Travel guides remain a measurable part of destination discovery and trip planning. The 2020-2021 DMO Visitor Guide Readership Study surveyed 5,691 people overall and found that guides were used for vacation planning, maps, attractions, travel tips, and booking decisions. Related studies show how social media and printed travel books contributed to destination visits and visitor spending.
Contents
- Visitor guide readership and planning
- What travelers look for in a guide
- From guide use to destination visits
- Which guide features travelers find useful
- Websites, social media, and travel decisions
- Economic impact of destination marketing
- Print travel guide sales
Visitor guide readership and planning
The DMA West Visitor Guide Readership Study used several respondent groups rather than one identical sample for every question. It included 4,721 completed surveys for the visitor-guide content review, 4,533 for the post-guide visitation question among potential visitors, 932 for visitor content and trip-planning tasks, and 789 for other official destination resources used in planning.
Among readers, 48.0% ordered a visitor guide to plan and book a vacation. The comparison group recorded 38.7% for the same purpose. Travel tips were also a major reason for requesting a guide: 53.2% of readers specifically sought travel tips, compared with 45.6% of the comparison group.
The study also measured where people stood in the travel decision process when they read a guide. Some 21.6% of readers were at a point of potential conversion, compared with 29.0% of the comparison group. Among visitors who received a guide, 75.4% had already decided to take a trip. Another 17.7% were interested in traveling but had not made plans, 5.8% were considering destinations, and 1.0% had no travel plans at the time.
This distinction matters for independent travelers: a guide can support a confirmed itinerary, but it can also reach people who are still comparing destinations or building a trip from scratch.
What travelers look for in a guide
Content preferences varied by the stage and type of traveler surveyed. Among dual digital-and-print users, attractions were the most frequently sought content, selected by 73.7%. Maps followed at 65.6%, while recreation information reached 58.8% and travel tips 50.7%.
Dining information was selected by 47.8% of dual-format users. The corresponding figures were 42.9% for accommodations, 40.4% for events, 40.0% for entertainment, arts and culture, 31.8% for tours, 21.5% for shopping, and 13.2% for transportation. Only 0.7% selected none of the listed content types.
Visitors who visited after reading the guide showed a similar ordering, with somewhat stronger demand for several practical categories. Attractions information was selected by 77.5%, maps by 75.2%, and recreation information by 63.5%. Dining reached 54.6%, while travel tips reached 52.5%.
| Guide content sought | Dual digital-and-print users | Visitors after reading the guide |
|---|---|---|
| Attractions | 73.7% | 77.5% |
| Maps | 65.6% | 75.2% |
| Recreation | 58.8% | 63.5% |
| Travel tips | 50.7% | 52.5% |
| Dining | 47.8% | 54.6% |
| Accommodations | 42.9% | 47.2% |
| Events | 40.4% | 45.6% |
For the post-reading visitor group, accommodations information was selected by 47.2%, events by 45.6%, and entertainment, arts and culture by 42.1%. Articles and features reached 40.1%, tours 37.9%, shopping 25.7%, and transportation 18.5%. Just 0.5% selected none of the listed types.
From guide use to destination visits
In the DMA West study, 24.5% of respondents who read the guide visited the destination after receiving it. The average number of trips taken after receiving the visitor guide was 0.4. These are study results for the surveyed destination-guide programs and should not be read as a universal conversion rate for every travel guide.
The guide was especially relevant for respondents who had not fully decided. Among undecided visitors, 84.5% said the guide helped them make the decision to visit. A further 10.7% said it did not help, while 4.8% did not know whether it helped.
Among influenced visitors, 25.6% described the guide as very important to the decision to visit. Another 49.3% called it important, and 24.3% said it was somewhat important. Only 0.1% rated it as of little importance.
The survey also shows how the guide was used in the planning process. Some 69.3% of visitors consulted a map, and 59.5% selected attractions or activities using the guide. Maps were rated helpful or very helpful by 81.6% of visitors. Articles received the same rating from 72.0%, itineraries from 57.9%, and the events calendar from 57.7%.
The usefulness ratings extended beyond editorial material. Advertisements were rated helpful or very helpful by 50.4% of visitors, while business listings reached 49.7%. Overall satisfaction was high: 70.5% were very satisfied with the visitor guide and 26.2% were satisfied. Neutral responses accounted for 2.2%, unsatisfied responses for 0.6%, and very unsatisfied responses for 0.5%.
Which guide features travelers find useful
The content pattern suggests that practical orientation is central to guide use. Maps led the helpfulness ratings at 81.6%, and they were also among the most frequently sought features in both comparison groups. Attractions and activities were selected by 59.5% of visitors for trip planning, while articles reached a 72.0% helpful-or-very-helpful rating.
Itineraries and event calendars occupied a middle position, with 57.9% and 57.7% respectively rating them helpful or very helpful. These formats can support travelers who want a ready-made structure while still leaving room for independent choices. Business listings and advertisements were rated positively by about half of visitors, at 49.7% and 50.4%.
The study also recorded official digital resources used during trip planning. The official destination tourism website was used by 94.7% of respondents. Facebook posts were used by 17.9%, YouTube videos by 12.9%, Instagram posts by 7.0%, Pinterest boards by 5.2%, and tweets by 2.4%.
These figures describe the resources selected by respondents in the DMA West study. They do not establish that one channel is more effective for every destination or independent travel audience.
Websites, social media, and travel decisions
The 2018-2019 DMA West DMO Social Media Follower Profile & Conversion Study examined about 2.1 million DMO social media followers across 19 participating destination marketing organizations. The study used 6,260 completed surveys from followers who visited a destination. Nine participating DMOs studied Instagram followers, and two studied Twitter followers.
In Destination Analysts’ April 2018 State of the American Traveler tracking study, 20% of American leisure travelers reported visiting a destination as a result of content they saw on social media. That tracking study cited 2,020 completed surveys and represents the April 2018 measurement period.
The DMA West social media study found different content patterns by platform. Among Facebook followers who visited, photos were influential for 53.5%, attractions content for 50.2%, dining for 43.8%, and events for 39.9%. Trip ideas or itineraries reached 31.8%, history 30.4%, and deals or discounts 30.2%.
Among Instagram followers who visited, photos were influential for 74.7%. Attractions content reached 53.9%, dining 38.9%, trip ideas or itineraries 38.3%, events 34.1%, history 25.5%, and shopping 21.3%.
Planning-resource use also differed between the two follower groups. The official DMO website was used by 31.7% of Instagram followers and 29.1% of Facebook followers. The official visitor guide was used by 20.6% of Instagram followers and 26.5% of Facebook followers.
Economic impact of destination marketing
The 2018-2019 DMA West social media study reported 108,841 incremental trips attributed to Facebook and 25,747 incremental trips attributed to Instagram. Facebook-generated incremental trips were associated with $65,737,691 in visitor spending, while Instagram-generated incremental trips were associated with $20,770,900.
The study also measured additional days from trips that were extended. Facebook generated 23,786 additional visitor days and $5,948,597 in spending from those additional days. Instagram generated 7,349 additional visitor days and $2,093,549 in spending from additional trip days.
The resulting total estimated economic impact was $71,686,196 for Facebook and $22,864,865 for Instagram. Average visitor-spending economic impact per follower was $47.85 for Facebook followers and $61.39 for Instagram followers.
These amounts are estimates reported by the study for its participating DMOs and measurement framework. They are not a forecast of spending for all social platforms or all travel guides.
The DMO Visitor Guide Readership Study likewise reported an estimated $6.9 million in direct visitor spending generated by the 12 visitor guides studied. The reported return on investment was $48 per visitor guide distributed across those 12 guides.
Print travel guide sales
Print travel publishing also showed measurable changes in the periods covered by the supplied research. Forbes, citing the NPD BookScan Travel Publishing Year Book, reported that 2017 was the best year for printed travel guide sales in the U.S. market in more than a decade. Travel guide sales increased 5% over 2016 sales in 2017.
A separate NPD Group figure reported through PRWeb found that sales of print books in the travel category were 40% higher year to date through February 19, 2022, compared with the same period in 2021. The comparison therefore covers the period through February 19, 2022, rather than a complete calendar year.
Together, these figures cover different studies, populations, channels, and time periods. The 2017 and early-2022 print-sales results describe U.S. book-market comparisons, while the DMA West research describes destination-guide readership, planning behavior, visitation, satisfaction, and estimated economic impact. Keeping those geographies and measurement periods separate is essential when using travel guide statistics to understand independent travel.