NORWALK, Conn., Sept. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tourists
traveling in search of an authentic, cultural experience, who have
previously fallen victim to tourist traps, can now get the full
scoop on the best ways to travel like a local. Priceline.com,
a leader in online and mobile travel and part of The Priceline
Group (NASDAQ: PCLN), today released its 2014 Tourist Report Card,
uncovering the latest in the ongoing "saga" between tourists and
locals. According to the study, nearly all tourists think
they blend in well, while 94 percent of locals admit they can at
least sometimes spot a tourist just by looking at them.
However, while locals know tourists can be guilty of cliches
and stereotypes, 84 percent still say they find tourists more
friendly than annoying.
"At priceline.com, we're committed to understanding travel
trends and traveler needs and preferences," said Chris Soder, priceline.com CEO. "To get the full
picture of what our customers want, we strive to ground our
services and product innovation in research. That's one of
the reasons we conducted the '2014 Tourist Report Card' study – to
monitor the shifting travel attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of
consumers."
Priceline.com's new study exposes tourists' secrets to blending
in, locals' biggest tourist pet peeves, and the most and least
welcoming big-city destinations in the U.S., among other key
findings, including:
- Undercover Tourists: Tourists (15%) identified
Anthony Bourdain as a top travel
icon, and it is clear they have taken note on his skills at
immersing himself in the culture and navigating unfamiliar
territory. The top ways tourists try to blend in are ordering
local dishes and drinks, and traveling by public transportation,
but admitted that they are also guilty of certain cliches, such as
asking locals for directions (63%) and eating at chain franchises
(54%).
- An Old-School Approach to Navigation: In this age of
modern technology, many travelers still prefer old-school methods
to get around. Nearly half of tourists (42%) still use a
print-out map and one in four (25%) tourists use a pocket foldout
map for driving directions. However, both tourists and locals
still turn to their mobile devices frequently to get directions and
discover local grub when traveling and exploring their city.
Good thing two-thirds (66%) of tourists have Google Maps at
their fingertips, because one in four (24%) have been given
incorrect directions by a local.
- Love is in the [Vacation] Air: Tourists are not opposed
to sparking up romance with locals while vacationing, as more than
one in three (38%) tourists have become smitten over a foreigner
with an accent. Over one in three (37%) single tourists say
they would love to have a "fling" with a local, and one in five
(19%) would put those thoughts into action – actually trying to
find a one-night hook-up while on vacation.
- Tourist Gear Giveaways: While more than half (58%) of
tourists say they avoid tourist-y gear in order to blend in, locals
have spotted tourists wearing clothes with the city's name on it,
fanny packs, and socks with sandals – the latter of which takes the
cake as the ugliest traveler fashion accessory. And, the
number one tourist giveaway according to locals? Carrying a
camera around the neck and taking pictures of everything.
- Sunny Destinations Make the Grade: Among the top 10
travel destinations nationwide, tourists gave Orlando and Las
Vegas an 'A' grade for being the most-welcoming
cities. And, although some stereotypes portray New York City and Los Angeles residents as unfriendly or
unwelcoming, eight in 10 residents in both cities overwhelmingly
agreed that tourists should not pay more for local
attractions.
- Room for Improvement: If locals could give tourists
advice, it would be to pay more attention. Across the board
from San Francisco to Chicago and New York
City, locals agreed that their biggest pet peeve is when
tourists do not pay attention to their surroundings. Partying
college kids may want to tone things down a notch, too. One
in five locals (22%) say the most annoying type of tourist is the
intoxicated youth. Despite this, the majority (56%) of locals
remain appreciative of tourist's stimulating their local
economies. In fact, locals gave tourists good 'grades' on a
variety of aspects, as captured in this infographic.
The full report can be found here. For more information on
priceline.com, visit www.priceline.com/media/ or join in the
conversation to share your #touristtales on Facebook and
Twitter.
About the Survey
The Tourist Report Card was
commissioned by priceline.com and conducted by Edelman Berland (www.edelmanberland.com) among
nationally representative U.S. adults, ages 18+, between July 21 and July 30, 2014. Two
quantitative surveys were conducted, the first among 1,002 U.S.
tourists who have traveled out of state for leisure purposes in the
last year or planning to travel out of state in the next year and
the second among 1,054 U.S. locals having lived in the top U.S.
tourist destinations for a minimum of five years.
About priceline.com
Priceline.com, part of The
Priceline Group [NASDAQ: PCLN], gives leisure travelers multiple
ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars,
vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting
compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of
priceline.com's famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can
deliver the lowest prices available, or the recently added Express
Deals®, where travelers can take advantage of hotel discounts
without bidding.
For Press Information: Kim Soward
203-299-8431 kimberly.soward@priceline.com
SOURCE Priceline.com