Youth vs. seniors. Different needs in travel

We will first look at the male to female ratio of people searching for "tourism."
This survey was conducted using Dockpit, VALUES' online behavior analytics tool that enables users to analyze competitor websites and research trends using behavioral data updated monthly in their browsers.

For those in their 20s, 52.6% of people searching are female, indicating that women make up the majority. In contrast, 61.2% of those in their 60s and over are male. It appears that among seniors, more men actively search for "tourism.”

So, how long do people spend on a website that they visit after searching "tourism"?

While visitors in their 20s spend an average of only 58 seconds on the website, visitors in their 60s and over spend an average of 2 minutes and 15 seconds, more than twice the amount of time.

The difference in time spent on the website may be due to the fact that people in their 20s are more accustomed to gathering information online and quicker to find the information they want or judge and realize that information they are looking for is unavailable on a webpage or website.

Which days of the week is "tourism" search for the most?

A higher percentage of people in their 20s and 60s and over are searching on Saturdays and Sundays, but the biggest difference is observed between weekdays and Saturdays. The percentage of people in their 20s is much higher on Saturdays and Sundays, while the percentage of people in their 60s and over exhibits a moderate increase.

Compared to people in their 20s who work on weekdays, people in their 60s and over who are retired are searching regardless of whether it is on weekdays or weekends.

We saw that the percentage of people searching on Saturdays and Sundays is highest, but what time of day are searches conducted?

The percentage of people in their 60s and over searching is higher during the daytime from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In contrast, the percentage of people in their 20s increases sharply from 8:00 p.m. As with the day of the week, the time of search also seems to be related to daily activity patterns such as work.

12:00 p.m. having the lowest percentage of people in their 60s and over may be due to the fact that many have lunch at this hour.

When advertising, it seems it would be more efficient to post based on the behavioral patterns of each target segment.

Next, we will explore keywords that are searched in combination with "tourism." The keywords that are searched in combination refers to the terms that are entered in the search bar with the main keyword (“tourism”); e.g. "tourism + [additional keyword]."

For people in their 20s, names of the region that are searched in combination with the main keyword stood out.

Among the region names, urban areas, including Osaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Fukuoka, are the most commonly searched.
With "model course" in third place, it appears that there is also demand for visiting classic sightseeing spots.

On the other hand, while people in their 60s and over did search some region-related keywords, they don’t have as many ranking high as it does for the ranking for people in their 20s.
Since keywords like "recommended" and "ranking" ranked in, unlike people in their 20s who already have a specific place they want to go sightseeing, people in their 60s and over seem to need to search for places to visit.

The keyword "model course" dominating the ranking is noteworthy. Compared to the keyword in the No. 2 place, "model course" had six times the number of searches. "Model course" also appears in the ranking for people in their 20s, but there may be more people in their 60s and over who want to visit classic sightseeing spots.

In addition, keywords like "map" in 7th place and "car" in 9th place which did not rank high among people in their 20s, suggesting that places that you can drive to are popular among people in their 60s.

Next, we will look at websites that are visited when searching "tourism."
First, the top websites for both people in their 20s and 60s and older were characterized by a large number of hotel reservation websites.

A distinctive feature of websites visited by people in their 20s was the ranking of "RETRIP," a curation website that shares information for outings.
A curation website is a website that organizes information based on a theme.

Example:
・A list of sunflower fields in the Kanto region where you want to visit this summer
・A summary of recommended spots for a rainy season Kamakura date

The website publishes articles on sightseeing locations and shops according to themes such as "stylish cafés in the Kanto region." It also provides information on seasonal content and events, and it may be that people in their 20s tend to seek tourist information based on a theme, such as "places to go if you're looking for a stylish café."

Also ranked on the list was "TABIKOBO," a website that allows users to book tours both in Japan and overseas. Perhaps there is demand to travel abroad, which has been difficult to with the COVID-19 pandemic.

A distinctive feature of websites visited by people in their 60s and over was the ranking of "Yahoo! Loco," a web portal where visitors can search for food, places to visit, and other places to go.
A web portal is the first website visited when gathering information.

In terms of searching for travel destinations and shops, it may serve the same purpose as "RETRIP," which ranked among people in their 20s, but "Yahoo! Loco" lists out sightseeing spots and shops.

People in their 60s and over tend to look for recommended spots based on region rather than narrowing their search by theme like people in their 20s.

The tour reservation website "Club Tourism" also ranked. Club Tourism can book tours both in Japan and overseas.

The fact that "model course" was also ranked first in the aforementioned keywords searched in combination with "tourism" suggests that people in their 60s and over may prefer sightseeing with a somewhat fixed itinerary, rather than making their own plans in accordance to a particular theme.

We used the keyword "tourism" to research people in their 20s and those in their 60s and over and what they were interested in when it comes to "tourism."

We found that those in their 20s tend to prefer theme-based tourism, whereas those in their 60s and over have a greater need for a travel itinerary and tours with somewhat of a fixed course.
In addition, it seems that the days and hours of the week when people tend to research online to gather and consider information differ between age groups.

▼Data from Dockpit was used in this case study. Dockpit is an online behavior analytics tool provided by VALUES, Inc., and it allows you to access online behavioral data (updated monthly) via your browser so you can research competitor websites and investigate trends. There is a FREE version of Dockpit, so if you are interested in using it, please register below.