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Information on this page is provided by Purdue Tourism & Hospitality Research Center (PTHRC) and Bloomington/Monroe County Convention & Visitors Bureau. Permission to use the information, partially or in whole, can be obtained by contacting PTHRC.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF BLOOMINGTON/MONROE COUNTY VISITORSDemographically,
the majority of visitors (52.8%) to Bloomington/Monroe County in 1996-97 were
in the 25-49 age group (Table 1). Some 67.3% of the respondents were 35 or
older. A slight majority of the respondents, at 55.4%, were male (Table 2). In
terms of the highest educational levels achieved, the three major categories
were Bachelor’s degree holders (33.8%), some college, but no degree (21.3%),
and Master’s degree holders (14.3%) (Table 4). The largest of the
occupational groupings among the respondents were farming, forestry, fishing
(23.5%), followed by people in professional/technical positions (15.7%) (Table
5). AGE GROUPS In
1996-97, about 67.3% of respondents were aged 35 or more (Table 1). This
proportion of over 35s varied slightly by season, ranging from a low of 56.8%
in Fall 1996 to a high of 84.7% in Spring 1997. Only 16.4% of
all the 1996-97 respondents were under the age of 25. The Spring 1997
and Summer 1996 seasons had noticeably higher percentages of the 65 and above
group, at 20% and 15% respectively. The Fall 1996 season showed a relatively
high percentage of the 25-44 age group (40%). When
looking at the age compositions of all travel party members, some interesting
seasonal variations were noted. For the entire 1996-97, the percentage of
teenagers and younger children was 14.9% of all travel party members. This
percentage of under 20s was at its highest in Winter 1997 (20.5% of all travel
party members) and at its lowest in Spring 1997 (11.8%) (Table 3). In
contrast, the proportion of 45 or older persons was at its highest in Summer
1996 (45.4% of all travel party members) and at its lowest in Fall 1996
(31.5%). For
the 1996-97 period, 67.3% of respondents (Table 1) and 59.9% of all travel
party members (Table 3) were aged between 35 and above. The largest individual
age bracket of respondents was those visitors between 35 and 44 at 22.4%
(Table 1). For all travel party members, the largest individual age group was
again 35-44 at 21.5% (Table 3). The 45 and above group represented more than
44.9% of the respondents and 38.4% of all travel party members. EDUCATIONAL
BACKGROUNDS Some
85.7% of all respondents had some college experience, while only 12.6% had
just had a high-school education (Table 4). This is an unusually high level of
education for visitors to a community, but can be explained by the presence of
Indiana University in Bloomington. The two single largest groups were people
with Bachelor’s degrees, at 33.8%, and those with some college experience,
but no degree yet, at 21.3%. Some 64.4% of the respondents had earned college
degrees ranging from Associates to Doctorates, and 21.9% had postgraduate
degrees. The
largest proportions of visitors with earned high school diplomas were in
Summer 1996 and Winter 1997, at 13.1% in each of these two seasons. The lowest
percentages of high-school diploma earners were in Fall 1996 (9.9%) and Spring
1997 (11.6%). The largest proportion with earned Bachelor’s degrees was in
Winter 1997 (38.4%) and the lowest proportion in Spring 1997 (31%). The
proportion of respondents with earned degrees was highest in Winter 1997 at
68.4% and lowest in Fall 1996 at 56.3%. OCCUPATIONS The
majority of Bloomington/Monroe County's visitors were from two occupational
groupings; farming, fishing, and forestry (23.5%) and managerial/executive
(15.7%) (Table 5). There were also smaller, but nevertheless significant,
portions of students (15%), retired persons (11.6%), skilled workers (10.8%),
and professional/technical (7.1%). The distribution of occupations varied from
season to season. Students were more prevalent in
Bloomington/Monroe County in the Fall 1996 and Spring1997 seasons
(24.8% and 18.5% respectively). Retired people were at their highest
proportions in Spring 1997 (15.8%) and in Summer 1996 (13%) when the weather
was warmer. The proportions of retired persons in the other two seasons were
lower (at 7.8% in Winter 1997 and 9.9% in Fall 1996). HOUSEHOLD INCOMES Approximately
74% of the respondents provided information on their household income levels,
while the remaining 26% were unwilling to provide these details (Table 6).
Approximately 66.9% of the respondents who provided this information had
household incomes of $40,000 or more. About 42.5% of those providing income
data reported incomes of $60,000 or more. Some 24.7% of the respondents
providing information had household incomes in the $80,000 and over range,
while 15.1% of these respondents had incomes of $100,000 or more. Only 15.8%
of all the respondents providing income data reported annual, before tax
household incomes below $20,000. The
three most frequently encountered income brackets among the respondents
providing income data were $50,000-$59,999 (12.7%), under $10,000 (12.1%), and
$40,000-$49,999 (11.7%). There were some seasonal variations in the patterns
of household incomes. For example, the over $40,000 group was at its highest
in Summer 1996, at 76.9%, and at its lowest in Fall 1996, at 45.8%. The middle
income range, from $40,000 to $79,999, was at its highest in Spring 1997, at
54.9%, and at its lowest in Winter 1997, at 32.3%. GENDER Overall, the majority of respondents in 1996-97 were males at 55.4% (Table 2). This proportion was relatively consistent throughout the year, with the highest proportion of female respondents being in Fall 1996 at 48.8%. GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS OF VISITORSGeographically,
the majority of the visitors to Bloomington/Monroe County in 1996-97 came from
more than 32 of the states in the U.S. In particular, the data showed that
Bloomington/Monroe County’s market is strongest in Indiana and its
neighboring states. The majority (approximately 70%) of Bloomington/Monroe
County's U.S. visitors were from just four states: Indiana (50.7%), Illinois
(8.5%), Ohio (7.5%), and Kentucky (3.2%) (Table 9). The only other states with
more than 2% of the respondents were California (2.5%), Michigan (2.3%), and
Florida (2.1%). The
leading census region was East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, and WI),
accounting for 72.5% of all U.S. visitors to Bloomington/Monroe County in
1996-97 (Table 8). The only other significant census regions were South
Atlantic (6.7%) and Middle Atlantic (5.5%). The top three census regions
generated 84.7% of all Bloomington/Monroe County U.S. visitors. The
smallest-generating census regions were New England (0.6%) and Mountain
(1.5%). Some 4.1% of Bloomington/Monroe County’s visitors were from outside
of the U.S. (Table 7). There
were significant changes in geographic origins by season. For example, the
proportion from Indiana was at a high of 72.6% in Winter 1997 and at a low of
46.2% in Spring 1997. The percentage from the four-state area of Indiana,
Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky peaked in Winter 1997 at 92.2% and was lowest in
Spring 1997 at 64.6%. Only ten states were represented in Winter 1997. The
most-frequently mentioned 3-digit zip code areas of the respondents were in
Indianapolis (460-462 = 25.7%) (Table 10). Other Indiana zip codes with
significant numbers of visitors were Gary (8.8%), South Bend (5.6%), Lafayette
(5%), and Fort Wayne (4.6%). The Chicago area zips (600-606) accounted for 8%
of all the respondents included in Table 10. The other out-of-state zip with
the most respondents was Cincinnati (3%). All the other 3-digit zip codes each
accounted for less than 2% of the respondents. The Indianapolis area zip codes
were at a high proportion of 43% in Summer 1996. The
average travel party size for 1996 was three persons (Table 11). About 69.4%
of all respondents were repeat visitors to Bloomington/Monroe County, while
only 30.6% were visiting for the very first time (Table 15). It was noticeable
that 47.3% of all visitors were very frequent visitors and had visited
Bloomington/Monroe County five or more times.
A majority of visitors
(70.2%) were on short‑duration trips of one to four nights stay in
Bloomington/Monroe County, while another 19.2% were on day trips to
Bloomington/Monroe County (Table 21). SIZE OF TRAVEL
PARTIES Travel
party sizes ranged from just one traveler to a group of 31 and more visitors
(Table 11). The average party size in 1996-97 was three persons. The highest
average party size was in Winter 1997 (3.8 persons). The mode for travel party
size, or the most frequently encountered party size, however, was two persons
with the highest proportion of 39.9%, followed by solo travelers (28.1%) and
three persons (12.1%). The
overwhelming majority (92.5%) of visitors to Bloomington/Monroe County in
1996-97 were in travel parties of five or less persons. The average travel
party size was the smallest in Fall 1996 (2.5 persons) and Spring 1997 (2.7
persons). The highest average party sizes were in Winter 1997 (3.8 persons)
and Summer 1996 (3 persons). TYPES OF TRAVEL
PARTIES The
majority (50.6%) of Bloomington/Monroe County's 1996-97 visitors were
traveling as families, with or without friends. Solo travelers were the next
largest group at 29.9% (Table 12). Groups of friends was the next highest
at 16.3%. There
were marked differences in travel party compositions by season. While 61% of
the respondents in Summer 1996 were with their families, with or without
friends, this proportion fell to 43.7% in Fall 1996. Groups of friends ranged
from a high of 21.8% in Fall 1996 to a low of 10.4% in Summer 1996. The
proportion of solo travelers varied from a high of 32.1% in Fall 1996 to a low
of 26.9% in Summer 1996. Combining
this party composition data with the age information discussed earlier, the
largest proportions of younger visitors (19 and under) were in Winter 1997
(20.5%) and Summer 1996 (16.4%). This suggests that, as could be expected, the
families with children market was strongest in Summer 1996, while students
were more prevalent in Fall 1996 and Winter 1997. TRIP PURPOSES Approximately
46% of all Bloomington/Monroe County's 1996-97 visitors indicated that their
main trip purpose was pleasure (i.e., vacation) (Table 13). Business travelers
accounted for only 26.9% and visitors traveling for personal reasons for
25.2%. There were some interesting differences in trip purposes by season.
Summer 1996 had the highest proportion of pleasure travelers at 56.3%. Fall
1996 had the next highest proportion of pleasure travelers at 45.4%, while
Spring 1997 had the lowest percentage at 40.4%. The proportions of business
travelers to total travelers were highest in Spring 1997 (32.1%) and Winter
1997 (30%), and lowest in Fall 1996 (22.1%) and Summer 1996 (24.6%). Persons
traveling on personal business reached a high of 31% in Fall 1996, and was
lowest in Summer 1996 (18.3%). The
most frequently cited specific trip purposes were attending a convention,
conference, meeting or trade show (9.2%), vacationing in Bloomington (7.5%),
attending a wedding (7.2%), and visiting a friend or relative at Indiana
University (7.1%) (Table 14). All other trip purposes each accounted for less
than 6% of the respondents. These
data clearly confirmed the key importance of Indiana University in attracting
visitors to Bloomington/Monroe County. Approximately 24% of the 1996-97
visitors gave a specific trip purpose that had some involvement with the
university. The data also confirm the role of Bloomington/Monroe County as a
tourism destination, rather than as a place to pass through en route to
another destination. Only 4.6% of the respondents indicated that they were
passing by or through Bloomington/Monroe County. There
were significant differences in specific trip purposes according to season.
For example, the percentage of respondents staying in Bloomington/Monroe
County on vacation was at highs of 11.3% in Spring 1997 and 9.4% in Summer
1996. This percentage dropped to a low of 2.4% in Winter 1997. The proportion
visiting Bloomington/Monroe County for sports events at Indiana University was
at a high of 16.2% in Fall 1996, but was very low in all the three other
seasons. The percentage of respondents attending weddings reached peaks of
13.4% in Spring 1997 and 10.3% in Fall 1996. NUMBER OF
PREVIOUS VISITS TO BLOOMINGTON/MONROE COUNTY As was mentioned earlier, the majority (69.4%) of respondents
in 1996-97 had visited Bloomington/Monroe County on at least one previous
occasions (Table 15). In fact, 47.3% of the respondents had visited
Bloomington/Monroe County on four or more previous occasions. Generally, this
pattern held true in each of the four seasons. In Winter 1997, return visitors
reached a peak of 74.5% of all respondents. The very frequent visitors (those
with five or more visits) represented around 51% of the respondents all the
seasons except in Fall 1996 when the proportion fell to 39.2%. FINAL DESTINATIONS
AND PRIOR TRAVEL STOPS Some
87.6% of all the 1996-97 respondents stated that Bloomington/Monroe County was
their final destination on their current trips (Table 16). The remaining 12.4%
had other final destinations. This relationship held fairly stable for each of
the four seasons, reaching a high of 90.8% in Summer 1996 and a low of 84.4%
in Spring 1997. The
most popular final destinations within Indiana other than Bloomington/Monroe
County were Indianapolis (29.7%) and Nashville/Brown County (12.7%) (Table
17-1). Other final destinations with some significant proportions of
respondents were Chicago (9.3%) and Illinois (6.8%). The
most popular places visited within Indiana on the respondents’ trips prior
to Bloomington/Monroe County were Indianapolis (53 respondents) and Louisville
(11 respondents) (Table 18). MODES OF
TRANSPORTATION
Given Bloomington/Monroe County's location and transportation
facilities, it could be expected that the visitors’ predominant mode of
transportation would be the automobile. In fact, 85.7% of all respondents
indicated that private or rented vehicles were used (Table 19). Among the
other transportation modes used, the most popular was commercial airline
(11.6%). These patterns were fairly consistent throughout the year. There was
some seasonal variation in other transportation mode usage. Commercial airline
usage reached a high of 19.3% in Winter 1997. HIGHWAYS AND
ROADS USED The
highways and roads used most frequently to get to Bloomington/Monroe County
were Highway 37 (42.3%), Highway 46 (10.7%), I-65 (10.1%), and I-465 (10%)
(Table 20). The only other highway used by a significant number of respondents
was I-70 (4.5%). LENGTHS OF STAY The
majority of visitors in 1996-97 stayed overnight in Bloomington/Monroe County
(78.2%) (Table 21). Most people stayed one to two nights in Bloomington/Monroe
County (56.7%). Day trips to Bloomington/Monroe County accounted for 18.7% of
the respondents. The median length of stay of those respondents staying
overnight in Bloomington/Monroe County was estimated to be two nights. There
was some variation in lengths of stay by season. For example, the day trip
percentage was at a high of 28.8% in Summer 1996, but fell to 13.4% in Fall
1996. ACCOMMODATION
USAGE The
majority of the 1996-97 visitors to Bloomington/Monroe County who remained
overnight stayed in local hotels and motels (79.1%) (Table 22-1). The other
major types of accommodation were the homes of
friends (9.3%) and relatives (5.2%). The most frequently used hotels
were as follows (Table 22-2):
ACCOMMODATIONS
pERCENTAGE
Hampton
Inn
27.0%
Holiday
Inn
21.8%
IU Memorial
Union
15.1%
Fourwinds
Resort
10.6%
Fairfield Inn by
Marriott
10.5%
Comfort
Inn
7.0%
Other specific lodging establishments were mentioned by less than 2% of
visitors who remained overnight in Bloomington/Monroe County. VISITOR
EXPENDITURE PATTERNS
Respondents were given the alternative of estimating their travel expenditures
in Bloomington/Monroe County for themselves only or for their travel parties
as a whole. For respondents only, some 74.9% expected to spend less than $250,
while the remaining 25.1% expected to spend $250 or more in Bloomington/Monroe
County (Table 23). The largest single expected spending categories for
individuals were under $50 (24.7%), $50 to $99.99 (15.3%), $100 to $149.99
(13.9%), and $200 to $249.99 (12.1%). The
pattern of expenditures for groups was different from the individual spending
pattern. For those estimating for their travel parties as a whole, 53.6%
expected to spend less than $250 and the remaining 46.4% to spend $250 or more
(Table 24). The largest expected
spending category for entire travel parties was $100 to $249.99 (33.4%). The
next largest spending category was $250 to $499.99 at 29.4%. The under $100
category ranked third at 20.2%, followed by the $500 and more category
(16.9%). There were some significant seasonal variations in the spending estimates of this study’s respondents. For the entire year of 1996-97, the median expenditure range for travel parties was in the $200 to $249.99 category. However, in Summer 1996, the median travel party expenditure was lower at $150 to $199.99. Overall, the Winter 1997 season had the highest average travel party expenditure figures, with a median in the $250 to $299.99 range. MEDIA AND TRAVEL INFORMATION USAGE For
advertising and marketing purposes, it was felt to be important to ask
respondents about their media habits. Therefore, the questionnaire included
questions on usage of magazines, newspapers, radio formats, and cable TV
stations. Respondents were also asked about their use of the World Wide Web.
Finally, respondents provided information on their sources of travel
information, and about the people or organizations that influenced them to
travel to Bloomington/Monroe County. THE PRINT MEDIA:
MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS The
ten most popular magazines read by what could be considered a significant
proportion of respondents were: Newsweek (190), Sports Illustrated (149),
Better Homes and Gardens (142), National Geographic (141), Reader's Digest
(141), People (94), U.S. News & World Report (94), Business Week (79),
Midwest Living (73), Time and Woman’s Day (64 each). (Table 32-1). Other
magazines read by significant numbers of respondents were Country Living (61),
Indianapolis Monthly (46), Redbook (46), Home & Away/AAA (43), and
Southern Living (37). Among
newspapers, the most frequently mentioned were USA Today (209), Indianapolis
Star (171), Wall Street Journal (132), Chicago Tribune (81), Indianapolis News
(45), Chicago Sun-Times (28), New York Times (27), Lafayette Journal Courier
(24), and Evansville Courier (23). The Indianapolis Star readers were at a
peak of 23.4% in Summer 1996. THE ELECTRONIC
MEDIA: RADIO, CABLE TV, AND WORLD WIDE WEB There
was a fairly even distribution of respondents among the five most popular
radio formats. These were rock/popular (Top 40) (300), easy listening (290),
country (279), classical (278), and classic rock (276) (Table 33). The other
popular radio station formats were jazz/blues (205) and alternative rock
(204). The
ten most popular cable television subscriptions among the respondents were CNN
(645), ESPN (617), Discovery Channel (561), A & E (555), CNBC (542), TNN
(530), TBS (524), USA Network (482), Nickelodeon (476), and the Family Channel
(466) (Table 34-1). Other cable TV stations with significant numbers of
respondents were The Learning Channel (430), HBO (375), Travel Channel (335),
Disney Channel (318), and Cinemax (251). Some
65.5% (825) of the respondents said that they had used the Internet/World Wide
Web in their homes or places of business, while the remaining 34.5% (434) had
never used this computer-based medium. The majority of the Internet users had
been online at work (47.5%), at a library, school or college (22.1%), at home
via America Online (13.5%), or at home via CompuServe (3.2%). This implies
that about two-thirds of visitors have potential access to Bloomington/Monroe
County CVB’s World Wide Web site. TRAVEL INFORMATION
SOURCES Given
the very high proportion of repeat visits noted earlier, it is not surprising
that a large proportion of the 1996-97 visitors did not actively seek
travel‑related information for their current trips. In fact, 62.3% of
all the respondents indicated that they "didn't look for or receive any
information" or they "already knew about Bloomington/Monroe
County" (Table 31). Significant information sources used were friends or
relatives at 14.2% of respondents, and Indiana University (6.6%) and AAA
travel guides at 5%. Some 1.4% of respondents obtained information from the
Indiana Division of Tourism and
1.3% from Bloomington/Monroe County CVB. All other information sources were
used very infrequently. MOST
INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN TRAVEL DECISION-MAKING The most influential groups of persons in influencing the travel decisions to Bloomington/Monroe County were organization for which you work (24.3%), friends (21.2%), children (14.8%), and spouses/partners/companions (13.7%). Other significant influences were other relatives (8.6%) and myself (5.5%). VISITS, AWARENESS, AND RATINGS OF BLOOMINGTON/MONROE COUNTY'S ATTRACTIONS AND FACILITIES The
respondents were supplied with a list of 31 activities and were asked if they
participated in them during their trips to Bloomington/Monroe County. The ten
most activities with the highest participation rates among 1996-97 visitors
were:
ACTIVITIES
paRTICIPATION
RATES
1. Shop (general
shopping)
38.8%
2. Go for a walk on IU’s
campus
31.7%
3. Visit a
winery
21.3%
4. Shop for
antiques
19.3%
5. Shop for local arts and
handicrafts 18.6%
6. Attend a conference or
meeting
15.5%
7. Attend an IU
sporting
event
14.3%
8. Visit a
resort
10.4%
9. Attend an educational
program or event 9.9%
10.
Golf
8.4% The
most popular activities were definitely shopping and walking on the Indiana
University campus. Generally, more than 30% of the 1996-97 respondents
participated in these two activities. About one fifth of the respondents
visited a winery. As
might be expected, there were some seasonal variations in activity
participation that might be attributed partly to changes in the weather
conditions. The following exhibit shows the top ten activities by
participation rates for each of the four seasons. ACTIVITIES summer fall winter spring year
1996
1996
1997 1997 Shop
(general
shopping)
2
1
1
1
1 Go
for a walk on IU’s
campus
3
2
2
3
2 Visit
a
winery
1
6
4
4
3 Shop
for
antiques
4
5
5
2
4 Shop
for local arts and handicrafts
7
4
6
5
5 Attend
a conference or
meeting
5
9
3
6
6 Attend
an IU sporting
event
3
9
7 Visit a resort 6 7 7 8 Attend
an educational program or event
8
7
9 Golf
9
10
10 Take
a boat trip on a
lake
10
10 Observe
wildlife/bird watch
8
10 Attend
an opera at Indiana University
8 Attend
a sporting event not at IU
10 Visit
an art gallery
7 Hike
9 ATTRACTION AND
EVENT USAGE To
get an idea of the respondents' usage and ratings of local attractions,
events, and facilities, they were asked if they visited specific locations
and, if so, to rate them on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest
possible rating. The results give an indication of the most popular
attractions and events and, in addition, may indicate where some specific
improvements are needed in certain attractions or facilities. The
two major attractions with the highest rates of usage on current trips were
Indiana University’s campus and downtown Bloomington (Table 26). This was
also the case for previous trips (Table 25) and for places still to be visited
on current trips (Table 27). Other
individual attractions within Bloomington/Monroe County with significant
levels of use were College Mall, Indiana University Memorial Union, Oliver
Winery, Assembly Hall, the Antique Mall, and Lake Monroe. Except for the IU
Auditorium, IU Art Museum, and Memorial Stadium, all the other local
attractions had relatively low attendance rates and recognition among the
1996-97 visitors to Bloomington/Monroe County. Again,
with the exception of events associated with Indiana University, the awareness
and attendance at major local festivals and events were also relatively low.
Table 25 indicates that the most-visited event on previous trips by the
1996-97 respondents were IU football and basketball games, followed by arts
and cultural performances at IU and freshmen orientation. These results
suggest that more could be done to promote Monroe County’s local events and
festivals, and attractions other than those at Indiana University. Generally,
respondents gave fairly high ratings to Bloomington/Monroe County’s
attractions, events, and festivals (Table 29-5). The highest ratings were
given to the following:
Attractions
rating
Responses
1. Musical Art
Center
8.89
112
2. Indiana University
Campus
8.81
558
3. Hoosier National
Forest
8.72
132
4. Oliver
Winery
8.69
232
5. Indiana University Art Museum
8.57
205
6. Lake
Monroe
8.52
240
7. The Brewpub at Lennie’s
8.49
47
8. Lilly
Library
8.44
122
9. Local art
galleries
8.39
70
10. Butler
Winery
8.31
67 EVENTS
AND FESTIVALS
1. Madrigal
Dinners
9.15
27
2. Big Red Beer
Festival
9.11
18
3. Picnic with the
Pops
9.00
9
4. Canopy of
Lights
8.94
18
5. Indiana University basketball games
8.87
234
6. Little
500
8.87
94
7. Arts/cultural performances at IU
8.86
122
8. Early Music
Festival
8.82
11
9. IU
Sing
8.72
46
10. Nutcracker
Ballet
8.63
24 The
attractions with the lowest overall ratings among the 1996-97 visitors to
Bloomington/Monroe County were as follows: ·
College
Mall (7.57) ·
Bloomington
Speedway (7.62) ·
Lake Lemon
(7.71) ·
Wylie
House (7.83) ·
Mathers
Museum (7.84) Among out-of-town attractions, the most-highly rated were The Children’s Museum in Indianapolis (9.08), Spring Mill State Park (8.65), McCormick’s Creek State Park (8.59), and Circle Centre Mall (8.52) (Table 29-5). The most-visited out-of-town attractions on prior trips were the Indianapolis 500 Speedway, Children’s Museum, Indianapolis Zoo, Circle Centre Mall, and McCormick’s Creek State Park (Table 25). One
of the major objectives of this Visitor Profile Study was to gather
information on the image of Bloomington/Monroe County as a visitor
destination. Twenty-five Likert-scale questions were included in the
questionnaire to get an idea of visitors' perceptions of various aspects of
Bloomington/Monroe County as a travel destination. Respondents were also asked
to provide their own suggestions on what could be added or improved in
Bloomington/Monroe County to make it a more attractive destination for
visitors. PERCEPTIONS OF
BLOOMINGTON/MONROE COUNTY Bloomington/Monroe
County was seen as being a safe and affordable travel destination, with a high
degree of accessibility by road. Bloomington/Monroe County was also perceived
by the vast majority of 1996-97 visitors to be a good place for a day trip, to
attend sports events, and to use as a base for visiting Brown County. A
majority of respondents also agreed that Bloomington/Monroe County is a unique
vacation travel destination. Perceptual
Statements on Bloomington/Monroe County
Agree (positively-worded) 1.
B/M County is safe as a travel
destination
70.1% 2.
B/M County is affordable as a travel
destination
67.5% 3.
B/M County has a high degree of accessibility by
road
60.1% 4.
B/M County is a good place for a day
trip
58.0% 5.
B/M County is a good place to visit to attend sports
events
56.1% 6.
B/M County is a good place to use as a base for visiting Brown
County
51.8% 7.
B/M County is a unique vacation travel
destination
51.6% 8.
The downtown area is a unique shopping, dining, and entertainment
area 48.2% 9.
B/M County is a good place to take
children
48.0% 10.
Bloomington is a good place to visit for a few hours on the way
to
46.6% Brown County While
the overall perceptions of Bloomington/Monroe County as a destination were
favorable, a central tendency was noticed for several of the perceptual
statements. These statements tended to have significant neutral (neither agree
or disagree) ratings (at 3.0). Perceptual
Statements on Bloomington/Monroe County
nEUTRAL Bloomington
is a good place for attending live music
clubs
65.3% It
is difficult to find overnight accommodation in Brown
County
50.5% Bloomington
is a good place to use as a base for visiting
Indianapolis
42.1% Bloomington
does not have enough high-quality hotels and
motels
40.7% Traffic
congestion is a problem in
Bloomington
36.1% There
were only small proportions of respondents who had negative perceptions of
Bloomington/Monroe County as a travel destination. The less favorable
perceptual ratings are highlighted in the following table. The table indicates
the percentage of respondents who said that they either "disagreed"
or "strongly disagreed" with the statements when the statements were
positively worded or “agreed” or “strongly agreed” when the statements
were negatively worded. PERCEPTUAL
STATEMENTS
aGREE
DIS-AGREE 1.
Traffic congestion is a problem in
Bloomington
36.1%
27.7% 2.
It is difficult to find your way around
Bloomington
30.8%
43.3% 3.
Bloomington does not have enough high-quality hotels and motels
24.6%
34.7% 4.
Bloomington does not have enough quality
restaurants
19.5%
46.5% 5.
Bloomington/Monroe County does not offer many
activities
17.4%
42.2% for vacation travelers 6.
Bloomington is not a good place for family
weekends
16.3%
47.6% 7.
The directional signs within Bloomington need to be
improved
9.4%
61.2% a. The opportunity to see a Broadway performance or opera is the 16.5% 57.0% major reason for my visit b.
The shopping available in Bloomington is the major
reason
14.7%
54.9% for my visit c.
The opportunity to go to IU is the major reason for my
visit
35.6% 50.2% d. The opportunity for outdoor recreation at the lakes, national 23.2% 44.7% forests, or parks is the major reason for my visit e.
Bloomington/Monroe County is a good place to use as a
base
35.4% 22.5%
Indianapolis RESPONDENTS'
SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS Most
of the suggested improvements were related to traffic flows and parking within
Bloomington/Monroe County. One of the most frequently mentioned improvements
to make Bloomington/Monroe County a more attractive destination was to
simplify the traffic flow by eliminating some of the one-way streets in
Bloomington (Table 37). The specific suggestions were as follow:
Suggested Improvements
mentions
Change road system (too many one-way
streets)
70
Better parking
system
38
Improve traffic
flow
35
Better signs on
roads
33
More
restaurants
28
More shopping
malls
20
More
hotels
19
BOTANICAL
GARDEN, QUARRY PARK, AND AMPHITHEATER PROPOSAL Visitors were asked for their opinions on a development proposal to build a botanical garden, quarry park, and amphitheater in Monroe County. Some 46% of the respondents said they would have visited this attraction on their current trips had it been available. A larger proportion (55.6%) stated that they would return to Bloomington/Monroe County for a future visit if this project is realized. RESPONDENT'S
VERBATIM DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOOMINGTON/MONROE COUNTY
Respondents were asked to describe Bloomington/Monroe County as a place to
visit as it is now. In general, Bloomington/Monroe County was seen as a nice,
beautiful, and great place with friendly people (Table 38). Other descriptors
frequently used were related to Bloomington’s role as a college town. The
ten most popular descriptions are listed below. The percentages were based on
the total number of respondents in this study. Verbatim
Descriptions
Mentions
%
Nice
227
20.2%
Beautiful
136
12.1%
Great
80
7.1%
Friendly
people
67
6.0%
College
town
57
5.1%
A small college
town
55
4.9%
Very
pleasant
45
4.0%
Quiet
43
3.8%
Just
fine
42
3.7%
Relaxing
40
3.6% RESPONDENTS'
INTENTIONS TO RETURN It
was mentioned earlier that the majority of the respondents were return
visitors. This trend should continue according to the findings of this study.
When asked if they intended to come back to Bloomington/Monroe County, 93.9%
of the respondents provided a positive response (Table 39). Only 6.1% of the
respondents said they would not be making future trips to Bloomington/Monroe
County. IMPORTANT FACTORS
IN SELECTING DESTINATIONS Respondents
were asked to indicate the five most important factors that they consider when
selecting a travel destination. The four most important factors were: 1)
attractions, events, and festivals, 2) natural beauty and scenery, 3)
price/affordability, and 4) weather/climate (Table 40). The most frequently
mentioned factors were as follows:
Destination Selection Factors
%
Attractions/events/festivals
10.9%
Natural
beauty/scenery
10.6%
Price/affordability
10.5%
Weather/climate
10.0%
Accessibility (by highway,
airline)
9.3%
Accommodation/lodging (type and
availability)
9.2%
Range of
activities
7.5%
Uniqueness of a
destination
7.2%
Safety/security
6.8%
Hospitality/friendliness
5.9%
Restaurants
5.4%
Business reasons or
contacts
5.3% |
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