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Perceptions of Britain Research — Hong Kong 2012

Perceptions of Britain Research — Hong Kong 2012. January 2013. 1. Overview. Topics covered. Background, objectives & methodology What we already know about the HK market Life priorities, attitudes to travel, and reasons for travel

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Perceptions of Britain Research — Hong Kong 2012

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  1. Perceptions of Britain Research — Hong Kong 2012 January 2013

  2. 1. Overview

  3. Topics covered • Background, objectives & methodology • What we already know about the HK market • Life priorities, attitudes to travel, and reasons for travel • Past experience of Britain & competitors, and perceptions of cost, dream activities, and associations with Britain • Future travel frequency and propensity to visit • The impact of the Olympics • Summary of findings

  4. Background & objectives • Last research commissioned by VB in Hong Kong was in 2009. • Hong Kong was the one remaining VB market not covered by the GfK Anholt Nations Brand Index (NBI) study or similar research by 2012. • However, a custom 2012 post-Olympics wave of the NBI was conducted in late 2012, including in Hong Kong. Some of its data is included in this presentation. The Perceptions of Britain research sought to: • Gather data for questions already asked in all other VB markets e.g. life priorities, travel attitudes and reasons for travel. • Further VB’s knowledge of perceptions of Britain as a travel destination in Hong Kong including expense vs. specific competitor destinations. • Ask Olympics-related questions identical to those being asked in the post-Olympics NBI. • Be able to break down all responses according to demographic data such as age, working status and income.

  5. Methodology • Study conducted by GfK Consumer Services on behalf of VisitBritain. • Fieldwork took place between 10th and 24th September, shortly after the end of the London 2012 Paralympics. • 702 online interviews were carried out, with sample blended from the external panel providers Toluna and SSI. • Stringent quality control measures in place on the data to identify and screen out inattentive responses. • Respondents had to be at least 18 years old, a resident of Hong Kong for at least 12 months and to have travelled beyond Greater China during the past seven years. • Nationality was monitored to ensure that the majority of respondents were Hong Kong or Chinese nationals (dual or single nationality). • Quotas were set on age, gender and working status to ensure a representative sample of Hong Kong’s online population. These targets were based on the most up-to-date online population statistics provided by the GfK office in China, sourced from GfK omnibus survey data and official population stats for Hong Kong. • Data was post-weighted according to these profiles (see next slide).

  6. Sample weightings • The interview profile generally reflected the profile of Hong Kong’s online population (weighted profile). • Some weighting was required, particularly for the harder-to-reach 55+ demographic, but nothing substantial. Interview profile Weighted profile

  7. The Hong Kong market (1) Mainland China Hong Kong Sources: UNWTO, International Passenger Survey 2011, Oxford Economics, Capstats *This reduced to one in the last quarter of 2012 as Hong Kong Airlines withdrew its business class only service to London Gatwick. **This is due to increase to four in September 2013 when British Airways commences flights between London Heathrow and Chengdu.

  8. The Hong Kong market (2) Journey purpose (% share of visits) Regional spread(% share of visits) • HK broadly in line with all markets • Fewer holiday visits • More miscellaneous visits • Visits from HK very London-centric • In line with average visits to Wales and rest of England • Fewer visits to Scotland Source: International Passenger Survey 2011

  9. What we already know (1) From the 2009 research, we have the following data/information about the Hong Kong market: Source: Hong Kong & Finland Consumer Research 2009

  10. What we already know (2) Claimed knowledge of Britain is higher than of France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Against France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Britain stands out the most for being traditional, having interesting history/heritage, and for being cosmopolitan. Travel agencies are most popular for holiday bookings and brochures for planning/booking during a trip, but tourist boards play an important role in inspiration and planning/booking during a trip. Against competitors, the stronger motivations for visiting Britain are to visit friends & family, the ease of travel, language, and to see football. The main barriers when compared with competitors are cost and weather. By far the most important factor in destination choice is a feeling of safety. City breaks and touring holidays are the main types of previous holiday experience of Britain. Source: Hong Kong & Finland Consumer Research 2009

  11. 2. Motivation and attitudes to holidays

  12. Life priorities • Bear in mind that data is sourced from two different samples: international travellers in HK, but online population in mainland China. • Importance of different life priorities broadly similar in Hong Kong and China. • Respondents in Hong Kong tend to rate most as slightly less important. Q — How important a priority are each of the following for you in your life at the moment? 1 = not at all important / 5 = extremely important. * = slightly different question used for NBI in China = notably lower priority in HK Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702) / NBI 2011 (base = 1,000)

  13. Attitudes to travel 1 (top ten) • Overall, attitudes are very similar in HK and China. • HK respondents tend to agree slightly less strongly with nearly all attitudinal statements than in China. • Less interested in exploring new places away from the crowds. • Also less likely to think that the internet is a safe way to book travel. Q — to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? 1= strongly disagree / 7 = strongly agree. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702) / NBI 2011 (base = 1,000)

  14. Attitudes to travel 2 (bottom ten) Q — to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? 1= strongly disagree / 7 = strongly agree. • Among bottom ten, some disparities with respondents in mainland China are more pronounced, but generally still very similar. • HK respondents are more likely to look for relaxation over excitement in a holiday. • Less likely to take a vacation abroad in order to watch a sporting event. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702) / NBI 2011 (base = 1,000)

  15. Reasons for travel • Caution: This is only a very broad comparison with European travellers, due to differences in sample and questions. • Rest/recreation is clearly the leading reason but it is interesting to see HK respondents rate city trips and nature so highly too. • VFR also plays a major role in why HK residents travel. Q — You mentioned earlier that you have travelled beyond Asia during the last seven years for leisure purposes. What were your main reasons for going on holiday? Please only select the responses relevant to trip(s) where you stayed at least seven nights outside of Asia within the past seven years and select all that apply. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong September 2012 (overall base = 702, question posed to base of 342) / Attitudes of Europeans towards Tourism January 2012 (overall base = 15,848, question posed to 60% = approx 9,500). The European question referred to all holidays of four nights or more in length, thereby including domestic and short-haul breaks, too.

  16. 3. Experience and perceptions of Britain and competitors

  17. Past experience of Britain & competitors • Britain was the second most visited destination after the USA. • Australia and France top for leisure only visits, both absolute and relative. • USA and Britain have attracted larger amounts of business and business/leisure visitors. Q — Have you ever visited any of these destinations before? Please select both for a holiday/short break and business if applicable. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  18. Past experience of Britain & competitors — destination trends This table displays the rank in terms of the proportion of most recent visits by the study’s respondents to the competitor set destinations, split between several time periods. Bear in mind that it refers only to Britain and its competitor set, many Asian destinations are visited more. Q — When did you last visit each destination? (If been before) • Britain has maintained a reasonably steady ranking over recent years and further into the past. • Australia is the big gainer, leaping from 7th more than 5 years ago to 1st. • The USA has dropped slightly in the rankings, below Australia and Britain. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  19. Perceptions of cost in HK & China Q — How expensive do you think a one week holiday in the following destinations (including the cost of getting there) would be? 1 = not expensive at all / 7 = extremely expensive • Responses broadly similar between HK and mainland Chinese residents (bear in mind different samples). • HK respondents think Britain would be the third most expensive destination in the competitor set. • Canada and Australia are perceived as the least expensive of the destinations by HK residents. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702) / NBI 2011 (base = 1,000)

  20. Perceptions of cost according to travel experience Q — How expensive do you think a one week holiday in the following destinations (including the cost of getting there) would be? 1 = not expensive at all / 7 = extremely expensive • In all cases, destinations are perceived as less expensive by those who have visited them. • Britain is viewed as the most expensive of the destinations by those who have never been, but drops to third when considering the perceptions of those who have been to the destinations. • Ireland benefits the most from travel experience, with it rated the least expensive destination by those who have been (NB small base size). Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (overall base = 702. Britain = 285 been / 417 never been, France = 250 / 452, Ireland = 72 / 628, Italy = 231 / 471, Switzerland = 206 / 496, USA = 286 / 416, Canada = 238 / 464, Australia = 278 / 424)

  21. Britain — dream activities • Reinforcement of previous knowledge that heritage is one of Britain’s strongest suits in HK. • HK respondents opt for Scottish activities less than mainland Chinese — correlates with less visitation from HK of Scotland. • Popularity of Harry Potter locations may be due to knowledge of the new Harry Potter Studio Tour. • Sport-related activities less appealing to HK residents. Q — Which of the following would you most like to do if you were on holiday in Britain? Please choose up to three. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702) / NBI 2011 (base = 1,000)

  22. Britain — dream activities by age Q — Which of the following would you most like to do if you were on holiday in Britain? Please choose up to three. • Significant differences emerge between the oldest and youngest demographics in particular. • Heritage activities more appealing to older groups. • Interesting to see where 25-34 and 35-49 groups stand out — in some cases this may be influenced by higher preponderance of families. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  23. Britain — dream activities by gender Q — Which of the following would you most like to do if you were on holiday in Britain? Please choose up to three. • Heritage, shopping and culture appeal more to female respondents. • Sport appeals more to male respondents. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  24. Britain — dream activities by past experience of Britain Q — Which of the following would you most like to do if you were on holiday in Britain? Please choose up to three. • First-hand knowledge of Britain benefits interest levels in some activities. • Those who have never been before are more interested in iconic ‘big ticket’ items Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  25. Britain’s brand rankings • Britain was ranked as the third strongest nation brand out of 50 countries in Hong Kong, in the NBI 2012 post-Olympics survey. • The average rank among the 15 countries surveyed was fourth. • Across the six different brand aspects, the HK ranking was very similar to the average of all countries surveyed. • Britain’s governance rank is slightly lower than average in Hong Kong, and its culture rank slightly higher. Source: Post-Games NBI 2012 (overall base = 4,500, HK = 300)

  26. Britain’s tourism brand rankings • HK rankings are generally in line with the average of the 15 countries surveyed. • Slightly stronger rankings in HK for perceptions of sport, wanting to visit if money was no object, and richness in historic buildings and monuments. • Ranks weaker than average in HK for welcome, natural beauty, and vibrancy of city life/urban attractions. Source: Post-Games NBI 2012 (overall base = 4,500, HK = 300)

  27. Adjectives describing a potential trip to Britain • HK responses generally in line with average. • However, HK respondents considerably less likely to choose ‘educational’ and ‘exciting’ to describe a trip to Britain. • Mainland Chinese respondents notably more likely to select ‘romantic,’ ‘exciting’ and ‘spiritual’ than those in HK, and less likely to choose ‘boring.’ Source: Post-Games NBI 2012 (overall base = 4,500, HK = 300, China = 300)

  28. Cultural associations • HK responses diverge from many of the average responses, in most cases selecting each association less. • Films, modern design, sports, and sculpture selected much less than average in HK. • Compared with mainland China, HK respondents more likely to associate Britain with museums and pop videos, less likely to associate it with modern design and circus. Source: Post-Games NBI 2012 (overall base = 4,500, HK = 300, China = 300)

  29. 4. Propensity to visit

  30. Future travel Q — Bearing in mind your personal and financial situation, how many leisure trips are you likely to take beyond Greater China over the next two years compared to the number you have taken in the past two years? Please think only about trips for a holiday or to visit friends/relatives, not trips where the main purpose if business, study or other reasons. • Most HK residents plan to travel the same amount in the next two years. • Encouragingly, a greater number intend to travel more than those who intend to travel less. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  31. When splitting by age we can see that there is little difference in those probably taking fewer leisure trips. • The two youngest demographics lead the two older ones in probably taking more trips. • The older demographics are more likely to maintain their leisure trip frequency. • 25-34 years olds are significantly more likely to definitely travel more than those who are 50+. Future travel by age Q — Bearing in mind your personal and financial situation, how many leisure trips are you likely to take beyond Greater China over the next two years compared to the number you have taken in the past two years? Please think only about trips for a holiday or to visit friends/relatives, not trips where the main purpose is business, study or other reasons. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  32. Interest in visiting Q — How interested are you in visiting each destination for a holiday or short break in the future? • The level of interest in visiting Britain for a holiday or short break is very similar to key European competitors France and Italy. • Australia clearly leads in terms of interest, with Switzerland also generating a high degree of interest. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  33. Propensity to visit • Note that these questions relate to all trip types, not only holiday/leisure. • Britain ranks highly when looking at future propensity to visit. • But most European competitors score similarly. • Once again, Australia leads the pack. Q — Do you have a trip booked to any of these destinations, even just in part? Q — How likely are you to visit these destinations in the future? (If no booking and not currently researching/planning a trip there) Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  34. Propensity to visit Britain This chart looks at the propensity to visit Britain only. Q — How interested are you in visiting each destination for a holiday or short break in the future? Q — Do you have a trip booked to any of these destinations, even just in part? Q — How likely are you to visit these destinations in the future? (If no booking and not currently researching/planning a trip there) • 81% of HK respondents said that they were interested in visiting Britain for a holiday or short break. • 32% of all respondents were researching/planning a trip to Britain. • 11% had a trip at least partially booked. Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  35. Best demographic prospects Proportion of respondents who either have a holiday or short break to Britain booked, are planning / researching a holiday or short break to Britain, or are likely to visit Britain in the future, split by demographic data. = significantly different from lowest scoring variable/s (within same characteristic) Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 702)

  36. 5. The 2012 Olympics

  37. Increase in interest in visiting Britain post-Games (1) • Remember that this is an indication of the increase in interest — those who disagreed may nevertheless already be interested in visiting. • 28% of respondents agreed that their interest in visiting Britain increased as a result of Britain hosting the Olympics. • 34% neither agreed nor disagreed, while 37% disagreed. Q — Please state how far you agree with the following sentence: “Great Britain hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has increased my interest in visiting Great Britain for a holiday.” 1 = strongly disagree / 10 = strongly agree Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 642 i.e. those who claimed to have heard or seen something about Britain hosting the Games)

  38. Increase in interest in visiting Britain post-Games (2) • The same question was asked of the general online population of HK alongside those of many other markets in the NBI Olympics post-wave. • Appears that new markets demonstrate the strongest levels of agreement. • HK among the more established markets, displaying lower levels of agreement. Q — Please state how far you agree with the following sentence: “Great Britain hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has increased my interest in visiting Great Britain for a holiday.” 1 = strongly disagree / 10 = strongly agree Source: Post-Games NBI 2012 (overall base = 4,500, China = 291, India = 230, Brazil = 231, Russia = 278, Canada = 201, USA = 142, Australia = 185, Germany = 227, Hong Kong = 260, Japan = 254, France = 240)

  39. Aspects of the Olympic impact • Responses were similar in both sets of research for most aspects. • However, international traveller respondents in September agreed considerably less with the last two statements than online population respondents in November/December Q — To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? ‘The things that I have seen on TV and elsewhere about Great Britain hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games make me think Great Britain...’ 1 = strongly disagree / 10 = strongly agree Sources: Perceptions of Britain in Hong Kong 2012 (base = 642 i.e. those who claimed to have heard or seen something about Britain hosting the Games) / Post-Games NBI 2012 (overall base = 4,500. HK = 260)

  40. Summary of findings (1) • Life priorities and attitudes to travel broadly similar among international travellers in Hong Kong and the online population in mainland China, though HK residents may be more inclined to take longer, more relaxing breaks, and less inclined to travel for sport. • Rest/recreation by far the most important reason for past travel. • Among the competitor set, past experience of Britain is high, with this being for a more even mix of purposes than to most other destinations. • The popularity of the US as a destination for HK travellers seems to be fading a little, while that of Australia has surged in recent years. • Perceptions of destination expensiveness are similar to those expressed in mainland China, with Britain being viewed as an expensive destination. However, past experience of the destination does have a beneficial impact on this perception, implying that Britain was not quite as expensive as anticipated. • Dream activity preferences reconfirm the popularity of Britain’s heritage offering. Lower levels of interest in Scottish activities than displayed in mainland China correspond with lower levels of visitation to Scotland. • The variation in responses according to demography and previous experience highlights some potential targets for different marketing pillars and themes.

  41. Summary of findings (2) • HK residents appear more blasé about Britain than does the average respondent or indeed someone from mainland China (e.g. less exciting, more boring). Possibility that perceived high levels of knowledge of Britain are resulting in it being ‘taken for granted.’ • Future travel propensity is growing on balance, particularly among 25-34 year olds. • The strongest demographic prospects appear to be young, working, female, high-earning, and pre-family. Those who have travelled for VFR, business, study and other (non-leisure) purposes over the past three years are also more likely to be considering Britain as a future destination. • A solid proportion of respondents agree that the Olympics have increased their interest in visiting Britain for a holiday. • The Olympics also appear to have fed into positive perceptions of various aspects of Britain and its tourism offering.

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