Page 29 - European Cruise Traveller Duty & Tax Free Retail

Industry Insider:
European Cruise Duty & Tax Free Retail 2016
3 PRE-TRIP BEHAVIOUR
Our research shows how the majority of European cruise travellers engage in pre-trip research prior to taking their cruise, with 91% reviewing online or offline information sources. As with pre-trip research in other global locations, cruise line websites act as a key source of information, particularly among older travellers and those travelling in the Nordic region. Other key information sources include travel agent / tour operator websites and travel package booking websites.
In terms of pre-trip travel, a relatively high proportion of those cruising in the European region travel internationally to get to their cruise departure port, illustrating how the cruise Duty & Tax Free channel could be considered to be in direct competition with other Travel Retail offerings among a fairly large proportion of the traveller base.
3.1 PRE-TRIP RESEARCH & BOOKING
A very high proportion of European cruise travellers research their trip prior to travel, with just 9% of our sample either not conducting any pre-trip research or leaving it to someone else. Online methods are used by 83% of those researching their trip prior to travel, with key information sources including online reviews or posts by other users, information provided by the cruise line owner or operator and information provided by independent review sites which acts as a significantly more prominent information source among younger travellers. Offline research is conducted by 51% of those researching their trip prior to travel, with this being significantly more common among Italians (53%).
Table 2: Online Information Used to Research Cruise by Age Group
Base: Online researchers: Younger (196); Older (374); Total (570)
Information researched
<40’s
>40’s
Total
Reviews / post by other users in general
50%
47%
48%
Information provided by the owners / operators
44%
47%
46%
Information provided by independent review organisations (e.g. TripAdvisor, Michelin etc.)
50%
39%
43%
Information from official / government sources
28%
18%
22%
Review / post from well-known people / experts / celebrities
33%
13%
20%
*Underline denotes significant difference
© Counter Intelligence Retail Ltd www.counterintelligenceretail.com 29