Market analysis of tourism 2006-2007

Tourism2008:2

Market analysis of tourism 2006-2007

1. Summary

The results of a new market analysis of tourism with figures for the years 2006 and 2007 are hereby published. The analysis has been conducted by Statistics Greenland in cooperation with Air Greenland and the Green-land Airport Authority. The analysis is based on a data acquisition method which was introduced in 2006. The method does not ensure that all tourists on commercial airlines receive a questionnaire. Statistics Greenland is not currently able to assess the degree of coverage of the random sample and it is therefore not possible for Statistics Greenland to make an estimate of how many tourists in total visited Greenland in 2006 and 2007. Work is being done to improve the method so that from 2009 it will be possible to make an accurate estimate of the total num-ber of tourists travelling by commercial airline.

The figures in the publication are based on the questionnaire which since the beginning of 2006 has been handed out by the personnel at check-in to tourists departing Greenland on commercial flights. 19,258 and 19,868 questionnaires were handed out to tourists (non-resident) in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Of these, 9,670 and 9,878 questionnaires respectively were completed and returned to Statistics Greenland. The rate of response is thus around 50 percent in both years. This is normally regarded as a high rate of response and means that the results that ap-pear in the publication should be regarded as relatively accurate. A de-gree of statistical uncertainty is, however, still associated with the fig-ures.

The new survey generates new knowledge. Information is now available on tourists’ expenses during their stay broken down in relation to food and drink, entertainment and excursions, gifts, etc., and transport during their stay. This information enables each tourist’s fiscal consumption per day to be calculated during their stay. In addition, tourists are asked to rate the most interesting aspect of their stay on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), and on the same scale to specify any wishes with regard to a possible future stay in the country. The new figures reveal that:

- Tourists spent an average of approximately DKK 2,500 during their stay. This corresponds to a daily spend of approximately DKK 250.

- In general, tourists rated their stay at 3.7, with Greenland’s nature as the top-scorer at 4.7.

- The major wishes of tourists with regard to a possible stay in Greenland in the future are opportunities to go on new excursions and to enjoy new experiences.

New method High rate of response New knowledge

The survey has also enabled certain items of information to be updated with regard to how the make-up of tourists can be broken down in terms of nationality, age, type of accommodation, etc. From the figures, it can be seen that:

- The majority of tourists - in fact approximately 60 percent - are from Denmark

- Half of the tourists are aged 50 or more

- Half of the tourists visited Region Mid

- The majority of tourists are on holiday or visiting friends and fam-ily

- Private accommodation is the dominant type of accommodation

2. Tourism in 2007

In this section the main results of the market analysis of tourism 2007 are shown. The data which makes up the basis for the figures can be found in tables in section 4. It should be noted that not all questions are answered in the questionnaires returned. Several of the figures shown will therefore contain a residual group designated Not specified.

Tourism exhibits a clear seasonal pattern, cf. figure 1. The months of July and August represent the high season and during these months almost 8,000, or approximately 45 percent, of all questionnaires were handed out. In the two adjacent months, June and September (the so-called shoulder season), the number of questionnaires handed out stood at ap-proximately 4,500, or around 25 percent of all questionnaires handed out. In the other months the number of tourists flattened out.

Questionnaires handed out broken down by month

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Questionnaires

Previous knowledge updated

2007 Season Figure 1

Page 2 Markedsanalyse af turismen 2006-2007

Approximately 60 percent of the tourists were Danish, cf. figure 2. Ger-man, North American and British tourists each represented some 5 per-cent of the total.

Tourists broken down according to nationality

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Denmark Germany USA UK France Taiwan Other

The age distribution among the tourists surveyed can be seen in figure 3. As can be seen, around half of the tourists are aged 50 or over.

Tourists broken down according to age

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

0-9 years10-19 years20-29 years30-39 years40-49 years50-59 years60+ years

Nationality Figure 2 Age distributionFigure 3

Markedsanalyse af turismen 2006-2007 Page 3

The majority of tourists, around 50 percent, stayed in Region Mid, cf. fig-ure 4. This was followed by 27 percent who stayed in Region East. In section 3 the division of towns in the various regions is specified.

Tourists broken down according to region in which they stayed

The purpose of the trip to Greenland can be seen in figure 5. It can be seen that almost 60 percent of tourists visit Greenland with an actual holiday as their primary purpose. Approximately 15 percent of tourists are on a business trip. The remaining tourists are visiting friends and family, conferences, etc. It should be noted that many tourists often combine business and holiday, etc., and it can sometimes be difficult for the individual tourist to separate these.

Tourists broken down according to purpose of the trip

Destination region Figure 4 PurposeFigure 5


Private accommodation with friends and family is the dominant type of accommodation and represents approximately 36 percent of accommod-ation in the sample, cf. figure 6. Hotels, seamen’s hostels, other hostels and youth hostels accounted for 26 percent of overnight stays.

Tourists broken down according to type of accommodation

Private 36%

Hostel 8%

Tent/hut 3%

Own tent 10%

Ship/cruise 6%

Other

11%

Hotel/Seamens Hostel 26%

From 2006 onwards tourists were asked to provide an estimate of how much they spent during their stay, broken down into food and drink, en-tertainment and excursions, gifts, etc., and transport during their stay. It should be emphasised that this estimate does not include the cost of the flight to Greenland or expenses related to overnight accommodation at hotels, etc.

For both 2006 and 2007 the total average cost of the stay was approxim-ately DKK 2,500. At the same time, tourists spent an average of approx-imately 10 days in Greenland. This means that the average amount spent per day (daily consumption) can be calculated as approximately DKK 250. It should be underlined, however, that there are considerable variations within this average.

Type of accommodation Figure 6 Daily consumption


As a new initiative, tourists were asked to rate their stay with regard to a number of categories on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), cf. figure 7. The overall rating of the stay was 3.7. It was Greenland’s nature in particular that achieved a high rating and more than 90 percent of tour-ists rated this item highest.

Rating of the stay

Rating Figure 7


Finally, tourists were asked to indicate their wishes with regard to a pos-sible stay in the future, cf. figure 8. The primary requirement was for new excursions.

Wishes with regard to a stay in the future

Wishes for the future Figure 8


3. Definitions and methods

Market analysis of tourism is based on the broad, internationally recog-nised definition of tourism that is used by the World Tourism Organisa-tion (WTO). According to this definition, tourism:

comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.

WTO’s definition does not only encompass people travelling on holiday, but also people visiting a country in connection with business or a course of study. Tourists are thereby also visitors who are staying in a country with the purpose of taking part in conferences, courses and study activit-ies. Furthermore, the definition covers people travelling with the purpose of visiting friends and/or family. Information concerning tourists that ar-rive in Greenland by ship, primarily cruise ship tourists, is not included in the publication.

Up until 2005 the method for acquiring data was as follows: All travellers – both the resident population and tourists – departing from Greenland were given a questionnaire at check-in. The completed questionnaire was to be put into boxes provided prior to boarding, and by submitting the questionnaire, the traveller concerned was automatically entered in a prize draw. Typically, approximately 35-40 percent of the question-naires were completed and submitted. By using the distribution between residents and tourists among the completed questionnaires received and applying this to the total number of persons departing (based on the PAX figure), an estimate was made of the total number of tourists. This method was subject to criticism, however, since it is to be expected that tourists are more likely to answer the questionnaire than the resident population. If this assumption is correct, it means that the figure for the total number of tourists has been overestimated.

From 2006 onwards the data acquisition method was thus revised. The new method is in principle designed as a total count of the overall num-ber of tourists, whilst other information continues to be based on a ran-dom sample. All travellers departing Greenland are asked at check-in whether they are residents of Greenland or not. Only non-residents re-ceive a questionnaire and are requested to put the completed question-naire in the boxes provided prior to boarding. The questionnaires are given a serial number which enables the total number of questionnaires for a particular period to be compiled. The number of questionnaires handed out will ideally correspond to the total number of tourists. Since not all questionnaires are returned, information about gender, age, na-tionality, etc., is regarded as being sample-based. In addition to the revi-sion of the method, questions were also added concerning the tourists’ daily fiscal consumption, which is a key piece of information when look-ing to develop an economic module for tourism, as well as qualitative questions concerning the tourists’ experience of their stay and wishes with regard to a possible stay in the future.

It has been found that not all tourists receive a questionnaire, and there-fore the method cannot be expected to provide an accurate total count of tourists. In 2006 and 2007, 19,258 and 19,868 questionnaires respect-ively were handed out to tourists. Of these, 9,670 and 9,878 question-naires respectively were completed and returned to Statistics Greenland. The rate of response is thus around 50 percent in both years. This is nor-mally regarded as a high rate of response and means that the results that appear in the publication should be regarded as relatively accurate.

Definition Before 2006 After 2006Estimates


A degree of statistical uncertainty is, however, still associated with the figures.

Division of towns by region:

– Region South: Nanortalik, Qaqortoq, Narsarsuaq, Narsaq, Ivittuut and Paamiut

– Region Mid: Nuuk, Maniitsoq, Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq

– Region Disko: Kangaatsiaq, Qasigiannguit, Aasiaat, Ilulissat and Qeqertarsuaq

– Region North: Uummannaq, Upernavik and Qaanaaq

– Region East: Illoqqortoormiut, Tasiilaq and the settlement at Kulusuk, where the airport is situated.

4. Tables

Number of questionnaires handed out broken down by month

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

680 883 1,407 1,559 1,235 2,580 3,925 3,756 2,039 779 590 435

Tourists broken down according to nationality

Denmark UK Germany France Taiwan USA Other Total

5,717 368 593 259 70 550 2,061 9,618

Tourists broken down according to age

0-9 years10-19 years

20-29 years

30-39 years

40-49 years

50-59 years

60+ years

26 283 706 1,231 1,317 1,607 2,038

Tourists broken down according to destination region

Region South Region Mid Region Disko Region North Region East

Not spe-cified

426 4,719 1,603 106 2,599 165

Tourists broken down according to purpose of the trip

Holiday

Family and

friendsStudy

visit BusinessConfer-

ence Other Not spe-

cified Total

5,244 1,004 232 1,525 225 335 466 9,031

Tourists broken down according to type of accommodation

Private

Hotel/ Seamen’s

Hostel Hostel Tent/hut Own tent

Ship/

cruise Other Total

28,617 20,505 6,373 2,136 7,667 4,947 8,988 79,233

Applied division of regionsTable 1 Table 2 Table 3Table 4Table 5Table 6


Rating of the stay

Low Medium High Total

Nature 390 177 6,760 7,327Culture 1,281 1,741 3,411 6,433Wildlife 1,579 1,380 3,134 6,093History 1,518 1,774 2,855 6,147Weather 1,431 1,539 3,395 6,365Population 1,088 1,647 3,585 6,320

Wishes with regard to a possible future stay

Low Medium High Total

New excursions 656 655 3,663 4,974Better overnight facil-ities 2,208 777 818 3,803Lower prices 1,164 1,031 2,467 4,662Visit another region 669 780 3,523 4,972Better service 2,203 891 776 3,870Experience another season 804 841 3,054 4,699

Table 7 Table 8


Key:

… Information not available.. Information too unreliable to be quoted. Figures by their very nature not available0 Less than half of the unit used- Zero* Provisional or estimated figure

For more information, please contact

Gitte Lynge RosingE-mail: [email protected]

Market analysis of tourism 2006-2007:1

2 July 2008

Statistics GreenlandPostboks 1025 · 3900 NuukTel.: +299 36 23 60 · Fax: +299 36 23 61www.stat.gl · e-mail: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Market analysis of tourism 2006-2007