MOLINE, ILLINOIS (November 26, 2019) — Visit Quad Cities, the region's official Destination Management and Marketing Organization (DMMO), initiated a destination master planning project for the Quad Cities regional destination with Resonance, a global leader in tourism, economic development, place strategy, and real-estate development.
Recently, Quad Citizens and visitors were asked to complete an online questionnaire, developed by Resonance, to better understand perceptions, tourism impact, experiences in the QC, and the region’s quality of life. Thousands took the survey to assist in providing their valuable input on the destination to help address issues and opportunities with respect to livability, culture, economy, and sense of place.
“The results of these surveys and the insight they provide are extremely valuable to our regional destination’s long-range vision and strategy,” said Dave Herrell, President and CEO, Visit Quad Cities. “A big debt of gratitude goes to the 2,365 Quad Citizens and Quad Visitors that participated and provided their input. This research is just another step in the process, as the Tourism Master Plan takes form. There are some positives but also some significant improvement areas and gaps that will need to be addressed as we continue to compete for world-wide awareness and to attract people to the QC.”
Key Survey Findings
Quad Citizens recognize the importance and benefits of the tourism industry; however, they consistently underestimate the industry’s size and value. The Community Survey Report identifies opportunities for the Quad Cities tourism industry to improve the telling of its story and educate the public regarding the overall value of tourism to the region’s economy. The report also identifies the need to create resident advocates and articulate and emotionalize the region’s unique personality to help visitors and Quad Citizens connect with the destination in new ways.
- 93% of residents believe that tourism is good for the Quad Cities.
- 83% of residents are likely to encourage friends and family to visit the region.
- 49% of residents believes the Quad Cities is a destination that visitors want to visit.
- 40% of residents are concerned about tourism’s impact on the community.
- 16% of residents feel the current visitor intake is just right, while 66% feel it is not enough and less than one percent of residents feel the Quad Cities is currently attracting too many visitors.
- 55% of residents underestimate the number of annual visitors to the Quad Cities region (an additional 43% responded they don’t know).
- 53% of residents underestimate the number of jobs created by tourism in the Quad Cities region (an additional 34% responded they don’t know).
- Over 90% of residents believe tourism creates economic growth in the region and opportunities for business and employment.
- 41% of residents believe tourism results in increased traffic congestion.
- Culinary offerings, nature and parks, outdoor activities, theater and concerts and festivals and events were listed as the experiences that are most important to resident quality of life in the region.
- Cost of living, good place to raise a family, proximity to the Mississippi River and friendly people were listed as the best things about living in the Quad Cities region.
- Road quality, safety and crime and the climate were listed as least-liked attributes of the Quad Cities region.
During this step of the Tourism Master Planning process, the goal is to identify and define the types of travelers who are attracted to the Quad Cities, what they value, and how the region is delivering on their expectations.
Visitors to the Quad Cities are coming to the region to experience its restaurants, nature and parks, festivals and events, and historic sites and landmarks. These travelers, who are often repeat-visitors, associate the region with the Mississippi River, John Deere, fun, shops, and family. Visitors to the Quad Cities have a more positive perception of the destination after visiting the region than they did prior to visiting, an important outcome as perceived quality of place becomes increasingly important for tourism and economic development.
- Previous visitors to the Quad Cities are more likely to be “Family-Oriented Frugals.”
- 38% of previous visitors traveled as a married couple, while roughly 20% traveled alone or as a family.
- The top five words used to describe the Quad Cities were "river", "Mississippi", "fun", "shops", and "family".
- Roughly half of previous visitors said they had an “excellent” or “very good” perception of the Quad Cities prior to their visit. This number grew to nearly 70% for previous visitors following their visit.
- Eight in ten previous visitors visited the city of Davenport and seven in ten visited Moline.
- LeClaire was rated as the region with the highest quality-visitor experience.
- Restaurants, hotels, nature and parks, festivals and historic sites were the most important aspects of the Quad Cities experience in motivating previous visitors to select the Quad Cities as a destination.
- The top five words used to describe the positive aspects of their previous visit were "restaurant", "river", "city", "food", and "see".
- The top five words used to describe the negative aspects of their previous visit were "construction", "none", "traffic", "road", and "nothing".
- The majority of previous visitors view Quad Cities as a friendly destination and roughly half feel the destination is safe and clean. Only 23% of previous visitors rated Quad Cities positively for diversity and that number fell to one in ten for transit service.
Earlier this month, Resonance Consultancy also conducted Visioning Workshops with stakeholders and community leaders as part of the strategic-planning process, and they tackled topics such as brand identity, product development, and identifying the types of visitors we want to attract to our regional destination. These workshops were another step in the many phases of the plan’s development.
Resonance Consultancy will create a Tourism Master Plan, destination development strategies, marketing strategies, and management plans that will shape the future of the Quad Cities. Resonance’s approach to creating the region’s Destination Strategic Plan is rooted in thoroughly understanding consumer-travel trends, defining the aspirations of both current and prospective future consumers, benchmarking the Quad Cities against its competitive set, and creating a market-leading strategic plan for the region.
About Resonance
With offices located in New York and Vancouver, Resonance is a global leader in tourism, economic development, place strategy, place branding, and real-estate development. Resonance has successfully produced Tourism Strategy work for Travel Portland; Tourism Vancouver; Visit Tulsa; Tourism Montreal; Tourism Calgary; Destination Cleveland; Cincinnati USA; Bellevue, Washington; Snohomish County, Washington; and many others. Resonance is currently engaged in work with Los Angeles, California; Metro Tucson, Arizona; Richmond, Virginia; and San Luis Obispo County, California. Information on Resonance can be found at www.resonanceco.com.
About Visit Quad Cities
Founded in 1990, Visit Quad Cities is the official Destination Management and Marketing Organization (DMMO) for the region. Visit Quad Cities is a private 501(c)(6) non-profit engine charged with driving economic opportunity through tourism, building our authentic brand, telling and selling the Quad Cities story, and enhancing Quad Citizens’ quality of life.
