Paris Je T’aime (Paris DMO)
Paris, France
June, 2021
Exploring Travellers’ Demand trends to Determine Opportunities to Grown International Arrivals
Context
In 2021, as Europe’s travel and tourism industry began recovering from the pandemic, significant challenges persisted, especially during the summer season. Restrictions, fluctuating regulations, and the uncertainty surrounding international travel led to altered traveller behaviour. Paris, like other major European cities, saw uneven demand due to lingering restrictions, impacting both domestic and international visitor numbers.
Opportunities, however, were hidden behind such shifting traveller behaviour, and emerged as destinations such as Paris leveraged data intelligence to tap into alternative markets. Through diverse formulas adopted to adapt to the so-called “new normal”, the city sought to rebuild its tourism sector while focusing on higher-spending visitor segments, relying on travel intelligence to select the most promising markets.
Key goals
Using real-time and current data, Mabrian helped Paris Je T’aime to assess different indicators shaping international summer demand for 2021, to identify markets that might be a fit for seasonal marketing campaigns.
Data analysed included flight capacity, searches and our proprietary Share of Searches Index (that reflect inspirational demand), aimed at assessing the demand landscape to Paris during summer 2021, providing recommendations based on the actual travel market context under the light of overall status of restrictions and limitations to travel in place. Spending patterns were also considered as another layer of analysis that helped to assess the potential contribution of such source markets to the destination.
Approach
Mabrian performed a cross-analysis of several indicators and dimensions shaping the international demand to Paris during summer 2021, building a matrix that provided insight on feasibility, accessibility, and profitability for all priority markets analysed. By assessing competitiveness and attractiveness, Paris was provided with a compelling overlook of the short-term markets to focus on, as well as a long-term view of source markets featuring a huge pent-up demand that the destination should have been ready to hareness once restrictions were alleviated.
Results
Overall, this research project helped Paris DMO to make strategic and tactical decisions in an uncertain scenario, in which opportunities not always were evident, and required agility to leverage them.
The research showed that, even though the United States and China had the strongest demand to travel to Paris during summer 2021 and a higher spending potential, Paris would have to focus on more feasible alternatives, as restrictions in place during that period made travel to Europe from Asia and America impossible. Nevertheless, this analysis demonstrated that the appetite from both markets to visit Paris was significant enough to make sure the destination was ready to timely reach out to both of them once travel restrictions were lifted, to capture as much inspirational demand as possible.
On the other hand, recommendations included turning the attention to European proximity markets, with softened restrictions at the time. European travellers showed similar demand levels, particularly from Spain and Italy. Other data-based recommendations included improving air capacity from other nearby markets, such as the UK and Germany, both valuable markets due to their consumer and travel habits.
