Website Survey Results
A survey was live on www.visit-dorset.com from June 2011 for a 2 month period asking users their opinion
of the website.
A prize of a food hamper, provided by the Rural Farm Shop Co, and 25 runner up prizes of ‘A Little Book of
Dorset’ and a pack of Dorset Cereal was offered by Dorset Cereals as an incentive for people to complete
the survey.
675 people completed the survey. The results for each question are shown below.
How did you find this website?
3%
4% Search engine
6%
5% Word of mouth
34% Email link
17% Newspaper / magazine
Holiday guide
Advertising campaign
31%
Other
Have you visited this website before?
No 73%
Yes 27%
If yes, how often do you visit the website?
6% Daily
17% Weekly
46%
Monthly
31% Every 3 months
What did you use the website for?
Arts & Culture Other
History & 3% 2%
Heritage Visitor
6% information
Jurassic Coast 18%
8%
Activities Attractions
9% 17%
Accommodation
11%
Food & drink
Events 13%
13%
Have you found the information you were looking for?
97%
3%
Yes No
If no, what were you looking for?
Answers included Dorset Residents Week, farmers markets, Dorset Food Trails and Weymouth fireworks.
Have you ever booked accommodation through this website?
Yes
9%
No
91%
If no, please tell us why?
The main answers to this were:
Still planning trip / researching
Have already booked accommodation
Prefer to book direct
Still considering Dorset as a holiday location
Have our own touring caravan
Staying with family or friends
Live locally
Day trip
Just looking for ideas of what you can see and do in Dorset
Have you visited Dorset before?
No
38%
Yes
62%
Which areas of Dorset are you interested in?
9.8% 9.4%
9.3%
8.3%
7.3%
6.4%
5.6% 5.5%
5.1%
4.6%
3.2% 3.2% 3.2% 3.1%
2.5% 2.5% 2.3% 2.2%
1.8% 1.7% 1.5% 1.5%
Poole
Swanage
Portland
Lyme Regis
Abbotsbury
Sherborne
Weymouth
Bridport
Purbeck
Christchurch
Wareham
Blandford Forum
Beaminster
Ferndown
Bournemouth
Shaftesbury
Corfe Castle
Dorchester
Lulworth
Cranborne Chase
Wimborne Minster
Sturminster Newton
When are you planning on travelling to Dorset?
Next week
Not planning a 9%
visit In the next
22% month
12%
In the next 3
months
16%
In the next 12
months
28%
In the next 6
months
13%
Are you planning on visiting Dorset to attend the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic sailing
events?
Yes
8%
No
92%
Are you a Dorset resident or travelling from outside the county?
Republic of Ireland 0.2%
Northern Ireland 1.1%
Scotland 5.1%
North West 8.9%
North East 9.1%
North Wales 0.9%
South Wales 3.8%
Midlands 16.4%
London 9.9%
South East England 25.1%
South West England 12.3%
Dorset 7.2%
Do you use any of the following websites when researching places to stay for your holidays?
tripadvisor.co.uk
5%
0% 5%
2% virtualtourist.com
69%
holidays-
10%
uncovered.co.uk
holidaywatchdog.com
5%
igougo.com
4% travel-rants.com
realholidayreports.com
other
Would you recommend this website to friends?
no
5%
yes
95%
Our website is continuously being developed as time and resources permit, do you have any
suggestions for future development?
Most people commented that the website was very good and that they didn’t have any suggestions for
improvement, however, the following four points were suggested:
More offers and competitions
Dog friendly advice / section
Shopping section
Photo gallery
Conclusion
The survey provided some positive feedback which will help shape the future of the website.
It was encouraging to see that many people are finding the site on search engines which proves that it is
starting to rank highly for popular key search terms.
The site is being used for a variety of purposes providing users with all the information that they need to
research and book a holiday to Dorset. A large number of people are using the site to plan a trip within the
next 12 months, showing that it is being used as a research tool at the beginning of the planning process,
however, the number of people using the site who are due to visit in the short term is also high, this
suggests that people are returning to the site closer to their visit to plan days out etc.
Although many people did not book accommodation through the site, it is apparent that the site is drawing
people who have not yet chosen where they will go on holiday to Dorset. The statistics show that people
are using the site to research accommodation and then perhaps booking direct with the accommodation
provider.
Only 8% of respondents were planning on visiting Dorset to attend the London 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic sailing events.
South East England and the Midlands are still the key markets visiting Dorset; however, the South West,
London, North East and North West still make up a reasonable percentage of people visiting the area.
The statistic showing that 95% of respondents would recommend the site to a friend is positive and
demonstrates that the website is providing relevant and helpful information for the user.