The Comfort and Convenience segment represents 19% of the target market and 6.1 million adults.
This is a caring segment with wholesome values. They take life at a fairly slow pace and are undemanding and fairly habitual by nature, preferring easy, domestic holidays where they can relax, often returning to places they know.
Distinct hobbies and interests of this segment are gardening, cooking and animal welfare.
The majority (56%) of this segment are aged 55+ with 49% working and 30% being retired. Only 26% have children in the household.
This segment is more likely to have a disability in the household than any other segment, with 34% seeking facilities such as on site car parks, ground floor bedrooms or accessible accommodation.
Distinguishing features of this segment:
1. Holidays are more about relaxing than ‘doing’ and they aren’t looking for a physical challenge.
2. These are loyal customers, with most being happy to return to the same holiday destination again and again.
3. Prefer ‘home from home’ type accommodation and enjoy spending time around the holiday resort/accommodation.
4. They have cut down on overseas holidays as a response to global warming.
5. Don’t consider themselves to be well travelled.
6. Prefer cheap and cheerful holidays.
Accommodation choice
Home from home style self-catering accommodation is preferred for this segment, in a quiet location close to local amenities. Basic creature comforts should be included as standard (e.g. tea making facilities in room). They will also use mid-tier/budget hotels for convenience, or holiday parks/camping if visiting with family.
This group is looking for a friendly welcome and recommendations e.g. good walks and parking advice when visiting attractions, as well as free activity suggestions or money off vouchers.
34% of this segment have a disability in their household, so nearby parking and certain accommodations may be needed (e.g. ground floor bedroom).
Sights and Activities
This segment doesn’t like to cram in too much and tends to opt for free options. They prefer half days rather than full days out, with one activity a day.
Coastal and rural walks (gentle routes) that take in points of interest (e.g. Jurassic Coast, Poole Harbour/Quay, Portland Bill) are appealing to this group. They are also interested in visits to parks/gardens and wildlife watching (e.g. nature reserves).
They like to shop in local markets or stores, looking for bargains.
Food and Drink
This group is likely to buy meals out during a visit to Dorset, but less often, as they have a smaller budget than other segments.
They would choose a mix of take-out (e.g. supermarket meal deal, fish and chips) and eating out (e.g. cream tea, pub lunch).
Easy, budget friendly options (e.g. lunchtime specials) would appeal to this segment.
Events and Festivals
There is limited interest in attending events and festivals relative to other segments, and they are likely to be put off by costs and crowds. However, a third (32%) are interested in the Dorset County Show and free, local events could also draw interest.
Marketing and Digital
There is a good match between expectations of Dorset and what they would want to do, so they are unlikely to be disappointed when visiting the county.
Get them on your mailing list as they are open to returning to the same destination again and again. Don't miss the opportunity to target directly to this segment to save on OTA fees.
Recommendations are important to this group, so consider refer a friend schemes (e.g. discount code to share with friends).
You can encourage off-peak travel to this segment (especially in Autumn) by offering deals/packages.
What's the opportunity to market to this segment?
The size of opportunity is low due to this segments spending power and therefore being less able to pay for day trips and holidays. Travel may be more of a barrier for this segment with higher levels of disability in households.
However, the ease of attracting this segment is moderate because they already have a good knowledge of Dorset and like returning to the same destination over and over again. Remember, this segment is more likely to be over 55 years old, so travelling in the shoulder months or mid-week when prices are lower would be possible and appealing for this group.
