The Flash Eurobarometer 370 The Flash Eurobarometer, Attitudes of Europeans towards Tourism (No 370), is a survey conducted

in Europe where 30.628 respondents were questioned (Flash Eurobarometer 370 ATTITUDES OF EUROPEANS TOWARDS, 2013). The report wants to explore a range of aspects surrounding holidays. In this chapter a small summary of the questions will be given as they give interesting insights in the thoughts of a European tourist, and more particular the French tourist. These are interesting for Laka Lodge because of the huge tourist inflow of Francophones (there are 6.957 French tourists and 527 tourists in the rest of Europe that visited the Comoros), which is why the answers of the French respondents will be given where possible. Unfortunately, for the socio-demographical analysis there are no separate responses given for the French population. In the following subchapters the statistics of the responses of one of the questions will be given and discussed. What were your main reasons for going on holiday (personal holidays for a minimum of four nights)?

What were your main reasons for going on holiday?

Specific events (Sporting Sport-related activities (scuba Welness/Spa/health treatment City trips Culture (e.g religious, culinary Nature (mountain, lake, Visiting family/friends/relatives Sun/beach 5% 8% 17% 19% 19% 24% 45% 41%

The main reason why the people of France went on holiday was to visit friends or relatives (45%). This trend was also observed in table 4, where 51% of the tourists came to Mayotte to visit friends or relatives in 2012, and in table 6, where 52% of the Comorian tourists visited friends and family in 2010. Both the Comoros and Mayotte have a huge amount of French tourists, completing the total picture. The Eurobarometer also shows that 41% of the French population answered Sun/beach as one of the main reasons for going on holiday, followed by 24% that answered Nature. Natural features are also the main reason for returning to a destination (48%), especially for the working educated population. People find recommendations of friends, colleagues or relatives to be one of the most important source of information to make a travel decision (55%). 43% find internet websites, and 31% find personal experience to be one of those most important sources. While younger people mention internet websites and recommendations more often, older people (55+) mention travel agencies a lot. The internet is the most important tool for arranging a holiday (50%), and through someone you know is the second most important tool with 25%. Again old respondents are less likely to use internet, while people between 15 and 24 are more likely to arrange their holiday through someone

they know. Also the longer someone remains in education, employees, self employed and people that live in large towns, all favour internet as an arranging tool. In Europe only 19% of the people went on a holiday outside Europe. For segmentation purposes, especially self-employed and employees are more likely to go outside Europe, while manual workers or not those who are not working and people who completed their education at an early age (15 or younger) are more likely to stay within Europe for their holidays. Financial reasons are the most important reason why people do not go on holiday (46%). They are mentioned more by respondents between 25 and 54, manual workers and bigger households, while people over 55 state personal/private reasons more often. Which of the following would make you go back to the same place for a holiday?

Which of the following would make you go back to the same place for a holiday?
Accessible facilities for people with The quality of activities/services How tourists are welcomed (child Cultural and historical attractions The general level of prices The quality of the accommodation The natural features (landscape, 22% 24% 29% 48% 5% 16% 28%

48% of the French respondents say that the natural features would make them return to the holiday destination. The second and third most important reasons are quality of the accommodation (29%) and how the tourist is welcomed (28%). The general level of prices was found to be a bit more important in the rest of Europe, and was set as the third most important reason (27%). In France this was the fourth most important reason (24%). Because respondents find natural features to be a very important factor and because Laka Lodge has a beautiful natural environment, it would be a good feature to market. In general, the older a respondent, the less he cares about the quality of activities and services. When a person remains in education longer, they are more likely to return to the holiday resort because of natural features. People that do not work are least likely to mention natural features (40%)(the occupation scale has four divisions: self-employed, employee, manual worker and not working). For segmentation purposes this means that working, educated people are a good target as they see natural features as important, which is one of the strengths of Laka Lodge.

Of the following information sources, which do you consider to be the most important when you make a decision about your travel plans?

Of the following information sources, which do you consider to be the most important when you make a decision about your travel plans?
Social media sites Paid for guidebooks and magazines Newspaper, radio, TV Free catalogues, brochures Travel agencies/tourism offices Personal experience Internet websites Recommendations of friends, colleagues or relatives 3% 9% 10% 11% 20% 31% 43% 55%

The people of France (but also for the whole of Europe) assign a lot of credit to the recommendations of friends, colleagues and relatives. The second and third most important factors are respectively internet websites and personal experience. Internet websites also have a highly personal value. Through forums, blogs and travel websites a surfer can easily find opinions and recommendations of fellow travellers. In all three of these top choices there is an absence of any company. People rather trust someone who does not have much to gain when they recommend something, and trust family or friends even more. The effects of word of mouth are discussed in the chapter Communication. The youngest respondents are more likely to find social media important (11%), while older (55+) respondents are more likely to mention travel agencies (24%). The younger the respondent, the more likely they will find recommendations important, also younger respondents are more likely to mention internet websites then respondents aged 55+. The longer a respondent remains in education, the more likely he will be to mention internet websites. People that completed their education before the age of 16 will be more likely to mention personal experience or recommendations. People who are not working are the least likely to mention internet websites and recommendations, while employees are most likely to mention these two.

Did you arrange your holiday in 2012 using any of the following methods?

Did you arrange your holiday in 2012 using any of the following methods?
By post Over the counter of a transporations company On-site (place of holidays) Over the counter at a travel agency Over the phone Through someone you know The internet 6% 8% 13% 13% 19% 25% 50%

In France (50%) and also in the rest of Europe (53%) the most important method to arrange a holiday is the internet. Also the people that a respondent knows are an important factor. Compared to the rest of Europe France respondents the post twice as often then the rest of Europe, but it still represents the least important factor (6% compared to 3%). Again old respondents (55+) are the least likely to use the internet (39%), compare to those aged 2539 (63%). Respondents aged 15-24 are most likely to arrange their holiday through someone they know. The longer someone remained in education, the more likely he was the have used the internet. Also, people that live in large towns (58%), employees (65%), and self-employed (61%) are more likely to use the internet. Main holiday taken in 2012 and holidays planned for 2013

Main holidays taken in 2012

In (country of respondend) 3% 19% 47% 31% In another country (outside EU27) Don't know In the EU27

Holidays planned for 2013

In (country of respondend)

13% 18% 42%

In the EU27

27%

In another country (outside EU27) Don't know

The respondents were asked where their main holiday was that they took in 2012. Most of them did a holiday in their own country (47%). Only 19% of the respondents went to outside of the EU27. Respondents that go to country outside the EU27 are more likely to be self-employed or employees. People that completed their education aged 15 or younger and manual workers are more likely to plan their holiday in their own country. When the question is asked for the plans for next year the situation is similar, except that there is a higher percentage of people that do not know. But in there is only a 1% difference between 2012 and 2013 when a holiday is planned in another country, which could mean that people plan holidays to other countries earlier then when compared to holidays taken closer. During 2012, how many times did you travel for business or private purposes, where you were away from home for a minimum of one night?

During 2012, how many times did you travel for business or private purposes, where you were away from home for a minimum of one night?
Don't know Total "Have travelled in 2012" None More than 10 times 0 to 10 times 4 or 5 times 3 times Twice Once 2% 71% 27% 10% 11% 13% 10% 13% 14%

In 2012, 71% of the Europeans travelled while 26% stayed at home. The numbers of times that people have travelled are almost evenly distributed with one time being the highest (14%). The socio-demographic analysis shows that respondents that have travelled in 2012 are more likely to be aged between 15 and 39 (77%), have the highest education levels (81%), live in a large town (75%), are employees (81%) or self-employed (78%), and live in a household with two or more people (71%-75%). What was the main reason why you did not go on holiday in 2012? Financial reasons are the most important reason why people do not go on holiday (46%), followed by personal/private reasons (23%). The financial reasons are most likely to be mentioned by respondents aged between 25 and 54, while 55+ state personal/private reasons more often. Also manual workers, and the larger the household is the more likely that financial reasons are given as an explanation why they did not go on holiday.