Visit Wales consumer re-contact survey: 19 January to 7 February 2022

Profile of Visit Wales enquirers

• Enquirers are spread across the UK, but there is a clear bias towards regions in relatively close proximity to Wales, the North West of England and West Midlands with the highest and third highest representation. 
• Visit Wales enquirers tend to belong to ‘older’ life stages, ‘older independents’ making up nearly half (at 49%), and enquirers of ‘retirement age’ 2 in 5 (38%).
• Half of Visit Wales enquirers took a trip to Wales in 2021, with an equal split of around a third each taking short breaks of 1-3 nights and longer breaks of 4+ nights.
• 'Countryside or village’ was the leading destination type for Wales trips in 2021, although only just ahead of ‘traditional coastal/seaside town’ and ‘rural coastline’. 
• Overall, Wales trip-takers were satisfied with their Wales trip, two thirds rating it as excellent and 95% as good/excellent, with minimal differences by Visit Wales segments.
• Of the enquirers that did not visit Wales in 2021, around half were considering visiting Wales, equally split between those that didn’t go anywhere, and those that decided to visit somewhere else in the British Isles instead. 

General trip plans for 2022

• Compared to before the pandemic, Visit Wales enquirers anticipate taking ‘net more’ UK overnight trips in the next 12 months compared to the previous 12 months, and prioritising holidays in the UK instead of overseas, consistent across all segments.
• Notably, enquirers anticipate continuing their behaviour from 2021 by choosing quieter places to visit in the UK and taking UK holidays at less busy times, shared across segments. 
• 20% of Visit Wales enquirers have already booked a Wales trip in 2022, with 31% ‘definitely going’ but without having yet booked. A further 25% state they will probably go, meaning 76% are open to visiting.
• ‘Visiting heritage sites’, ‘trying local food and drink’ and ‘walking, hiking or rambling’ are the three activities Wales 2022 intenders are most likely to do on their Wales trip.
• Events interest is relatively consistent across segments, although ‘older cultural explorer couples’ and ‘scenic explorer couples’ are significantly less likely than other segments to be interested in events that involve live music, comedy, activities or sports.

Attitudes to sustainability

• Compared to the UK population, Visit Wales enquirers index significantly higher on BVA BDRC’s ‘Eco Evangelists’ and ‘Good Intentions’ sustainability segments.