Wisconsin's Winter Visitors

The Department of Tourism recently completed the second of a series of four research studies as part of an effort to gather seasonal-based information on Wisconsin's visitors. This past winter, the Department conducted over 1,300 surveys in four areas of the state; Brown/Shawano counties, Marathon/Wood/Portage counties, Racine/Kenosha counties, and Fond du Lac/Winnebago counties. These surveys focused on visitors' demographics, vacation habits, satisfaction and sources of travel information, and an overview of the results are shown below.

Demographics

Ninety-five percent of the winter visitors came from four midwestern states - Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan. When placing the origin of these visitors into designated marketing areas (DMA), 25 percent came from a sixteen-county area in and around Chicago, 24 percent from Green Bay, 19 percent from Milwaukee, 13 percent from Madison, and 6 percent from Wausau-Rhinelander.

Baby Boomers (52 percent) between the ages of 35-54 were the predominant age groups, followed by Gen Xers (25-34) and Empty Nesters (55-64). Compared to the fall study, winter travelers had a higher incidence of kids under 18 living at home (41 percent) as well as a larger percentage (61 percent) of male respondents. Educational levels were distributed across the spectrum, as were annual household incomes, which can be seen in this graph.

Eighty-nine percent of the winter visitors were frequent travelers. On average, these travelers have taken 12 trips in Wisconsin over the course of the past three years.

Trip Characteristics

Eight out of ten travelers were on leisure trips, and most were traveling without children (65 percent). Forty-one percent were traveling with their spouses or significant others, 17 percent were traveling with friends, and 6 percent were with their extended family.

Overall, 57 percent of the winter visitors were on overnight trips compared to 71 percent during the fall season. On average, these overnight visitors spent approximately one night in the area where they were interviewed. Primary lodging choices included hotels, the homes of friends and relatives, and motels. The winter visitors we surveyed spent an average of $337 per group on their trip.

The top five trip-related activities, from the most to least frequently mentioned included shopping (34 percent), dining (33 percent), downhill skiing (30 percent), visiting family and friends (23 percent), and evening nightlife/bars (15 percent). When respondents were asked to rank the most important activity, the top five most frequently mentioned activities were downhill skiing, shopping, visiting family and friends, sports event, and attending a festival/event.

Visitors were queried on words or phrases that they would use to describe their winter vacation experience. The graph above provides the most frequently mentioned responses. Percentages will not add to 100 percent due to multiple responses.

Motivation for Travel

Twenty-five percent of the respondents indicated their motivation for traveling during the winter season was for the outdoor recreation, 18 percent cited snow, 13 percent were visiting family and friends, and 11 percent were doing their holiday shopping. When asked to define the reasons for choosing their specific destination, the top responses included outdoor activities (34 percent), friends and relatives live nearby (23 percent), shopping (17 percent), spectator sports (13 percent), and festivals/events (11 percent).

Trip Planning

Sixty-one percent of the winter visitors we surveyed planned their trip within the month, 6 percent planned it the month prior to their trip, and 13 percent planned it within a two-month period. The most frequently mentioned sources of information used when trip planning were word of mouth, local Internet sites, State Internet site, other Internet sites. When asked to rank the most useful information sources, word of mouth ranked first followed by local Internet sites, other Internet sites, and the State Internet site.

When asked what forms of media the Department of Tourism should advertise in to reach visitors like themselves, this table highlights our visitors' responses.

Marketing Implications:

• Department research ("Generation X and Empty Nest/Aging Baby Boomer Focus Groups") has found that relaxation is an important part of vacation for the Baby Boomer generation. With approximately one-half of Wisconsin's winter visitors falling into that category, give consideration to making relaxation a focal point in your promotional materials and to developing packages that help take the "work" out of your guests' travel planning

• Short-term planning was the norm for winter visitors-at least one-half of all visitors made their travel plans within four weeks of their trip. Because of the impulse nature of many travelers, it is important to creatively place an invitation in front of the customer.

• Regardless of where the visitor resides, their age, or where they were surveyed, the Internet was cited most often as a means of advertising to reach more visitors like themselves. With the popularity of the Internet continually increasing, it's important that all promotional materials direct your customers to your Web site. Once they are there, give them a reason to return by keeping the site updated and interactive with professional-looking photography or special online coupons.

• Most visitors when asked what sources of information they relied on for travel planning indicated they relied on family and friends. Good customer service is paramount to word-of-mouth advertising. There also may be a discounted coupon program implemented where visitors receive one discount coupon with a paid admission that can either be used by themselves for another day or they can pass it to a family member or friend.

For information on obtaining this or other Department of Tourism research documents, please see our Research page.