Assessing Drive Tourists’ Preferences and Motivations: A Case Study of Bella Coola, British Columbia Final Report of Findings Prepared by Dr. Anne Hardy and Jovan Simic Resource Recreation and Tourism Program University of Northern British Columbia For: BC Ferries Central Coast Regional District Bella Coola Valley Tourism BC Real Estate Partnering Fund January 2006 1 Dr. Anne Hardy Resource Recreation and Tourism Program University of Northern British Columbia 3333 University Way Prince George British Columbia, V2N 4Z9 Canada Ph: (250) 960 5114 Email: hardya@unbc.ca COPYRIGHT: The contents of this report are the property of Dr Anne Hardy. Use or copying of this report in part or whole constitutes an infringement of copyright. 2 Table of Contents List of Acronyms……………………………………………….. 4 Executive Summary……………………………………………. 5 1. Introduction…………………………………………………. 7 1.1 Background……………………………………………………………. 1.2 Objective………………………………………………………………. 1.3 Scope of Work………………………………………………………… 7 7 8 2. Background to the Study…………………………………… 8 2.1 Self Drive Tourism Research………………………………………… 8 2.2 Tourism in the Bella Coola Valley…………………………………... 10 2.3 The Bella Coola Marketing Strategy………………………………... 11 3. Methods Used for this Study……………………………… 12 3.1 Stage One: Inception Meeting, Collation of Relevant Background 12 Literature and Research Data…………………………………………….. 3.2 Stage Two: Development of the Research Instruments……………. 12 3.3 Stage Three: Application of the Research Instruments…………….. 12 3.3.1 Timing, Sampling and Locations……………………………………… 12 3.3.2 Incentives ……………………………………………………………. 13 3.3.3 Interviewers………………………………………………………… 13 3.3.4 Self Completed Survey, In-depth Interview and Focus Group Structure 14 3.4 Stage Four: Analysis………………………………………………….. 14 3.5 Limitations……………………………………………………………. 14 4. Results………………………………………………………. 15 4.1 Presentation of Results ……………………………………………… 15 4.2 Presentation of Self Completed Surveys…………………………….. 15 4.3 Presentation of Focus Groups and Self Completed Surveys……….. 29 4.3.1 Accommodation and Travel Behaviour 29 4.3.2 Perceptions of the Bella Coola Valley 31 5. Conclusions…………………………………………………. 32 6. Selected References………………………………………... 35 Appendices……………………………………………………... 38 3 List of Acronyms BCVT CCRD UNBC TVIC Bella Coola Valley Tourism Central Coast Regional District University of Northern British Columbia Tourist Visitor Information Centres 4 Executive Summary In 2005, discussion began between Anne Hardy of the University of Northern British Columbia’s (UNBC) Resource Recreation and Tourism Program, and Bella Coola Valley Tourism (BCVT) regarding research which BCVT was planning to undertake. As a result, funding was sought from BC Ferries, the University of Northern British Columbia and the BC Real Estate Partnering Fund to undertake research on the self drive market to Bella Coola. The objectives of this research were to: 1) Gain an understanding of the drive tourism market in the Bella Coola Valley and particularly visitors’ characteristics, length of stay, and behaviour whilst in the valley. This would be done by implementing a quantitative self completed survey. 2) Trial a qualitative research tool which will seek to explore the psychographic profiles of the RV market. This research tool would consist of in-depth, open ended interviews and focus groups. In order to achieve the objectives, a review of existing research into self drive visitation was undertaken. Following this, a steering group consisting of members of Bella Coola Valley Tourism and a representative from BC Ferries was formed. A survey ‘framework’ was formulated which complemented existing research and reflected the desires for research by the steering group members. This resulted in the quantitative survey and qualitative in-depth interviews and focus groups being applied between July and September 2006 in the Bella Coola Valley region. In total, 126 respondents answered the quantitative self completed survey, 40 respondents participated in the in-depth interviews and 22 people participated in the focus groups. The results of research were entered and a report was prepared which included recommendations for action and further research. The results revealed that self drive visitors to the Bella Coola Region were predominantly empty nesters of retirees who travelled as couples or with friends. They most commonly spent 1-3 nights in the region and were flexible in their travel planning. Most were visiting Bella Coola for the first time. They preferred to use the internet as their information source although their planning did involve consulting other sources such as friends and relatives, TVICs, travel agents, TV programs and travel guidebooks. The majority of visitors were satisfied with their experiences, having wanted to visit Bella Coola for a long time. Those who travelled on board the BC Ferry service were particularly satisfied with the unique small ship and friendly atmosphere. Visitors to the valley were particularly impressed with the following aspects: the natural beauty, scenery, wildlife and wilderness of the area, and the friendly people in the community. Other comments included (in order of popularity): the quietness and remoteness; museums restaurants and shops; the First Nations culture; fishing and outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. 5 However recommendations for improving the experience in the Bella Coola Valley were also revealed through the data. These included: continued improvements and public relations campaigns regarding “the Hill”, public facilities, services and signage, as well as improving the aesthetics and cleanliness of the township. Finally, visitors were classified as being: 1. Active Venturers: Tend to be hard core tenters who are most interested in wilderness experiences and are most active; 2. Active Centrics: Tend to be soft tenters, B&Bers or soft core RVers. B&Bers in particular show equal interest in wilderness and cultural / heritage experiences; 3. Mellow Centrics: tend to be hard core RVers who tended to show more interest in cultural/heritage experiences and light nature based experiences; 4. Mellow Venturers: tend to be hard core hotelers who tended to show more interest in cultlural/heritage experiences and light nature based experiences; It is recommended that these four groups, in conjunction with the demographic characteristics, should be considered in the marketing campaigns for the Bella Coola Valley tourism. One of the key recommendations of this study is to conduct regular quantitative research using the quantitative self completed survey tool developed for this study. This will allow for monitoring of visitors’ satisfaction and demographic characteristics. Furthermore, qualitative research is recommended in the future in order to ascertain the extent to which visitors plan, obtain more details on why visitors choose to travel in the region and most importantly to monitor their satisfaction in detail. 6 1. Introduction 1.1 Background In the recent years, much emphasis has been placed on the development of the self drive (or Free Independent Tourist, FIT) market in British Columbia. The rationale for the development of this market is that it can enhance regional tourism development, and can act as a catalyst to diversify regional economies. One of the current problems in British Columbia is the lack of data pertaining to the characteristics of self drive tourists. Existing data sets, such as research collected by Tourism British Columbia, provide valuable insights, but there are still research gaps pertaining to the heterogeneity of the market, including their motivation, behaviour and decision making processes. BC Ferries, in conjunction with the Central Coast Regional District and Bella Coola Valley Tourism have recognised a need to fill these research gaps in order to provide market based information for the forthcoming Touring Route Marketing Plan. In order to achieve this, the University of Northern British Columbia (Resource Recreation and Tourism Program) was commissioned to undertake market based research of self drive visitors’ characteristics in the Bella Coola Valley. 1.2 Objective It is the University of Northern British Columbia’s understanding that the objective of this research was to: 3) Gain an understanding of the drive tourism market in the Bella Coola Valley and particularly visitors’ characteristics, length of stay, and behaviour whilst in the valley. This would be done by developing and implementing a quantitative self completed survey instrument. 4) Trial a qualitative research tool which will seek to explore the psychographic profiles of the RV market. This research tool would consist of in-depth, open ended interviews and focus groups. The qualitative research will seek to develop in-depth insights into drive travellers motivations, decision making process (including destination choices) and their interaction with other drive travellers. This research tool will be an extension of the research that Anne Hardy of UNBC has been conducting for the past three years (see Hardy and Beeton 2001; Hardy, Beeton, and Pearson 2002; Hardy 2003a; Hardy, 2003b; Hardy, Beeton, and Carter 2005; Hardy, et al 2004). The quantitative self completed research instrument was designed so that it will be able to be repeated. This will allow BC ferries and BCVT to track longitudinally the marketing effectiveness of the region over time, as well as users’ behaviour and length of stay. Ultimately this will lead to more efficient use of resources, and may contribute towards increasing visitation and expenditure in the Bella Coola Valley. 7 1.3 Scope of Work In order to achieve the objectives, a review of existing research into self drive tourism in British Columbia was undertaken. Following this, a steering group was formed and a self completed survey ‘framework’ was formulated for the quantitative component. This research instrument was designed to reflect the desires for research by each of the steering group members. The qualitative research was designed to elect more in-depth understandings of visitors’ experiences whilst in the Bella Coola Valley. Consisting of in-depth interviews and focus groups, it was also designed to extend the research that Anne Hardy has been conducting into the motivations and psychographic preferences of self drive visitors. The qualitative and quantitative research tools were applied between July and September, 2006 at various locations throughout the Bella Coola Valley. The quantitative self completed surveys were conducted at the following locations: • Atnarko Campround, Eagles Nest B&B, Gnomes Campground, Sinclair House, Tweedsmuir Lodge, Rip Rap Campground, the Bella Coola Visitor Information Booth, and on board the BC Ferry between Port Hardy and Bella Coola. The qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted at the following locations: • Atnarko Campround, Gnomes Campground, Sinclair House, Rip Rap Campground, the Bella Coola Visitor Information Booth, and on board the BC Ferry between Port Hardy and Bella Coola. The qualitative focus groups were conducted at the following locations: • Atnarko Campround, Gnomes Campground, the Bay Motor Inn and the Offices of the Central Coast Regional District. The results of these three research tools were then entered, analysed and a report prepared which includes recommendations for action and further research. 2. Background to the Study 2.1 Self Drive Tourism Research The self drive and recreational vehicle (RV) tourism market has seen many changes over the past ten years in Canada. Increased car ownership, retiring baby boomers, the development of larger and more powerful vehicles, and preferences for domestic travel post September 11th have arguably facilitated the growth of this market. On the other hand, fear generated following events such as September 11th, rising oil prices and depressed exchange rates can impact negatively on the strength of this sector (Tourism BC, 2005). 8 In spite of these issues, automobile and RV travel remains a significant phenomenon in Canada. The most recent travel figures for the province suggest that in 1996, 21 million people took overnight holidays in British Columbia, and of these, approximately 440,000 residents and 800,000 non residents used an RV. Moreover, it has been estimated that Canada has a higher level of RV ownership than the USA, with 13% of the population owning an RV, compared to 10% in the USA (Go RVing, 2004). Since the advent of the motor vehicle, drive tourism has been an important contributor to the growth of many tourist destinations. Vehicles now travel further, with greater reliability, greater human comfort and over a greater diversity of terrain and road quality than ever before. In addition, improved road conditions and increased availability of services (e.g. refuelling stations, motels and camp grounds) means that travellers can travel safely with greater convenience over a wider variety of routes (Hardy, Beeton and Carter, 2005). In conjunction with increases in paid leave, increases in car and recreational vehicle ownership, and the baby boomer generation beginning to retire, opportunities for new types of drive holidays abound. These include short breaks (1-3 nights), short tours (4-7 days) and long tours (more than 8 days), the latter of which can be up to several thousand kilometres in length and several months in duration (McHugh and Mings, 1992; Olsen, 2003; Hardy, Beeton and Carter, 2005, Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, no date). However, despite its relative importance within the tourism industry and recognition by the tourism literature of the important role of transport within the industry (Prideaux, 2000), the amount of research focussed on self drive tourism, including RV use, has been described as being under represented (Olsen, 2003; Counts and Counts, 2004). Recent research suggests that the broader self drive tourism market consists of people with varying behavioural characteristics, who are undertaking journeys beyond the traditional access routes, with differing spatial configuration patterns (Lue, Crompton and Fesenmairer, 1993; Pearce, 2001; Muller and O’Cass, 2003; Hardy, Beeton and Carter, 2005). It has been found that with a growing number of ‘grey nomads’ on the road, and the uncertainty of travel plans of retiring baby boomers, this market is continually changing. Moreover, a life cycle may exist within the drive tourism market, which requires further exploration (Hardy, Beeton and Carter, 2005). Understanding why people travel and the factors that encourage them to make certain decisions is vitally important. It is this information which allows an understanding of travellers’ behaviour and facilitates industry practitioners to develop markets which cater to the needs of different tourist segments. Market segmentation research uses a wide variety of variables to define different types of tourists. Some researchers have segmented tourists according to their motivations to meet psychological needs (Cohen, 1972; Dann,1981; Crompton, 1979; Iso-Ahola, 1982; Mathieson and Wall, 1982; Pearce, 1988; Gnoth, 1997) or values (Pizam and Clantone, 1987). Other researchers have segmented tourists according to their personal characteristics combined with their choice of destination, or impacts upon it (Cohen, 1972; Um and Crompton, 1990; Higham, 1998; Orth and Tureckova, 2002) whilst other forms of segmentation have been primarily based upon demographic factors (Tourism BC, 2005b). Psychographic segmentation is one way in which multi-dimensional segmentation may be approached. It has been defined as the “measure of personality and motivational characteristics” (Plog, 1998: 254) and assesses multiple variables such as motivation, lifestyle, demographics and attitudes (Demby, 1974; Smith, 1978; Yiannakis and Gibson,1992; Horneman et al, 2002; Lheto, O’Leary and Morrison, 2002). Academics such 9 as Plog (1998), Blamey and Braithewaite (1997) and Horneman et al. (2002) have developed psychographic segments and in tourism, the strength of this approach lies in its ability to provide a rich picture of users’ motivational characteristics, demographic characteristics and behaviour. Psychographics have also been found useful in explaining travel decision-making and destination choice for long haul travellers (Lehto, O’Leary and Morrison, 2002). However, psychographics are not without limitations. Some psychographic typologies (eg. Plog, criticized by Smith, 1990) have been criticized for the lack of applicability to broader populations. It is also apparent that much of the psychographic research has been undertaken using quantitative methods (see Smith, 1990; Blamey and Braithewaite, 1997; Galloway, 2002; Lehto, O’Leary and Morrison, 2002). Finally, psychographic profiling, like many other forms of segmentation, is also limited in that it assesses visitors according to their characteristics at one point in time. Therefore, further qualitative and quantitative research is needed to explore the relationship between psychographic segmentation and tourists’ ‘travel careers’. 2.2 Tourism in the Bella Coola Valley The spectacular Bella Coola Valley is a valley which extends for approximately 70 kilometres from west to east, on the Western Coast of British Columbia. A population of 2289 residents live in the Bella Coola Valley, mostly in the towns of Bella Coola, and Hagensburg, which is located inland from the township of Bella Coola. Bella Coola is accessible by air (a one hour flight from Vancouver), road (via the famous “Hill” and Highway 20) and sea (BC Ferries which operates a ferry during the summer months with a capacity of 115 vehicle and 375 passengers). The road and sea access provides self drive visitors with an opportunity to complete a “loop” through British Columbia on the Discovery Coast Circle Tour. Consequently, Bella Coola may be viewed as an alternative, and possibly even “healthy competition” to its northern counterpart, Prince Rupert. There are a variety of tourism operations in Bella Coola, although the market maturity of the valley would not rival that of Prince Rupert, and nor would visitor numbers. This could serve as an advantage, as Bella Coola has the reputation of being isolated, surrounded by wilderness and wildlife and “authentic”. Impediments to the future growth of the town are few, except for the reputation of “the Hill” being frightening and the risk of the ferry discontinuing its service. A third may be the naming issues- Bella Coola is often used as a generic term for the valley and visitors are surprised to discover that many of the tourist facilities are located (and listed in the BC accommodation guide) in Hagensburg. A final impediment is seasonality- the summer season is short and makes economic viability a major concern to businesses in the region. Visitors to the valley have a variety of choices of accommodation including hotels, cabins, B&Bs and public and private campgrounds. A network of trails exists into the surrounding mountains, although many of these rely on volunteers to maintain them. The same applies to the signage throughout the valley. Visitors may also engage in a variety of guided activities including walks to the Petroglyphs, guided nature walks, wildlife viewing experiences and fishing trips, to name a few. There are also a variety of art and craft galleries through the valley. 10 Research on visitation to Bella Coola is scarce. The Tourism BC Visitors Study into the Cariboo Coast Region in 1995-1996 suggested that there were 1.7 million visitors to the region in that time period. Of those, 7% of non residents and 3% of residents were estimated to have visited the region, possibly putting visitation at approximately 100,000. Further research is needed to clarify and update these figures, especially given the new ferry service to the region. 2.3 The Bella Coola Marketing Strategy Bella Coola Valley Tourism in conjunction with the Central Coast Regional District have initiated the development of a Bella Coola Marketing Strategy. This will be undertaken by Steve Nicols and Associates from Lions Gate Consulting and the research in this report is designed to assist the development of the strategy. The strategy will be released in early 2006. 11 3. Methods Used for this Study 3.1 Stage One: Inception Meeting, Collation of Relevant Background Literature and Research Data During this stage, relevant self drive data and literature for the Bella Coola Valley was collected to ensure that the research instrument built upon, rather than replicated existing data. Meetings with the Steering Group (members of the BCVT and a representative from BC Ferries) were held by teleconference to establish the groups’ research goals and ideas. 3.2 Stage Two: Development of the Research Instruments For this research, three research instruments were developed: 1. a self completed survey (Appendix 1); 2. in-depth interviews(Appendix 2); and 3. a focus groups schedule (Appendix 3). The role of the steering group was to provide input into the development of the self completed survey instrument which would be designed to meet their specific concerns and research goals. It was planned that the results of all three instruments would provide data for the forthcoming marketing plan to be prepared by Lions Gate Consulting, and also to ensure that the survey complimented any existing data. It was decided that as the qualitative components of the research were more academic in focus, their design would be the responsibility of Anne Hardy. The draft of the self completed survey was designed first and following several iterations of feedback, a final survey was developed. 3.3 Stage Three: Application of the Research Instruments 3.3.1 Timing, Sampling and Locations The three research instruments were applied between early July and the end of the first week of September 2005. The locations were chosen for their high visitor numbers and their ability to being able to accommodate surveyors without impinging on the visitor experience (Table 1). Table 1: Location of Research instruments Research Instrument Survey Locations Dates Self Completed Surveys Various locations throughout the Bella Coola Valley and on BC Ferries Early July - late July, & Late August – early September Focus Groups Atnarko Campground, Gnomes Campground, Bella Coola Valley Inn, Central Coast Regional District Offices. Early August In-depth Interviews Gnomes Campround, Tweedsmuir Park, BC Ferries Early August 12 Budgetary constraints meant that the survey needed to be cost efficient in its delivery. This meant that convenience sampling was used rather than random sampling. This meant that detailed statistical analysis would not be suitable for this form of data. Secondly, budgetary constraints resulted in the survey being designed to be self completed. Volunteers from within the community assisted with disseminating surveys and collating those that had been completed. In terms of numbers, the goal of the self completed survey was to collect between 100 and 150 valid responses. At the end of the surveying period in early September, 126 responses were collected. They ceased when saturation of opinions was reached, meaning that no new information was emerging (Guba and Lincoln, 1989). For the in-depth interviews, the goal was to interview respondents until “theoretical saturation” occurred, meaning that no new information was emerging (Guba and Lincoln, 1989). This was reached when 40 respondents had been interviewed. For the focus groups, 4 groups were conducted of different styles of travellers (including those who stayed in B&Bs and hotels, those who camped and those who stayed in Recreation Vehicles). 22 people participated in these groups. 3.3.2 Incentives Those who completed the self completed survey were offered an incentive to participate. This was a coffee table book on the Bella Coola Valley. Those who completed the self completed surveys were given pencils as a token of appreciation and went in the draw for an Amazon or Chapters book voucher. Focus group participants were given a $20 incentive for their participation. 3.3.3 Interviewers The self completed surveys did not require interviewers to conduct the surveys, but rather co-operation from local operators to make the survey available for visitors to the valley. For the in-depth interviews, a trained graduate student, Jovan Simic, from the University of Northern British Columbia, was employed to carry out the in-depth interviews. An induction program was provided which included: training in the administration of the surveys; recording of data; etiquette for approaching potential respondents; and etiquette when working within crowded commercial environments such as visitor and booking centres. The focus groups were moderated by Anne Hardy who has previous experience in focus group moderation and qualitative interviewing. 13 3.3.4 Self Completed Survey, In-depth Interview and Focus Group Structure The self completed surveys were structured so that they would be administered and filled in by the respondent (Appendix 1). The in-depth interviews and focus group questions were structured so that respondents were required to give verbal responses to the questions (see Appendix 2and Appendix 2). 3.4 Stage Four: Analysis Following completion of the self completed surveys, the data was coded and entered into excel spreadsheets. The quantitative data was analysed with Excel software and was assessed using frequencies and bi-variate analysis. The data from the in-depth interviews and focus groups was recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically using the qualitative technique of constant comparative method. 3.5 Limitations As with most research, this study was subject to some limitations. Due to budgetary constraints, random and representative face to face sampling of the entire population of visitors to the Bella Coola Valley was not possible to be utilised for the survey. Rather, convenience sampling was conducted along with a self completed survey. Further research would be required to determine whether this sample was representative of visitation to the region over the entire year. 14 4. Results 4.1 Presentation of Results The results are presented in the following order: • Results of the self completed surveys • Results of the focus groups and the results of the in-depth interviews. The results of the in-depth interviews and focus groups have been combined because both research instruments were designed to compliment and add depth to each other. 4.2 Presentation of Self Completed Surveys In total, 126 respondents completed the survey. The results are as follows: Gender Gender of respondents was fairly evenly divided between men (46%) and women (54%) (Figure 1). Figure 1: Gender of Respondents. 46 54 Male Female Transport 67% of visitors to the Bella Coola Valley had driven their own or rented RV, truck or car into the valley. 23% had arrived via the ferry and small percentages had arrived either by coach, bicycle, plane or “other” means (Figure 2). 15 Figure 2: Transportation to the Bella Coola Valley Other 1% Coach Tour 1% Ferry Bicycle 1% Ferry 23% Motorcycle 4% Plane Car/Truck/RV Plane 3% Motorcycle Bicycle Coach Tour Car/Truck/RV 67% Other Education Visitors to the Bella Coola Valley were well educated.68% of respondents had either a college diploma, undergraduate degree or a graduate degree or post-graduate degree (Figure 3). Figure 3: Education of Visitors to the Bella Coola Valley 45 40 35 n (=124) 30 25 20 15 10 5 de ra d st g po or G ra d nd er gr ee de gr ee gr ad ua te di pl om a ol le ge ic at e ce rti f e Tr ad C U H ig h sc ho ol gr ad ua te 0 Employment Visitors to the Bella Coola Valley were predominantly employed/self employed (59%) or retired (36%) (Figure 4). 16 Figure 4: Employment status of Visitors Not w orking/ stay at home parent/ student 5% Retired 36% Employed or Self employed 59% Annual Household Income Before tax in Canadian dollars 67% of respondents stated that their annual household income was $60,000 or above (Figure 5). Figure 5: Annual Household Income Before tax in Canadian dollars 35 30 30 27 25 20 16 14 15 12 10 5 4 0 $0-$20,000 $20,000$40,000 $40,000$60,000 17 $60,000$80,000 $80,000$100,000 >$100,000 Age of Respondents Visitors to the Bella Coola Valley are in an older demographic. 24% were aged between 4554, 36% were aged between 55 and 64, and 16% were aged between 65 and 74 (Figure 6). Figure 6: Age of Respondents >74 2% 18-24 1% 65-74 16% 25-34 9% 35-44 12% 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 45-54 24% 55-64 36% 65-74 >74 Immediate Travel Party Couples travelling without children or friends travelling without children made up 76% of visitors to the Bella Coola Valley (Figure 7). Figure 7: Composition of Travel Parties in the Bella Coola Valley Travelling alone 1% 6% An adult couple (partners in a relationship) 8% A family group w ith children 18% Other family group and friends 3% Friends travelling together w ithout children 6% 58% Friends travelling together w ith children Other, please specify 18 Length of stay in Bella Coola Valley 54% of those who responded to the survey stayed in Bella Coola for 1-2 nights, followed by 16% who stayed for 3 nights and 15% who stayed between 4-7nights. Only 8% of visitors stayed for over 7 nights and 7% stayed for the day (Figure 8). Figure 8: Length of the Stay in the Bella Coola Valley More than 2 w eeks 2% 7-13 nights 6% 1 day 1 day 7% 4-7 nights 15% 3 nights 16% 1 night 1 night 32% 2 nights 3 nights 4-7 nights 2 nights 22% 7-13 nights More than 2 w eeks Total Length of Vacation As well as being asked how long they were staying in the Bella Coola Valley, visitors were asked to indicate how long their entire vacation was. Responses were evenly spread. 22% were on vacation for 4-7 nights, 22% were on vacation for 7-13 nights and 27% were on holiday for 2-4 weeks. 15% were on vacation for more than one month (Table 2). Table 2: Total Length of Vacation Total Length of Stay Percentage 1 day 2 1 night 1 2 nights 6 3 nights 5 4-7 nights 22 7-13 nights 22 2-4 weeks 27 More than one month 15 19 Reasons for not staying overnight The small percentage of visitors (2%) who indicated that they stayed for only one day in the Bella Coola Valley were asked why they chose not to stay overnight. Responses were, with the exception of one person, largely unrelated to the visitors’ experience. Rather, visitors were constrained by time or staying elsewhere. When prompted, those who only stayed for one day suggested that apart from personal reasons such as time constraints, improvements to the road, changes to the ferry schedule, more entertainment and public facilities such as picnic tables may encourage them to stay longer. Previous Visitation to the Bella Coola Valley 77% of those interviewed had not visited to Bella Coola Valley previous to this trip, compared with 23% who had (Figure 9). Figure 9: Previous Visitation to the Bella Coola Valley 120 97 100 n= 126 80 60 40 29 20 0 Yes No Purpose for Vacation to the Bella Coola Valley 77% of visitors to the region indicated they were in the Bella Coola Valley for a holiday, to get away, or relaxation. The remainder were in the valley to visit friends or relatives (5%), to participate in a festival or event (2%), on a working holiday (5%), because they lived in the local area (1%), or for “other” reasons (10%). Expectations of the Bella Coola Valley for First Time Visitors Visitors, who had not been to the Bella Coola Valley before, were asked to describe their expectations of Bella Coola. A variety of positive responses emerged and in order of frequency, their responses included expectations that is a place of beautiful scenery and wildlife, that it was ‘as they expected’, that it would be a small coastal village, and or remote, peaceful and quiet. Some visitors expressed disappointment when they described their expectations. One frequently occurring response was an expectation that it would be larger with more services. Some thought that there would be more access to water based activities, whilst others were surprised at the extent of the fjords and desired more access to them (Figure 10). 20 Figure 10: Visitors’ Expectations of the Bella Coola Valley 25 20 15 10 5 al lc oa st al R vil em la ge ot e, pe ac ef ul ,q ui M et or e w at er or ie nt ed be tte r? Sm Bi gg er an d y, w ild life sc en er ex pe ct ed As Be au tif ul N o ex pe ct at io ns 0 After being asked to describe their expectations, visitors were asked whether the Bella Coola Valley met their expectations. 84% of respondents stated that their expectations were met (Figure 11). Figure 11: Were Expectations Met for First Time Visitors to the Bella Coola Valley? 90 81 80 70 n=96 60 50 40 30 20 15 10 0 Yes No Visitors’ Favourite Things Visitors were asked to describe their three favourite things about Bella Coola. By far the most common response was to do with the natural beauty, scenery, wildlife and wilderness of the area. Following this, a popular favourite element were the friendly people in the community. Other comments included (in order of popularity): the quietness and remoteness (including to some, the difficulty in accessing Bella Coola); museums restaurants and shops; the First Nations culture; fishing and outdoor activities such as hiking and biking; and finally ecological reasons such as crystal clear streams, and lack of pollution (Figure 12). 21 Figure 12: Visitors’ Favourite Things about Bella Coola 120 100 80 60 40 20 re as on s ca l ul tu re ec ol og i ot he rc qu ie te ne ss & na ti v e cu l tu re s re m ot en es g ct iv i ti es fi s hi n ou td oo ra na tu ra lb ea ut y ,s ce pe ne op ry le ,f rie nd li n es s 0 Visitors’ Least Favourite Things Visitors’ most common response to this question was road conditions, including the access, The Hill and potholes etc. Following this, the most common responses included: lack of and poor quality of services; signage and things to do on rainy days; the weather; nothing (visitors liked their experience!); costs of things such as the ferry, accommodation and gas; mosquitos; and aesthetics such as dirty houses, the township of Bella Coola and garbage (Figure 13). Figure 13: Visitors’ Least Favourite Things 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 st s co th et ic s ae s th in g ev er y no th in g -l ik ed of se rv ic es la ck ts /p es ts w ea th er in se c ro ad co nd it i o ns 0 How Visitors Heard about the Bella Coola Valley Word of mouth was the most common way that visitors had first heard about the Bella Coola Valley. Following this, popular responses included (in order of popularity): finding out about it by living in BC; school educations and history books; maps; travel resources including magazines; and internet and TV (Figure 14). 22 Figure 14: How Visitors Heard about the Bella Coola Valley 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 friends and family travel reso urces, magazines map internet & TV live in B C, wo rked there scho o l, educatio n, histo ry bo o ks Planning habits of visitors Visitors were asked to describe the extent to which they planned their vacation. Flexibility appeared to be a dominant theme when responding to this answer. 20% of respondents indicated that they did not plan their vacation, 40% responded that they did some planning but with ‘lots of flexibility’, 22% suggested that they “mostly planned but with some flexibility”, and 18% responded that they “planned their whole journey” (Figure 15) Figure 15: Planning habits of visitors 60 50 n=126 40 30 20 10 0 Planned w hole journey Mostly planned but w ith some flexibility Some planning but w ith lots of flexibility No planning, totally flexible Information Sources Road maps, tourist information centres, the Bella Coola website, word of mouth, previous visits and other websites were the most predominant forms of information sources (Table 3). 23 Table 3: Information Sources used by Visitors to Bella Coola Planning Tool Frequency (n=126) Didn’t use any information at all 8 Motoring organisation (e.g. BCAA) 17 Previous visit(s)/ prior personal knowledge 30 Word of mouth 46 Tourist Visitor Information Centre 57 Travel guide or book. 38 Television/radio programs 1 Telephone or written inquiry to CCCTA 6 Travel Agent 4 http://www.bellacoola.ca/ 48 Other website 28 Road maps 63 Newspaper/magazine article. 3 Tour operator 4 Other 7 Most Useful Information Sources Respondents were then asked to nominate their most useful source of information. The most common response was the internet and websites. Following this, other preferred sources of information included (in order of popularity): information centres, including visitor information booths, the AAA and travel agents; brochures, guides and maps; word of mouth and previous knowledge (Figure 16). Figure 16: Most Useful Information Sources 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 internet, w ebsites w ord of mouth previous know ledge 24 info centres brochures, guides, maps Major Activities Undertaken by Visitors Respondents were asked to indicate the major activity whilst in Bella Coola. The responses indicated that visitors’ major activities vary, with the most popular including hiking, visiting museums and art galleries, outdoor adventure, visiting historical sites, and fresh water fishing (Table 4). Table 4: Major Activities Undertaken by Visitors Activity Percentage (%) Hiking 23 Visiting Museums and Art Galleries 14 Visiting Cultural Sites 9 Fresh Water Fishing 10 Salt Water Fishing 2 Visiting Historical Sites 11 Outdoor Adventure 12 Other 19 Visitors Evaluation of the BC Ferries Trip Visitors who had travelled to or from Bella Coola on the BC Ferries service were asked to rate their experiences. Responses were scaled from 1, which was “very dissatisfied” to 5 was “very satisfied”. The 55 responses revealed that travellers were satisfied with their holidaythe vast majority indicated they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied (Figure 16). Figure 16: Visitors Evaluation of the BC Ferries Trip 30 25 n= 55 20 15 10 5 0 Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neither satisfied or dissatsfied Satisfied Very satisfied Following this, those who had been on the BC Ferries trip to or from Bella Coola were asked to evaluate what they liked the best about the experience. The most common response was in relation to the crew and service. Following this, responses (in order of popularity) included: the scenery; whale watching; the food and the atmosphere (which 25 included aspects such as the relaxed pace, sleeping on the deck, being able to see the stars and the music (Table 5). Table 5: Things most liked about the BC Ferries trip to Bella Coola. Things most enjoyed Responses Crew, service 27 Scenery 14 Whale Watching 7 Food 6 Atmosphere (stars, sleeping on the deck, music etc) 7 Respondents who had used the ferry were also asked to indicate what they liked the least about the ferry. Responses, in order of popularity included: comfort (including sleeping); food; length of trip; crew and service; “nothing”; and the price of the trip. It is interesting to note many of these were indicated by other respondents as aspects they liked (Table 6). Table 6: Things liked least about the BC Ferry trip to Bella Coola. Things most enjoyed Responses Comfort 13 Crew, service 11 Food 6 Length of trip 5 Nothing 5 Price 4 Psychographic Attributes of Visitors The self completed survey used a table developed by Plog (2002) to assess the psychographic attributes of visitors to this region. Respondents were asked to rate their activity levels and attitudes towards various activities. According to Plog, their responses can give extra insights into their psychographic characteristics as any visitor can be placed along his spectrum (Figure 17). 26 Figure 17: Plog’s Theory of Traveller Psychographics Venturers / Near Venturers / Centric Venturers / Centric Depend’s / Near Dep’s / Dependables This spectrum classifies three broad types of visitors. At the extreme end are Venturers. These types of travelers constantly seek out new experiences and have strong sense of selfconfidence. They seek out new destinations before they are “discovered” and will adapt to new and native foods and are happy to use less than adequate hotels or accommodation if the destination is entirely undeveloped as a tourist destination. Plog describes these travelers as leaders in trends- when they arrive home they often inspire others to duplicate what they have done. On the far end of the spectrum, Dependables are less confident with their travel decisions and decision making in general. These types of travelers select destinations that are well known and well developed. They like things and comforts that remind them of homeincluding food and their own bed. In addition to describing travelers’ attributes, the Plog theory proposes that the questions used in the survey can indicate the activity level of respondents, this giving further insight into their psychographic characteristics. Plog proposed that any type of psychographic category can be further divided into those that are active or mellow. When applied to visitors to Bella Coola through the self completed surveys, the results revealed that visitors to Bella Coola tended to be either Venturers or Centrics. Only 3.3% could be described as Dependables. Consequently, it can be implied that visitors to Bella Coola are more confident in their travel habits, with 46.3% being considered on the far end of the spectrum, by being venturers (Figure 18). 27 Figure 18: Analysis of Psychographic Profiles of Visitors to Bella Coola Valley 3.3% Venturers 46.3% Centrics Dependables 50.4% To add further depth to this insight, the data revealed that the Centrics and Venturers, who made up the majority of respondents, were generally active. In particular, those who identified themselves as venturers were more active than those who identified themselves as centrics. This means that a sector of visitors to Bella Coola, who may be regarded as venturers, are highly active and confident travellers. The second most predominant sector of travellers are highly active, but slightly less confident travellers, followed by those who are equally confident, but less active (Figure 19). Figure 19: Activity Level of Visitors, according to Plog’s Theory 46 50 46 40 25 30 20 10 5 10 0 4 0 e ur nt e V rM ow ell n Ve rA re tu e e e ow low ti v ns tiv ell el Ac po Ac M M s e c le re ri bl ric nt ab nt da No nd Ce en Ce e p p De De ve cti Bi-variate Analysis of Psychographic Attributes and Demographic Characteristics Bi-variate analysis was conducted to decipher whether the psychographic profiling was related to accommodation type, transport type, employment, income, age, gender or education. Active venturers were comprised of highly educated people, as more than fifty percent of them had a graduate degree. This was somewhat expected, as education can often be correlated with confidence which is one of the defining traits of venturers. Similarly, active 28 venturers were characterized by a higher income. More than seventy percent of them earned $60,000 or more, with more than thirty five percent earning $100,000 and more. In the case of active venturers, high income and high level of education can be correlated as well. With the increase in gas prices and the cost of transportation (e.g. ferry), which was mentioned as a down side to Bella Coola, and a remote setting of Bella Coola, it is not surprising that highly educated and well-off adventure seekers are the most dominant group to visit. There were no significant gender differences, as the number of males and females was almost identical among all three groups (dependables, centrics and venturers). From our observations while in Bella Coola we noticed that most people travelled as a couple, which could explain the even gender split. However, most of the people, including venturers were older than 55. For example, sixty percent of active venturers were older than 55. From the surveys and interviews, time constraints proved to be the biggest factor, especially for North Americans, to influence this age pattern. Most of the over-55 people were either retired or self-employed, which meant that their vacation schedule was a lot more flexible. This can be good news for Bella Coola and similar destinations, as baby boomers and aging population are a growing tourism market. 4.3 Presentation of Focus Groups and Self Completed Surveys 4.3.1 Accommodation and Travel Behaviour The results described below relate to the behavioural characteristics of self drive travellers, their reasoning for choice of accommodation and their ‘travel life cycles’. When self drive travellers’ reasons for choosing their style of accommodation was assessed, it became evident that they could be classified into groups which were defined as: a) ‘Hard tenters’; b) ‘Soft tenters’; c) ‘B&Bers’; d) ‘Hard core hotelers’; e) ‘Hard core RVers’; and f) ‘Soft core RVers’. These categories are described below: Hard core tenters were defined as travellers who were strongly committed to using tents as their form of accommodation whilst on self drive holidays. They believed they got the “real experience” because they camped outdoors and felt the elements of nature. For them it was about “Being outside ….close to nature…. We’ve been tenting since forever.” Hard core tenters looked down upon RVers as they believed RVers were not experiencing nature in all its elements. Hard core tenters felt that they had more accessibility because they were able to access remote areas in their vehicles and set up camp. Hard core tenters tended to be far more physically active and committed towards environmental issues than RVers. Soft Tenters in some instances, described themselves as once being committed tenters, who had changed because they had either/or: access to more money, changed their lifestyles 29 because of children or because they had grown older; or lived in different environments. Soft tenters were the types of self drive tourists who would travel with a tent, but who would happily check into a hotel or B&B (depending on their personality type- see description of B&Bers and hotelers below) if the weather was inclement, they had extra cash and felt like indulging themselves. Soft tenters, when they stayed in hotels or B&Bs would often stay in more up market establishments. They enjoyed the flexibility of having two options for accommodation: “We’ve got a tent. …..Right now we stay in the hotel/motel if the weather is not nice and in a tent if the weather is nice.” Soft tenters were not always ‘hard core tenters’ in their youth. Some had downsized from motorhomes and trailers. Some soft core tenters were very physically active, similar to hard core tenters. B&B’ers who were committed to this form of accommodation did so because they felt they would meet the ‘real’ people living in the communities which they visited. Social people, they placed a high emphasis on the socio-cultural aspects of their trips and interaction with the community, relative to other types of self drive travelers: “With B&Bs, I find that you get to meet the people of the community wherever you are going and talk to them more. ….. We solved all the world’s problems with us until the 3 o’clock in the morning. ….. We had a great time. I cried when we said bye.” Hard core hotelers, or committed hotel stayers, did not like to feel they had to interact with B&B owners, or wake at certain times. Hard core hotelers were free to admit that camping and complete immersion in the environment was not for them. This is not to say that hard core hotelers were disinterested in interaction with the environment or local communities. Rather they differed in the extent of their immersions. “I don’t do camping - ever…..I am allergic to mosquitoes….We choose hotels over B&Bs because we don’t want to feel we have to get up and have breakfast …and we are traveling for 29 days…..we have always traveled in hotels.” Soft core RVers were quite often tenters in their youth, but because of their life stage, or income, had made the decision to purchase an RV. To them, RVs were a natural progression from tenting: “We are in a tent trailer because we have old foggies with me and they wouldn’t tent. Up to now we have been a tenting family….. This tent-trailer is not much different than a tent. It’s a tent on wheels. It’s pretty close to nature.” Most often, these types of self drive travellers had a smaller motor home, fifth wheel or camper trailer and often they would travel in smaller groups of family or friends: ”… when I go on a holiday, I like to be with the people of the place that I am in.” Hard core RVers had some similar characteristics, but at the same time appeared to be a group which requires more in-depth research because there were many behavioural subgroups within this group of self drive travelers. Hard core RVers tended to drive larger motor homes and trailers. Ironically, like hard core tenters who looked down on hard core RVers, hard core RVers tended to look down on tenters, believing that they had an inferior experience. “we don’t have to get on all fours and crawl into our bed!”. Some hard core RVers traveled in groups, and formed their own ‘communities’ as they traveled. This was also documented by Counts and Counts (2004). Others were more solitary in their behavior. They appeared to be less physically active, and more conscious of safety. The personal comforts of home, their possessions and their own bathroom were priorities for these travelers: “We travel with our house on wheels and we go from campground to campground.” Hard core tenters, hard core hotelers and soft core RVers tended to be less physically active. 30 4.3.2 Perceptions of the Bella Coola Valley On the positive side, visitors expressed similar thoughts on Bella Coola to those in the self completed survey. It was seen as a place where people could go to spend time with significant people in their lives, and is seen by many as Place they have always wanted to see. The ferry and inlet are significant factors which contribute to people’s enjoyment of the valley- some saw it as an alternative to Prince Rupert. To some, “The Hill” and the excitement with navigating it contributed towards visitors enjoyment of their experience. To fishermen, the lure of the valley for fish is very strong and it has a significant impact on their expereince. There were some recommendations to improve the visitor experience in Bella Coola. Again the responses were similar to the self completed survey. Some respondents expressed a desire for more things to do, and some disappointed with the small town of Bella Coola. Others commented on the state of roads and “the Hill’ and several people mentioned they were disappointed with the drive through the Cariboo, there the mountains seemed so far away and they felt unsure where they could stop for lunch or a driving break. In one of the focus groups, significant discussion was given to the issue of “where Bella Coola was”. Participants commented that their expectations of the township was different to that of the valley and that they did not realise that Hagensburg was also in the valley. In particular, comment was made that Hagensburg is listed under a different section in the BC Accommodation Guide, which caused some confusion. 31 5. Conclusions To conclude, a number of key findings have emerged from this study. Visitors to the Bella Coola are largely dependant on their own vehicles for transport. They are evenly spread between men and women, are generally well educated and 67% have an annual household income of over $60,000. They are mostly empty nesters or retirees who travel as couples and most commonly stay for 1-2 nights (54%), although their holiday is quite often up to several weeks in length. This information is extremely relevant for marketing- it clearly shows that Bella Coola’s strength is it attractiveness to couples- it is not considered to be a family destination. The large percentage of retirees, their flexibility in planning and the fact that many had not been to the valley before, suggests that BCVT is in an excellent position to encourage visitors to stay longer in the valley and also to encourage repeat visitation. This could be done by paying attention, enhancing and promoting the factors that visitors liked most about the Bella Coola Valley and the expectations that first time visitors had of the valley. These included the natural beauty, scenery, wildlife and wilderness of the area, and the friendly people in the community. Other comments included (in order of popularity): the quietness and remoteness; museums restaurants and shops; the First Nations culture; fishing and outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. It is also recommended that efforts be made to improve issues which visitors liked least about the valley. These include continued improvements and public relations campaigns regarding the “the Hill”, improvement to public facilities in both the Bella Coola Valley and on Highway 20 (which will require collaborative planning), services and signage; and improving the aesthetics and cleanliness the township of Bella Coola. It is also recommended that Bella Coola’s entry in the BC Accommodation Guide be listed as the “Bella Coola valley” to include Hagensburg and Stuie. This may minimse confusion for first time visitors. Finally, in improving visitor satisfaction, it is recommended that BCVT pay attention not only to the built elements of the tourism experience, but also to the visitor experience. This aspect is crucial in encouraging repeat visitation and positive word of mouth recommendations. The Bella Coola Valley emerged as a location with a positive reputation and a location that many visitors had “always desired to see” because of what they had heard about the valley. This was very evident when visitors most commonly noted that they first heard of the valley through word of mouth. In terms of marketing, a campaign which relies on telling friends about the Valley (e.g. through a postcard campaign) may be a suitable way to capitilise on its reputation as a “must see” location. Importantly the results revealed that whilst a variety of information sources were used (road maps, tourist information centres, the Bella Coola website, word of mouth, previous visits and other websites) the favourite was internet and websites. Consequently, it is important thar operators and organisations in the Bella Coola Valley ensure their websites are kept updated and informative. In order to affect word of mouth as an information source, the 32 visitor experience should always be monitored (given the importance of word of mouth as an information source) and the BCVT could also give focus to inviting visiting journalists and authors who prepare relevant travel guides to the region. It is also important that TVICs throughout BC area also kept well informed. From a marketing perspective, the BC Ferries trip was, to many respondents, a very satisfying journey, given its small size and friendly atmosphere. The Ferry trip could easily be marketing as part of the Bella Coola Valley ‘Experience’. When combining the results of questions related to visitors’ psychographic attributes and the activities that they undertook, the results revealed that many visitors to the Bella Coola are relatively confident travellers. They may be regarded as either Venturers or Centrics and a large percentage of these visitors may be defined as active. Indeed, other questions found their major activities to be hiking, outdoor adventure, and fresh water fishing. The less sedate, yet equally confident travellers undertook activities such as visiting museums and art galleries and visiting historical sites. They also undertook shorter walks. Consequently, it appears that in terms of activity levels and confidence, there are four major types of travellers to the region who are described in order of their market size: 1. Active Venturers: those who are very confident and experienced travellers and who are highly active; 2. Active Centrics: those who are slightly less confident and experienced travellers yet still highly active; 3. Mellow Centrics: those who are slightly less confident and experienced travellers who are less active; 4. Mellow Venturers: those who are very confident and experienced travellers and who are less active; This depiction is strengthened when one assess accommodation type. Consequently visitors can be classified as being: 5. Active Venturers: Tend to be hard core tenters who are most interested in wilderness experiences and are most active; 6. Active Centrics: Tend to be soft tenters, B&Bers or soft core RVers. B&Bers in particular show equal interest in wilderness and cultural / heritage experiences; 7. Mellow Centrics: tend to be hard core RVers who tended to show more interest in cultural/heritage experiences and light nature based experiences; 8. Mellow Venturers: tend to be hard core hotelers who tended to show more interest in cultural/heritage experiences and light nature based experiences; These four groups should be considered in the marketing campaigns for the Bella Coola Valley. Finally, one of the key recommendations of this study is to conduct regular quantitative research using the quantitative self completed survey tool developed for this study. This will allow for monitoring of visitors’ satisfaction and demographic characteristics. Furthermore, qualitative research is recommended in the future in order to ascertain the extent to which 33 visitors plan, obtain more details on why visitors choose to travel in the region and most importantly to monitor their satisfaction in detail. 34 6. Selected References Blamey, R.K. and Braithwaite, V.A. (1997) “A Social Values Segmentation of the Potential Ecotourism Market.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 5 (1) 29-45. Cohen, E (1972) “Towards a Sociology of International Tourism.” Social Research, 39 (1) 164-182. Counts, D.A. and Counts, D.R (2004) Over the Next Hill: An Ethnography of RVing Seniors in North America, Second Edition, Peterborough, Broadview Press. Crompton, J. (1979) “Motivations for pleasure vacations.” Annals of Tourism Research, 6 (4) 408-424. Dann, G (1981) “Tourism Motivation: An Appraisal.” Annals of Tourism Research, 6 (4) 408- 424. Demby, E. (1974) “Psychographics and from whence it came.” In W.D. Wells (ed) Lifestyle and Psychographics, Chicago, Il, American Marketing Association. Galloway, G. (2002) “Psychographic segmentation of park visitor markets: evidence for the utility of sensation seeking.” Tourism Management, 23 (6) 581-596. Gnoth, J. (1997) “Tourism Motivation and Expectation Formation.” Annals of Tourism Research, 24 (2) 283-304. Go RVing (2004) “RVers: Who Are They?” Sourced 9/10/2005 from http://www.gorving.ca/mediasection/press/rvers.html Guba, E.G. and Lincoln, Y. (1994) “Competing paradigms in qualitative research.” In N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research, Second edition (pp. 105-117). California, Sage Publications. Hardy, A. (2003a) “An Investigation of the Key Factors Necessary for the Development of Iconic Touring Routes.” Journal of Vacation Marketing, 9 (4), 314-330. Hardy, A. (2003b) Key Factors in the Development of Successful Touring Routes, Hobart, Tourism Council of Tasmania. Hardy, A. (2005) “Using Grounded Theory to Explore Stakeholder perceptions of Sustainable Tourism.” Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 3 (2) 108-133. Hardy, A.L and Beeton. R.J..S.. (2001) “Sustainable Tourism or Maintainable Tourism: Managing resources for more than average outcomes.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 9 (3) 168-192. Hardy, A.L., Beeton, R.J.S. and Carter, R.W. (2005) “Innovation through Iterations: Improving Regional Touring Routes through Survey Research” Regional Case Studies: Innovation in Regional Tourism, (pp. 91-101). Brisbane, Australia, Co-operative Research Centre for Tourism. Hardy, A. Carter, R.W., Beeton, R.J.S., and Olsen, M. (2004) A collaborative exploration of users’ motivations, attitudes and behaviour whilst on regional touring routes in Queensland and Tasmania, Brisbane, Australia, Cooperative Centre for Tourism Research. Hardy, A.L., Beeton, R.J.S and Pearson, L. (2002) “Sustainable Tourism: An Overview of the Concept and its Position in Relation to Conceptualizations of Tourism.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 10 (6) 475-496. 35 Higham, J. (1998) “Tourists and albatrosses: the dynamics of tourism at the Northern Royal Albatross Colony, Tairora Head, New Zealand.” Tourism Management, 19 (6) 521-533. Horneman, L., Carter, R.W., Wei, S., and Ruys, H. (2002) “Profiling the Senior Traveler: An Australian Perspective.” Journal of Travel Research, 41 (1) 23-37. Iso-Ahola, S. E. (1982) “Towards a Social Psychology of Tourism Motivation: A Rejoinder.” Annals of Tourism Research, 9 (2) 256-261. Jeng, J. and Fesenmaier, D. (2002) Conceptualizing the Travel Decision- Making Hierarchy: A Review of Recent Developments.” Travel Analysis, 7 (1) 15-32. Lehto, X., O’Leary, J. and Morrison, M. (2002) “Do psychographics influence vacation destination choices? A comparison of British travelers to North America, Asia and Oceania.” Journal of Vacation Marketing, 8 (2) 109125. Lue, C., Crompton, J. and Fesenmairer, D. (1993) “Conceptualisations of multi-destination pleasure trips.” Annals of Tourism Research, 20 (2) 289-301. Mathieson, A. and Wall, G. (1982) Tourism Economic, Physical and Social Impacts, Harlow, Longmans. McHugh, K. E. and Mings, R.C. (1992) “Canadian snowbirds in Arizona.” Journal of Applied Recreation Research, 17 (3) 255-277. Muller, T.E. and O’Cass, A. (2003) “ Targeting the young at heart: Seeing senior vacationers the way they see themselves.” Journal of Vacation Marketing, 9 (4) 285-301. Olsen, M. (2003) “Tourism themed routes: A Queensland perspective.” Journal of Vacation Marketing, 9 (4) 331-341. Orth, U.R. and Tureckova, J. “Segmenting the tourism market using perceptual and attitudinal mapping.” Agricultural Economics ,48 (1) 36-48. Pearce, P. (1988) The Ulysses Factor: Evaluating Visitors in Tourist Setting, New York, Springer-Verlag. Pearce, P.L. (2001) “Touring for pleasure: Studies of the Self-Drive Travel Market.” Tourism Recreation Research, 24 (1) 35-42. Pizam, A. and Calatone, R. (1987) International Journal of Hospitality Management, 6 (3) 177-181. Plog, S.(1990) “A Carpenter’s Tools: An Answer to Stephen L.J. Smith’s Review of Pschocentrism/Allocentrism” Journal of Travel Research, 28 (4) 43-45. Plog, S. (1998)”Why Destination Preservation Makes Sense.” In W.F. Theobald (ed) Global Tourism, Second edition (pp. 251-266). Melbourne, Butterworth Heineman. Plog (2002) “The Power of Psychographics and the Concept of Venturesomeness.” Journal of Travel Research, 40 (3) 244-251. Prideaux, B. (2000) “The role of the transport system in destination development.” Tourism Management, 21 (1) 53-63. Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (no date) “RVIA Review.” Sourced 9/10/2005 http://www.rvia.org/about/Functions.htm 36 Smith, L.J. (1990) A Test of Plog’s Allocentric/Pschocentric Model: Evidence from Seven Nations.” Journal of Travel Research, 28 (4) 40-43. Smith, V.L. (1978) Hosts and Guests: An Anthropology of Tourism, Philadelphia, University of Philadelphia Press. Tourism British Columbia (BC) (2005) “Impact of Global Events”. Sourced 3/10/2005 from http://www.tourism.bc.ca/global_events.asp?id=1747 Um, S. and Crompton, J.L. (1990) “Attitude Determinants in Tourism Destination Choice.” Annals of Tourism Research, 17 (4) 432-448. Yiannakis, A. and Gibson, H. (1992) “Roles tourists play.” Annals of Tourism Research, 19 (3) 287-303. 37 Appendices 38 Appendix 1 Bella Coola Valley Tourism Seeks Your Opinion! Please Participate in our 5 Minute Survey to Share Your Experiences in the Bella Coola Valley and enter a draw to WIN a copy of “Bella Coola: life in the Heart of the Coast Mountains” a picturesque coffee table-style book by Hans Granander & Mike Wigle The purpose of this research is to find out more about those who drive to the Bella Coola Valley or use the ferry in order to better serve visitors needs. If you have visited the Bella Coola Valley, we would like you to participate! Thank you for helping us improve your experience in the Bella Coola Valley! Attached to the back of the survey is an information sheet which will provide you more about the research and who to contact if you want more details. 39 Q3c. If you are only staying in the Bella Coola Valley for one day, could anything be changed to encourage you to stay longer? Q1. Firstly, please tell us how you got to the Bella Coola Valley (check one only) a By Ferry b By Plane c d By Car, truck or recreation vehicle e By Bicycle f By Coach Tour g Other, please specify and continue _________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ By Motorcycle Q4. How long will your entire vacation be? (check one only) Q2. What is the main form of transport you are using while in the Bella Coola Valley? (check one only) a b One day c Two nights d Three nights e 4-7 nights f g 8-13 nights h More than one month One night 2-4 weeks a Driving your own car/truck b Driving a rental car/truck c Driving your own self-contained recreational vehicle d Driving a rented self-contained recreational vehicle e Cycling a Yes- please go to question 6 f Motorcycle b No- please go to question 5b g On a coach tour h Other, please specify and continue Q5a.Have you been to the Bella Coola Valley before? (check one only) Q5b. If you have not been here before, what did you expect Bella Coola to be like before you came here? _________________________________________________ Q3a. In total, how long will your stay in the Bella Coola Valley be? a For one day only- please go to question 3b b c 1 night - please go to question 4 d 3 nights - please go to question 4 e 4-7 nights- please go to question 4 f g 7-13 nights - please go to question 4 ________________________________________________ Q 5c. If you have not been to Bella Coola before, were your expectations of Bella Coola met? 2 nights - please go to question 4 a Yes b No Q6. What is the main purpose of this vacation? (check one only) More than two weeks- please go to question 4 a Holiday, getting away, leisure, relaxation b Visiting friends or family c Participating or attending a festival or event Working holiday _________________________________________________ d e ________________________________________________ f Business trip including Conference, exhibitions, conventions, trade fairs g Other, please specify Q3b. If you are only staying in the Bella Coola Valley for one day, why have you chosen not to stay overnight? 40 Live in local area (Thank you for your time, there is no need to continue) Q7. What are three things that you like most about the Bella Coola Valley? Q12. Which of the following sources of information did you use when planning your vacation? (Check all that apply) 1.____________________________________________ a Didn’t use any information at all (please go to question 13) b Motoring organisation (e.g. BCAA) c Previous visit(s)/ prior personal knowledge Q8. What are three things that you like least about the Bella Coola Valley? d Word of mouth e Tourist Visitor Information Centre 1.____________________________________________ f Travel guide or book. If so which? g Television/radio programs h Telephone or written inquiry to Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association i Travel Agent j http://www.bellacoola.ca/ 2.____________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________ 2.____________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________ Q9. How did you first hear about the Bella Coola Valley? k Other website ____________________________________________ l Road maps ____________________________________________ m Newspaper/magazine article. If so please specify which one: n Tour operator o Other, please specify: ____________________________________________ Q10.To what extent did you plan your vacation? (check one only) a Planned whole journey b Mostly planned but with some flexibility c Some planning but with lots of flexibility d No planning, totally flexible Q 13. Of the sources of information that you used above, which did you find the most useful? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Q11. How would you describe your immediate travel party? (check one only) a Travelling alone Q14. What was your major activity while in Bella Coola (check one only)? b An adult couple (partners in a relationship) a Hiking c A family group with children b Visiting Museum and Art Galleries d Other family group and friends c Visiting Cultural Sites e Friends travelling together without children d Fresh Water Fishing Friends travelling together with children e Salt Water Fishing f Other, please specify f Visiting Historical Sites g g Outdoor adventure, please specify: h Other, please specify: 41 quickly & easily Crowds in shopping malls have always bothered me Q15a. If you used BC Ferries for your trip to or from Bella Coola, how would your rate your experience with BC Ferries? If you did not travel on BC Ferries please continue to question 16. Dissatisfied a b 1 Neither satisfied or dissatisfied Satisfied 3 4 2  Male Female Q18. Please indicate to us your annual household income before tax in Canadian dollars (check one only) 5 a 0-$20,000 b 20,001- $40,000 c 40,001-$60,000 d $60,001-$80,000 e $80,001-$100,000 f Over $100.000 _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Q15c. What, if anything did you like least about BC Ferries trip? Q19. Please indicate your highest level of education (check one only) _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Q16. Please indicate the degree to which each of the following statements applies to you. Does it apply very much, somewhat, a little or not at all? Very Much Some what A Little Not at All I prefer visiting places that haven’t been discovered     I will hurry to get places, even when I have plenty of time  I am actively involved in physical fitness     Generally I would rather go for a walk than read a book     I have more energy than most persons my age     I get very frustrated when I’m stuck in traffic     I make decisions       Very satisfied Q15b. What, if anything, did you like most about your BC Ferries trip?   Q17. Please indicate your gender (check one only) Please circle appropriate box Very Dissatisfied  a High school graduate b Trade certificate c College diploma d e undergraduate degree Grad or post grad degree Q20. How old are you (check one only)?  a 18-24 b 25-34 c 35-44 d 45-54 e f 55-64 g 75 years and older 65-74 Q21. Where do you live? BRITISH COLUMBIA City: CANADA USA Province: State: OTHER COUNTRIES Country: Q 22. Please indicate to us employment status (check one only) 42 a Employed or Self employed b Retired c Not working/ stay at home parent/ student 43 Thank you for completing our survey! If you want the results of the survey, or would like to be in the draw to win a Bella Coola Coffee table book, please leave your details below. a I would like to be in the draw to win the Bella Coola Coffee Table Book b Please send me the results of this survey c I do not need to be sent the results of this survey Name:__________________________________________ Email or Postal Address: ____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ The following are some more details about this project. Please feel free to keep this for your records. Researcher’s name: Dr Anne Hardy Address: Resource Recreation and Tourism Program, 3333 University Way, University of Northern British Columbia, V2N4Z9, Prince George, BC, Canada Phone No: 1 250-960-5114 E-mail: hardya@unbc.ca Title of project: “Assessing Visitors’ Preferences and Motivations: A Case Study of Bella Coola, British Columbia.” Type of project: Faculty Project The purpose of this research is to understand the experiences and behaviour of visitors to the Bella Coola Valley. By participating in this survey, you are helping the University of Northern British Columbia, Bella Coola Valley Tourism, BC Ferries and Central Coat Regional District understand how the tourism experiences in Bella Coola can be improved and utilized in the future. You were approached as a traveler and have been asked to respond to a variety of questions which should take 5 minutes to complete. Your responses are entirely voluntary of course, but we appreciate your help. After your responses are recorded on the survey form, the results will be added to a large data base and analyzed. Your responses are confidential and anonymous your contact details are not linked to your responses. After this, completed surveys and data will be stored in a locked cabinet for 5 years, after which time they are destroyed. The final report will be presented to the Bella Coola Valley Tourism Association and to BC Ferries. If you would like a copy of the report, or any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the researcher, Anne Hardy, who will send you a copy. Her details are provided above. If you have any concerns about the project, please direct them to the Vice-President of Research, phone 1-250-960-5820. Have a great vacation! 44 Appendix 2 In-depth Interviews of Drive Tourists Hi, my name is XXXXX and I am a researcher at the University of Northern British Columbia. We are doing research into why people take holidays in their cars and RVs. Have you driven your own or a hired vehicle on this holiday and would you be interested in participating in our 20 minute survey? If you do, you go into the draw to win a $100 Chapters or Amazon gift certificate. Yes/No If No, That’s OK, thanks for your time and have a great day! If Yes, Great! Before we begin, I would like to tell you a little bit more about our research. The interview is designed so that your responses will be anonymous and confidential, which means that we don’t record your name or contact details. I will be taping our conversations as some of the answers ask you to give your opinions and sometimes I cant take notes fast enough. After I tape the interview I will take it back to the office, transcribe it, take your name and details out of the transcript and then analyze the data. After we do this, we wont be able to identify your individual response and we keep all the completed surveys in locked cabinets for 5 years, after which it is destroyed. The other thing that I have to you is that your participation is voluntary so feel free to stop at any time. I am also going to give you an information sheet which will tell you more about the research and who to contact if you want more details about the study, if you want a copy of the results, or if you have any complaints about the research. Shall we proceed? If No, That’s OK, thanks for your time and have a great day! Ok, let us start then. The questions that I am going to ask you are a combination of closed ended questions where I will tick the appropriate box and also broad open ended questions, where you can express your opinion in as much detail as you want. I will let you know what type of questions they area as we go along. 45 1. The first questions I would like to ask are two quick closed ended questions. Just to check, what is the main form of transport you are using while in the Bella Coola Valley? (check one only) a b c d e f g h Driving your own car/truck Driving a rental car/truck Driving your own self-contained recreational vehicle Driving a rented self-contained recreational vehicle Cycling Motorcycle On a coach tour IF SO< DO NOT PROCEED Other, please specify and continue 2. What style of accommodation are you staying in? a b c d e f g h B&B / Hotel Tent Tent trailer (pop up) Camper (top of truck) Trailer Motor-home 5th Wheel Van Conversion 3. I would like now to ask you some broad questions. The first is about what makes you want to go on holiday. In general, what motivates you to want to take a vacation? -prompts-is there an emotion or feeling that makes you want to go on holiday prior to making the decision to go? 4. Are these the reasons why you decided to take this vacation? YES / NO If no, why? 46 5. Thinking back over your adult life, has the style of holiday you have taken changed over time? YES / NO If yes, how? -prompts- have accommodation, activities, transport changed? 6. The vehicle you are using is a _________ and you are staying in a _______________. Why did you choose this over other styles of travel (Give respondent different styles of accommodation- B&B / Hotel VS tent VS RV)? -prompts: what are you thoughts on the experiences that other people get in different types of accommodation- e.g. tents/ staying in hotels and B&Bs and different types of RVs 7. Can you describe whether you plan for your vacations and if so, how you go about this? -prompts-what type of information do you read- types of guidebooks and extent of planning/ extent of flexibility 8. In your day to day travels, what type of contact do you have with other travellers? -prompts- is it small talk, hellos, exchanging information on destinations, lasting friendships? -prompts-how- face to face, via internet, via cell phone 9. Why Bella Coola? Why did you decide to visit this destination? 10. We are nearly finished. Before we get to our final group of closed ended questions, can you tell me if you travelled to Bella Coola on the ferry service? YES / NO If yes, how would you describe the experience? 11. Gender (tick one only) 1 2 Male Female 12. How old are you (check one only)? a b 18-24 25-34 47 c d e f g 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75 years and older 13. How would you describe your immediate travel party (tick one only)? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Travelling alone An adult couple (partners in a relationship) A family group with children Other family group and friends Friends travelling together without children Friends travelling together with children Other, please specify 14. Which of the following best describes your employment status? a Employed or Self employed b Retired c Not working/ stay at home parent/ student 15. Please indicate the degree to which each of the following statements applies to you. Does it apply very much, somewhat, a little or not at all? Very Much Somewhat A Little Not at All I prefer visiting places that haven’t been discovered     I will hurry to get places, even when I have plenty of time     I am actively involved in physical fitness     Generally I would rather go for a walk than read a book     I have more energy than most persons my age     I get very frustrated when I’m stuck in traffic     I make decisions quickly & easily     Crowds in shopping malls have always bothered me     48 Thank you for participating in our research! If you want the results of the survey, or would like to be in the draw to win a $100 gift certificate from Chapters or Amazon, please leave your details below. a I would like to be in the draw to win the Chapters or Amazon Gift Certificate b Please send me the results of this survey c I do not need to be sent the results of this survey Name (First name only is OK):__________________________________________ Email or Postal Address: ____________________________________________________________________________________ 49 Appendix 3 The Drive Tourism Psychographics Phase Focus Group Questions for drive tourists Thank you all for coming. My name is Anne Hardy and I am researcher at the University of Northern British Columbia. As you know, we are conducting this focus group in order to find out more about why people take drive tourism holidays, which means they go on holiday in either their own car, a rented car, an RV or a rented RV or campervan. This focus group is designed to be a group discussion and I am interested in hearing all of your opinions. So I will be asking a variety of different questions and acting as a moderator so I can be sure to get all of your thoughts. Before we begin, I would like to tell you a little about focus groups and how they work. The group discussion is designed to go for about one hour. What I do is ask you a range of questions about your vacation experiences and I am interested in hearing your opinions. There are no right or wrong answers and I am interested in everyone’s opinion. So if you disagree with someone, please feel free to let me know you would like to speak, so that I can let you voice your own opinion. We want to avoid getting into debates, so my role as the moderator will be to ensure that everyone gets to speak for an equal amount of time and that everyone’s opinion is heard and respected. It is important that we get through all the major questions we have planned in the hour, so at times I may have to move to the next question. As a researcher at UNBC, I am required to tell you that this focus group is designed according to the ethical requirements of the University of northern British Columbia and your participation is voluntary so feel free to stop at any time. Your responses will be anonymous and confidential, which means that we don’t record your name or contact details, so please feel comfortable to speak your mind during this group. We will be taping our conversations and taking notes as well. After the interview we will take it back to the office, transcribe it, take your name and details out of the transcript and then analyze the data. After we do this, we wont be able to identify your individual response and we keep all the completed surveys in locked cabinets for 5 years, after which it is destroyed. I will give you an information sheet which will tell you more about the research and who to contact if you want more details about the study or if you want a copy of the results. Before we begin we have a short survey we would like you to fill out and when this is done we are ready to start our discussion. At the end of the group we will be giving you your incentives and asking you to sign to verify you have received them. 50 Focus Group Questions 1. Firstly, I would like to start by asking you to tell the group your name and about the most memorable holiday you have had in the last 5 years. 2. All of you tonight have something in common because you are all traveling in __________ and staying in ___________. What were the factors that made you choose to this form of accommodation as opposed to a RV/tent/B&B or anything in between? -what are you thoughts on the experiences that other people get in different types of accommodation- e.g. tents/ staying in hotels and B&Bs and different types of RVs 3. Have you always traveled in this way that or have you changed in your preferred type of travel over time? -is your travel becoming more or less adventurous? -apart from vehicular travel, what other types of vacations do you take? 4. Most of you here will either be traveling as a couple or will have traveled as a couple in the last. I would like to talk about how you go about making decisions as a couple. Do you both seek out the same experience and if not how do you decide what to do? -are your motivations for travel the same? -if there is conflict in what you want to do, how do you decide? 5. Apart from this focus group, what type of contact do you have with other travelers that you meet on your vacations? -prompts- is it small talk, hellos, exchanging information on destinations, lasting friendships? -prompts-how- face to face, via internet, via cell phone 6. Before we come to our final question, we would like to talk about something a little unusual. When we decide to go on vacation, inevitably we have to decide what we are going to take to wear and this usually depends on what we plan to do on our holidays. Without going into the intimate details of your wardrobe, we would like to know what type of clothes you take for the activities you plan to do on your holiday? - do you pack for walking around towns/ hiking / sports 51 7. All the things we have discussed tonight have been about your experiences as a drive tourist, which means you are someone who has driven their own or a hired vehicle. Of all the things we have discussed tonight, what do you like most about being a drive tourist? Thank you and Hand out Incentives!!! 52