DESTINATIONS WOULD CONSIDER (1) • As can be seen overleaf, although Cardiff was the destination that the highest proportion of the sample said they would consider visiting, many other of the tourist destinations in South East Wales also had highly significant levels of appeal. • The rural destinations scored particularly well.

38. 3 DESTINATIONS WOULD CONSIDER (2) Q: And which of the following destinations might you consider as a destination for a holiday or short-break?

39. 3 DESTINATIONS WOULD CONSIDER (3) • As can be seen overleaf, Cardiff had a significantly higher level of appeal as a destination amongst younger respondents (16 – 44, 26%) than amongst older respondents (45+, 13%). • Other destinations tended to have a higher appeal amongst the older age group.

40. 3 DESTINATIONS WOULD CONSIDER (4) Q: And which of the following destinations might you consider as a destination for a holiday or short-break?

41. 3 DESTINATIONS WOULD CONSIDER (5) • By looking at the relationship between the proportion of the sample who are aware of each destination and the proportion who would consider visiting each location it is possible to rank the destinations in order of relative appeal (amongst those aware of the destination). • These figures give an indication of the relative strengths of the inherent appeal of each destination. • The figures demonstrate the appeal of the rural products in South East Wales.

42. 3 DESTINATIONS WOULD CONSIDER (6) Q: And which of the following destinations might you consider as a destination for a holiday or short-break?

43. 3 DESTINATIONS WOULD CONSIDER (7) • Following a review of the Omnibus data regarding levels of consideration of the various destinations in South East Wales, it was decided to conduct some further analysis in order to look at the proportion of those who would consider each destination, who would also consider/not consider Cardiff. • This was done in order to examine the extent to which Cardiff might be used to attract those who find the other products/destinations appealing. • As can be seen overleaf, those who would consider visiting rural destinations in South East Wales are less likely to consider visiting Cardiff than those who would consider the other non-rural destinations in the area. • These figures demonstrate that the strategy of using Cardiff as an attack brand would be far more successful in promoting other non-rural destinations than it would be in promoting the rural destinations.

44. 3 DESTINATIONS WOULD CONSIDER (8)

45. 4 SHORT-BREAK BEHAVIOUR (1) • As can be seen overleaf, around 4 in 10 respondents said that they would definitely explore the local area as well as the city if taking a short city break in the UK (for example a two night break in Edinburgh or Brighton).

46. 4 SHORT-BREAK BEHAVIOUR (2) Q: If you were taking a short city break in the UK, for example a two night break in Edinburgh or Brighton, which of the following phrases most accurately describes your attitude?

47. STAGE TWO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

48. 1 SHORT-BREAK BEHAVIOUR (1) • All respondents were regular takers of short breaks within the British Isles. • Main motivations for taking short breaks were: • to have a change of scene/get a lift/get some fresh air; • get away from day to day pressures for a few days; • to have something to look forward to. • Decision making was often relatively short-term, depending on: • work commitments; • weather; • stress levels; • finances/special offers.

49. 1 SHORT-BREAK BEHAVIOUR (2) • Distance/travel time key factor. • 3/4 hours each way maximum travel time considered by most for UK short-break. • 'If you're only going for a few days then you don't want to spend half the time travelling'. • General requirements for a good short-break amongst older respondents were thought to be: • fresh air: good walks and nice scenery ('a change'); • good food; • good accommodation/hotels with some leisure facilities; • things to see and do/culture/history/museums and art galleries/places of interest to visit; • shopping; • something to do in the evening (eat out/pub); • peace and quiet.

50. 1 SHORT-BREAK BEHAVIOUR (3) • General requirements for a good short-break amongst younger respondents were thought to be: • things to see and do during the day; • good, value-for-money accommodation; • other young people; • nightlife (bars/clubs). • Joint decision making common but with female partner generally responsible for initiating idea and making bookings. • Although male partner often undertakes research (internet, journals etc). • Information sourced from: • national press (widely used for inclusive offers); • internet; • travel agents (for brochures); • TV travel programmes; • teletext; • word of mouth; • (for some) mailshots.