TfGM part funds this survey to understand the visitor economy, which is important to the economic success of Greater Manchester. This is the third iteration of the survey, so in addition to providing the visitor perspective, it also allows us to understand any changing trends and themes (previous research undertaken in 2014 and 2018).
The research covers leisure visitor profiles and their trip motivations, sources of information used, activities undertaken and expenditure of their visit. Elements of the destinations visited are rated, plus how likely they would be to recommend Greater Manchester as a place to visit, and to visit again.
Overall, it shows leisure visitors are youthful (80% under age 45) and view Greater Manchester very positively. There are further improvements that could be made for the travel/public transport experience, overall cleanliness and feelings of safety.
The full Executive Summary can be found on p.3, information sources p.22, transport p.31, best and worst parts of the trip p.43 of the full report.
The summary below focuses on the transport, ticketing and information elements.
Read the full published research report and watch the webinar recording
Key takeaways for TfGM include:
Transport
- A higher percentage of visitors to Greater Manchester in 2023 used trams, and purchased tickets for travel in advance, than in 2018.
- A good rail travel customer experience is important to encourage leisure visitor travel. Over half (53%) of all visitors arrived in Greater Manchester by train, noting that this is partly a result of several interviewer shifts being conducted outside Manchester Piccadilly station, but is in line with the 2018 results. 48% of domestic visitors arrived this way, similar to 2018, and 85% of visitors from overseas arrived in Greater Manchester by train. 39% of all visitors came by car (11% in electric or hybrid vehicles) and 6% arrived by bus (down from 9% in 2018).
- Once in Greater Manchester, the vast majority of visitors walked around, so it is good that there has been a significant increase in the positive ratings for signage for getting around on foot since 2018.
- Trams were used by 44%, an increase on 29% in 2018. 27% used their car (within this 8% used hybrid or electric), an increase on 14% in 2018. 15% used the free buses, up from 5% in 2018, and 6% used taxis, down from 18% in 2018.
- The value for money of public transport amongst leisure visitors is fairly high at 72%, however this and the public transport services/routes available (73%) were the only aspects of the destination ratings to have decreased since 2018 (77%) value for money in 2018.
Travel information
- When planning their visit, just under half went directly to the websites or social media channels of the places they wanted to visit, showing the importance of having travel information on destination websites. Word of mouth is crucial, as it has become more important since 2018 (30% relied on this, was 17% in 2018), emphasizing the importance of a good experience and NPS recommendation score.
- Visitors were asked about the sources of information they had used while getting around in Greater Manchester. Beyond the dominant Google maps (64% used), the top 3 information sources were: electronic displays either on a bus, tram or train, or at a stop/station (39%), the internet to get ‘real time’ information on travel (37%), and 35% used the internet for other types of information such as timetables, routes, maps or tickets.
- Information about travel disruption (traffic as well as public transport) and crowding is also important, as these feature as one of the ‘worst’ things about their trip.
Tickets
- Visitors who had used either the trams, trains, or paid-for buses to get around Greater Manchester were asked about their ticket purchasing. 20% of visitors using trains or buses bought tickets in advance (up from 11% in 2018), but the majority still when in Greater Manchester (80%). This was mainly from Metrolink contactless (57%), or at a Metrolink machine (33%).
- People that did not buy their tickets in advance were asked about motivations to do so in future. Each of the options provided would encourage around 70% of visitors ‘a lot’ to buy travel tickets in advance. They were: if advance tickets were cheaper; were easy to buy on a mobile phone; if they removed the need to queue during the trip; if you could buy one ticket for multiple transport types; and if they removed the need to worry about how to pay or how much to pay for each individual journey.
- All visitors were then asked “If you were to re-visit Greater Manchester, which of the following places would you prefer to purchase advance travel tickets from, for travelling around Greater Manchester on that trip?”. More than half said that their preference would be online from the transport operator’s App (57%) or their website (51%). 38% would prefer to buy advance travel tickets online from the venue or accommodation they were visiting, or via a travel agent/booking company. Almost a quarter would like to buy via Transport for Greater Manchester/Beenetwork.com app (23%) or website (22%). 22% said they would prefer not to buy travel tickets in advance.
- Making it cheaper, easy to buy on a mobile phone, buying one ticket for multiple transport types and not having to worry about how to pay/how much to pay for each individual journey were all positively viewed to encourage visitors to buy tickets in advance.
And finally, some other findings you may find interesting from the survey:
- More family groups visited in 2023 than previously presenting a younger profile, and more visitors came from the North West and Yorkshire.
- The positive experience visitors have in Greater Manchester fuels repeat visits and the area also does well in attracting new visitors. A NPS recommendation score of over +50 is considered excellent, with Greater Manchester scoring +53 as a place to visit. This will be tracked in the future for progress.
- The economic impact of visitors in the area is increasing, and there are fewer visitors staying in ‘free’ accommodation with friends and relatives.
- Ratings for the destination overall, and for individual elements of the visit, are extremely high, as are future visit intentions.
- There have also been significant improvements made in visitors’ ratings of public spaces, feeling of safety, overall welcome and service, signage for getting around on foot, and overall cleanliness.
- There is a marketing window of 3 months prior to trip to reach around two thirds of visitors.
Method
Between July and November 2023, a total of 977 interviews were carried out with day and overnight visitors in Manchester, Salford and Trafford. Mirroring previous years, interviews were undertaken during school and non-school holiday periods, weekdays and weekends and through random sampling.
For more information or a greater in-depth look at the findings, the full report and 20 minute recording of the webinar, you’ll find that here.
We also have the full set of survey data available to us and the ability to do more analysis so if there’s anything you’re particularly interested in, please let us know. In the meantime, we will be analysing any comments made relating to transport related aspects.