Effectively marketing dog friendly holidays to dog owners in the uk

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

Declaration I declare that the entirety of this project, titled “Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK� is the result of my own work. It is submitted to the University of Chichester, under the guidance of Mr Graham Bailey, senior lecturer in Marketing at the University of Chichester and after submitting an ethical research review form seen in appendix one. The project, artefact and its process are submitted as part of my undergraduate degree of BA Marketing and Tourism Management (hons). All references have been correctly acknowledged and the authors accredited. The work and results of this undergraduate thesis have not been submitted previously, to any other university or institute.

Date: 01/05/18

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my academic supervisor Graham Bailey for his knowledge and support throughout this research project. I would also like to thank all my lecturers for their advice and expertise throughout my university process but in particular; Jennie White, Andy Clegg and Jorge Gutic. Conclusively, I would also like express my appreciation for my peers, friends and family who have been a continuous support throughout my university career.

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

Abstract UK dog-owners are rising in numbers and the UK’s domestic tourism sector represents a majority of the UK’s total tourism. It is clear there needs to be a link made between the two statistics to sustain and potentially grow the economic and social benefits of destinations with high quality tourism features suitable for dog owners. However, development and marketing recommendations are seemingly hard to come by for businesses and organisations in the tourism sector. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to analysis and evaluate ways that dog friendly destinations in the UK can effectively market themselves to dog-owning tourists.

The research design includes primary and secondary research, with primary research in the form of an online questionnaire. The actual sample size being 708 participants. Secondary research was conducted to identify key themes in the project and compare primary research to previous data.

Finding have been presented in an industry video presentation, which suggests recommendations from the research findings to tourism-based businesses and organisations. A copy is available from the researcher at edowner@stu.chi.ac.uk.

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

Table of Contents Declaration................................................................................................................................. 1 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 2 Abstract...................................................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents....................................................................................................................... 4 Table of Figures ......................................................................................................................... 7 Table of Tables .......................................................................................................................... 7 1

2

3

Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................... 8 1.1

Author Background ...................................................................................................... 8

1.2

Research Rationale ..................................................................................................... 8

1.3

Research Scope .......................................................................................................... 9

1.4

Research Scope Constraints ....................................................................................... 9

1.5

Decision-Making Process............................................................................................. 9

1.6

Research Aim .............................................................................................................10

1.7

Research Objectives ...................................................................................................10

Chapter 2: Literature Review..............................................................................................11 2.1

Chapter Synopsis .......................................................................................................11

2.2

The economic value of dog owning tourists ................................................................11

2.3

The economic value of domestic tourists in the UK .....................................................11

2.4

The decision-making process of dog owners ..............................................................12

2.5

The decision-making process of domestic tourists ......................................................14

2.6

Destinations and businesses that have earnt strong appeal with dog owning tourists .16

2.7

Tourism development and marketing plans in the UK .................................................19

2.8

Advice on increasing dog owning tourism numbers in the UK .....................................19

Chapter 3: Methodology .....................................................................................................20 3.1

Chapter Synopsis .......................................................................................................20

3.2

Research Paradigm ....................................................................................................21

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 3.2.1

Research Assumptions ........................................................................................21

3.2.2

Research Epistemology .......................................................................................22

3.2.3

Research Ontology ..............................................................................................22

3.3

3.3.1

Research Strategy ...............................................................................................22

3.3.2

Research Method ................................................................................................23

3.3.3

Sample Size ........................................................................................................23

3.3.4

Time Horizon .......................................................................................................23

3.4

Data Collection tools ...................................................................................................24

3.4.1

Secondary Research ...........................................................................................24

3.4.2

Primary Research ................................................................................................24

3.5

4

Research Design ........................................................................................................22

Quality Criteria ............................................................................................................27

3.5.1

Reliability .............................................................................................................27

3.5.2

Validity .................................................................................................................27

3.6

Data analysis ..............................................................................................................27

3.7

Limitations of the research design...............................................................................28

3.7.1

Ethical Issues.......................................................................................................28

3.7.2

Access Issues ......................................................................................................28

Chapter 4: Results and analysis .........................................................................................29 4.1

Chapter Synopsis .......................................................................................................29

4.2

Respondent Overview .................................................................................................29

4.3

To assess the value of dog owning tourists to the UK. ................................................31

4.4

To identify the decision-making process of dog owning tourists. .................................32

4.5

To discover how UK destinations and businesses can earn a stronger appeal with dog

owning tourists. .....................................................................................................................35 5

Chapter 5: Discussion of results, conclusions and recommendations ................................38 5.1

Recommendations ......................................................................................................38

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 5.2

Reflection on Personal Learning .................................................................................38

Reference List ...........................................................................................................................40 Appendices ...............................................................................................................................53 Appendix One: Ethical Research Review Form .....................................................................53 Appendix Two: Adapted Relevance Tree...............................................................................61 Appendix Three: Literature Review Checklist ........................................................................62 Appendix Four: Google Trends Related Queries ...................................................................63 Appendix Five: Benchmarking Dog-Friendly Businesses .......................................................64 Appendix Six: Advice on increasing dog owning tourism numbers in the UK .........................66 Appendix Seven: Pilot Study Review .....................................................................................68 Appendix Eight: Bristol Online Survey (BOS) Questionnaire ..................................................69 Appendix Nine: GANTT Chart ...............................................................................................84 Appendix Ten: Crosstabulation Results of Question 4 and Question 6 ..................................85 Appendix Eleven: Crosstabulation Results of Question 11 and Question 12 .........................86 Appendix Twelve: Proportional Symbol Map of Regions that Respondents View as Desirable and Accessible Destinations for a Holiday with Their dog(s) ..................................................87 Appendix Thirteen: Crosstabulation Results of Question 9 and Question 10 .........................88 Appendix Fourteen: Gibbs Reflective Model ..........................................................................89

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

Table of Figures Figure 1.1: Decision-Making Process Model. ............................................................................10 Figure 2.1: Typical demographic of people who like dogs and enjoy dog walking. ....................12 Figure 2.2: How did people use the internet to help make their purchase decision? ..................16 Figure 3.1: The Research Onion. ..............................................................................................20 Figure 3.2: Production and use of theory...................................................................................21 Figure 4.1: Age Range and Gender of Respondents .................................................................29 Figure 4.2: Who respondent’s dogs belong to. ..........................................................................30 Figure 4.3: Would respondents be more likely to swap a holiday abroad for a holiday in the UK accompanied by their dog, if there were more/ better options ...................................................32 Figure 4.4: Why respondents prefer to take their dog on holiday ...............................................33 Figure 4.5: Kruskal-Wallis test on the number of dogs owned and the frequency of holidays ....34 Figure 4.6: Reasons why respondents do not take their dog(s) on holiday ................................35 Figure 4.7: Mean ranking of importance of dog-friendly aspects at a destination.......................36 Figure 4.8: How respondents locate dog-friendly accommodation.............................................37 Figure 4.9: Mean ranking of products influence on decision-making process of respondents booking a holiday with their dog(s) ............................................................................................37

Table of Tables Table 3.1: Sample sizes for alternative confidence and error levels. .........................................23 Table 3.2: Questionnaire questions and response types. ..........................................................25 Table 3.3: Description of data types. .........................................................................................27 Table 4.1: Chi-square test on respondents living situation and input on holiday plans...............30 Table 4.2: Chi-Square test on amount respondents are will pay and their holiday choices ........31 Table 4.3: Chi-square test on frequency of holidays with dog and car only holidays .................33

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

1 Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Author Background The author is a final year undergraduate on the BA Marketing and Tourism Management (hons) degree. Tourism Management and Marketing play an equal part in the project, combining her studies with her fondness for animals. Having conducted numerous projects throughout her degree based around the decision-making process and destination management, the author has a genuine interest in the project and as Ghauri and GrØnhaug (2005, p.47) state: “personal and professional experience are often the source of a research problem”.

1.2 Research Rationale Pizam (2010) identified the need for more information regarding the decision-making process, the perceptions of service quality and basic needs of pet owners choosing accommodation, not only to service the accommodation sector but the hospitality sector in general. In the UK, 72% of dog owners would be influenced to increase their holidays if the attitude towards dogs was improved, with 16% also claiming they would pay at least £200 more to accommodate their pet (NCTA, 2017). In 2017 there was an estimated 8.5 million dogs in the UK (RSPCA, 2018), with a considerable 24% of households owning at least one dog (Statista, A, 2018). This provides a big opportunity for destinations across the UK where domestic tourists can easily transport their pet by car.

80% of the UK visitor economy is comprised of domestic tourism (Visit Britain, 2018) and travel within the UK is steadily increasing following the Brexit vote and the fall in the exchange rate (Anstey, 2017). This will increase the 2.9 million dog owners who would swap holidays abroad for a dog friendly holiday in the UK ensuing an increase of dog friendly options. In 2015, this was projected as a potential “£5.8 billion boost to the economy” (The Kennel Club cited in Pet Web Site, 2015), which means that with further research and developments, the UK could derive financial benefits.

A survey in Australia found that although the desire of dog owners to take their pets with them was high, the fulfilment of this desire was low (Carr and Cohen, 2004). With such a large percentage of owners strongly desiring more options, destination management organisations and local enterprise partnerships should be generating strategies for their areas. However, advice for those in the tourism sector seeking to increase dog owning tourists is lacking, meaning that this project has a strong research problem (Ghauri and GrØnhaug, 2005, p.44).

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

1.3 Research Scope The focus of this thesis is to clearly identify the decision-making process and needs of dog owning tourists and suggest how dog friendly destinations can be productively developed and marketed to this segment. Best practice and Key Performance Indicator’s (KPI’s) will be determined and the theory of dog owner’s decision-making process will be identified to assist business managers in their decision making (Ghauri and GrØnhaug, 2005, p.36). The value of this market will be assessed through primary and secondary research and a development and marketing advisory video will be created to assist businesses and organisations in the tourism sector seeking to increase their level of dog owning tourism.

1.4 Research Scope Constraints The data captured through primary research will be targeted at a population representation, with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5% if the desired rate of respondents is achieved. The questionnaire is self-completion which could be problematic if respondents have difficulty answering a question, but the risk of this constraint can be lessened through a pilot study (Bryman and Bell, 2011, p.241: Ghauri and GrØnhaug, 2005, p.131).

This project does not incorporate the views of non-dog owning tourists and the impact of their opinions. “Before advocating or embarking on any expansion of dog-friendly accommodation it is important to recognise the potential impact of such a move on non-dog owning tourists” (Carr and Cohen, 2004, p.16). However, time and word restrictions mean that this has not been incorporated into this project.

1.5 Decision-Making Process Identifying the decision-making process of dog owning tourists is key to this research project.

Blackwell et al’s (2001) decision-making process model (figure 1.1) underpins this theme throughout the dissertation although theory has also been taken from Brassington and Pettit’s (2000) decision-making model and the ZMOT, FMOT, SMOT model as referenced in chapter 5.

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

FIGURE 1.1: DECISION-MAKING PROCESS MODEL. SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM (BLACKWELL ET AL, 2001).

1.6 Research Aim The aim of this thesis is to investigate what developments and marketing strategies could be implemented by businesses and organisations, in order to develop the UK as an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable destination for dog owning tourists. This aim will be met when the following objectives have been reached;

1.7 Research Objectives 1. To assess the value of dog owning tourists to the UK. 2. To identify the decision-making process of dog owning tourists.

3. To discover how UK destinations and businesses can earn a stronger appeal with dog owning tourists.

4. To establish a development and marketing advisory video to increase dog owning tourist numbers, aimed at UK businesses and organisations.

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

2 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Chapter Synopsis Secondary research enables the researcher to determine a basis for the research question, structure the research design, identify the best practice of collecting data and analyse the data in a knowledgeable way (Bryman and Bell, 2011, p. 100). The key themes of this project have been established using ‘relevence trees’, a model designed to identify key words as adapted from Saunders et al (2016) - the adapted model can be seen in appendix two. Key research areas explore all areas of the project objectives and identify where case studies and best practise should be examined. The literature review has been checked against a checklist adapted from Easterby-Smith et al (2015, p.41) as seen in appendix three.

2.2 The economic value of dog owning tourists As mentioned in the research rationale, The Kennel Club identified a £5.8 billion potential increase to the UK’s economy through development of dog friendly tourism (Pet Web Site, 2015). Pizam (2010) is one of many researchers to suggest removing barriers and improving accessibility to dog owners wishing to take their pets away, could dramatically increase their presence in all tourist-based organisations. This constantly growing market led Canada to develop a nationally recognised pet-friendly tourist accommodation certification programme (Carr and Cohen, 2004). Taking a pet on holiday is likely to add to the overall price of the holiday, however research suggests that dog owners have the funds to afford the price difference. The disposable income per capita of pet owners in the USA is $32,856 (Statista, B, 2018) and 41.9% of dog owners in Australia have a minimum annual income of $80,000 with 13.3% willing to pay more than 25% increase on their holidays to have their dogs accompany them (Carr and Cohen, 2004). If these figures correlate with pet owners in the UK, there is a profitable market yet to be fully invoked. It is likely that this market is there - 16% of dog owners in the UK have claimed that they would pay at least £200 more to take their dog on holiday with them (NCTA, 2017). Obviously owners may have to pay a fee to not take their dog on holiday if they choose to place them in kennels or with a dog sitter.

2.3 The economic value of domestic tourists in the UK Domestic visitor spending accounted for 82.6% of travel and tourism’s direct contribution to the UK’s GDP in 2017, with foreign visitor spending only accounting for 17.4% (Statista, D, 2018).

The total expenditure for domestic tourists in the UK in 2017 was £136.2 billion. This is

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 predicted to rise to £163.5billion by 2028 (Statista, C, 2018). Bank holidays can be a catalyst for staycations - 7% of the population were predicted to generate £800million one bank holiday weekend in 2012 (Eleftheriou-Smith, C, 2012). With domestic tourism responsible for a large percentage of the UK’s economy, it could be expected that there is a sizable budget for marketing to this segment. However, the 2012 tourism minister John Penrose said, "We spend as a nation between £100million and £150million, partly through taxpayer money and partly through industry investment, on the outbound market, but we have done nothing for the domestic market" (Eleftheriou-Smith, A, 2012). VisitEngland chief James Beresford also identified that “overseas tourist boards spent £52million in the last financial year trying to seduce Brits overseas, while hotels, airlines and tour operators spent an additional £116million for the same purpose” whilst defending a £5million campaign to encourage domestic tourism (Eleftheriou-Smith, B, 2012). As identified by these industry leaders, there is a lack of spending to attract domestic tourists and therefore a potential to widen the market with suitable development and marketing.

2.4 The decision-making process of dog owners Figure 2.1 shows the typical demographic of people in the UK who like dogs and enjoy dog walking which will be similar to the demographic of dog owners in the UK. However, the

FIGURE 2.1: TYPICAL DEMOGRAPHIC OF PEOPLE WHO LIKE DOGS AND ENJOY DOG WALKING. SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM (YOUGOV, A, 2016: YOUGOV, B, 2016).

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 disposable income suggested is a lot lower than the disposable income for dog owners in Australia and the USA identified in section 2.2.

Pet owners are tenacious with their spending, as the recession did not affect the amount they spent on their animals (VisitScotland, 2016). Owning a dog is not a cheap hobby – costing between £9,250 and £25,400 across the dog’s lifetime (Statista, M). The economic cost is forgiven as owners benefit from their pet’s intangible values. 95% of dog owners believe that owning a dog makes them happy and 84% believe that it makes them physically and mentally healthier (Statista, N). Over 50% of male pet owners also claim that their pet causes feelings of faithfulness and tenderness (Statista, J, 2018). A dog is increasingly looked upon as a family member and an investment, this gradual change in dog owner’s lifestyles is leading to a growth is dog-related consumption points (Dotson and Hyatt, 2008).

93% of pet owners purchase treats and toys regardless of the costs while over 56% of these owners also get their pet groomed and have had professional pet photography. This luxurious lifestyle makes it unsurprising that 15% of the respondents take their pets away with them - this increases to 24% when just looking at millennial respondents (Trupanion, 2017). In comparison 48% of Canadian dog owners said they take their pet on holiday (Statista, H, 2018) but the age ranges did not affect results (Statista, I, 2018). This demonstrates that dog friendly holidays appeal to most owners, although millennials may be more interested, especially as they tend to have children at a later age (Roepe, 2017).

Suitable areas for pets to release energy are essential in a dog friendly destination as 63% of dog owners they take their dog on a 31 minute or longer walk per day (Statista, O) and Royal Parks in London saw 2.17 million dogs visit each year in 2013/2014 (Statista, L).

Dogs are the favoured road trip companion of 14% of US dog owners (Statista, G, 2018), the attitude tends to be that if the dog isn’t invited the owner won’t go (Dotson and Hyatt, 2008). The entire holiday for 30% of owners is based around how suitable the destination is for their pet however 55% think it is easier to travel with a baby than their pet (Frontline cited in VisitScotland, 2016). In the UK 9% of owners have holidayed with a pet, while two-thirds (62%) would be more likely to go on holiday where they knew their dog would be welcome (Benjamin, A, 2017). Innovation from service suppliers can increase needed accessibility for this demographic.

It is generally easier for tourists travelling with dogs to find dog friendly campsites than catered or self-catered accommodation (Carr and Cohen, 2014). 69.9% of respondents to a US survey

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 claimed that they choose well-known, pet friendly destinations when travelling with their dog (Statista, F, 2018) whilst 50.3% of travellers who travel with their dogs identified that the petfriendly policies and amenities at their accommodation are very important. 23% of 18 to 34-year olds are likely to use pet friendly amenities at hotels, higher than 13% of 35 to 49 year olds and 8% of 50 to 67 year olds (Statista, E, 2018).

UK holidays are popular with pet owners. ‘Pet friendly’ hotels in Scotland are searched for 91% more than ‘romantic’ hotels and ‘dog friendly’ pubs 85% more than ‘romantic’ restaurants (VisitScotland, 2016). The city that generated the most searches for ‘dog friendly’ over the last 14 years is Plymouth, closely followed Derby, Northampton, Norwich and Bristol. However, if the data is confined to the last 12 months, Plymouth and Bristol are still in the top five but the others have been replaced by Edinburgh, Sheffield and Cardiff. These destinations should be examined for benchmarking, for example most of the destination websites for these areas include dog friendly information.

48.8% of Australians find friends ‘very useful’ in locating dog friendly accommodation followed by the internet with 39%. Only 4.4% of respondents voted travel agents ‘very useful’ which demonstrates the pull away from brick and mortar travel purchasing. Furthermore, travel agents are generally used for outbound tourism (Carr and Cohen, 2014).

Google has seen a steady incline in searches for ‘dog friendly’ since 2004. Data shows the highest level of searches occur in August and hit the lowest in November, demonstrating the seasonality of domestic holidays in the UK. ‘Dog friendly cottages’ is the top related query; the full list including the top searched and breakout searches can be seen in appendix four (Google Trends, 2018).

Cars are the most popular mode of transport when taking dogs away in the UK – with 60% opting for this mode of transport, followed by train (15%), ferry (13%) and airplane (5%). France meanwhile topped the list of dog-friendly holidays abroad, accounting for 35% of trips. Spain is in second place followed closely by Germany. (Benjamin, A, 2017).

2.5 The decision-making process of domestic tourists People who enjoy going on day trips are typically female, aged 18-24, in the social grade ABC1 and have £125-£499 monthly disposable income (YouGov, C, 2016) This demographic differs from the demographic identified for people who like dogs in 2.4 which shows dog-owning tourism cannot be strictly defined to one segment and the demographic of tourists to individual destinations should also be considered.

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 Seaside resorts still prevail within the domestic tourism industry, 31% of domestic holidays in England were taken at the seaside in 2012 (Visit England, 2013), and 33% of British people spent their main holiday in the UK in 2015, showing that there is more to the UK holiday than the staycation. This figure is strengthened by those visiting friends and family (Davies, 2016).

However, Seaside resorts are floundering long-break destinations, instead relying on shortbreaks and day-trips (Brech, 2000).

According to Davies (2016) friends and family are the most reliable sources people turn to when booking holidays with 61% of holidaymakers turning to them and 41% turning to travel websites however 95% of the UK population are active internet users (Market Finder, 2016) and 70% of the UK population have first exposure to a product via online research (Market Finder, 2016).

77% of internet users use the internet to make long distance ground travel purchases and 79% of them to make hotel bookings (Customer Barometer, A, 2015). Although online research is the most popular research method, 82% of respondents who had booked ground travel and 85% of respondents who had booked accommodation used a mixture of online and offline research prepurchase (Customer Barometer, B, 2015). The most popular way for these purchasers to hear about the product was through previous experiences demonstrating how important good service is (Customer Barometer, C, 2015). Figure 2.2 shows how the internet is used in the purchasedecision for hotels and ground travel - comparing products and generating ideas is commonly done online showing the importance for positive reviews and experience marketing.

Computers are the most used device when completing product research for ground travel and hotels, but this does not mean that smartphones and tablets should be overlooked, especially with current product growth. Consumers are likely to use a mixture of the three devises throughout the decision-making process (Customer Barometer, E, 2015: Statista, M, 2018: eMarketer, 2013).

Smartphones are extremely important once the holiday has been booked. Travellers ‘can’t-waitto-explore’ moments begin when they get excited about the experience and want to investigate activities. These moments continue at the destination as nearby experiences are identified, searches on smartphones whilst at a hotel increased 26% from 2015 to 2016. Searches online such as ‘dog friendly near me’ should not be underestimated as smartphones are location aware and searches for ‘places to eat near me’ more than doubled 2015 to 2016 (Think with Google, 2016). The UK generates 17 million monthly searches related to ‘dogs’ and ‘tourist attractions and destinations’ on google - $0.56 is AdWords recommended bid for CPC’s of relevant keywords in the UK. (Market Finder, A, 2018).

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 The purchase path for travel purchases is 13.2 days on average (Qubit cited in Davies, 2015) although converting is a difficult step for business in the tourism sector as there is an 82.7% basket abandonment rate (SaleCylcle cited in Davies, 2015).

FIGURE 2.2: HOW DID PEOPLE USE THE INTERNET TO HELP MAKE THEIR PURCHASE DECISION? SOURCE: (CONSUMER BAROMETER, D, 2015).

2.6 Destinations and businesses that have earnt strong appeal with dog owning tourists The market for dog owners is diversifying and this can be seen through the increase in the number of pubs, cafes, hotels, transport companies and walks that are becoming more pet friendly to increase their business (VisitScotland, 2016), appendix five displays best practice of organisations in these sectors.

The American Hotel and Motel Association estimated that more than 20,000 accommodation providers in the U.S. accept pets. Luxury hotels offer more than just somewhere to sleep including pet massages, maps of the local area amended to show dog friendly activities and

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 ‘puppy pagers’ to keep owners in contact with their pets, however this is not commonplace. It is clear there is a gap in the luxury tourist market to accommodate dog owners needs and create a luxury experience for both man and dog. With previous research suggesting spending on pets is a lucrative industry, the combination of spoiling owner’s dogs whilst they are pampered themselves is an important sector.

It is not only the luxury accommodation sector in need of some innovation, best practice can be followed from cottage providers that have joined up with other sectors such as Cottages.com creating a print competition with PDSA and Billmac Cottage Guest Suites providing dog accessories to their guests branded with their logo. Their marketing campaigns show the power of partnering with other businesses and using promotion through different mediums that the organisation may not offer, but are also of value to dog owners. Reviews are also a powerful tool, especially if they are from the desired market segment. A holiday cottage in Britain enlisted the help of a pooch and owner reviewer team to help identify the best dog-friendly places they could offer (Calnan, 2015).

Pub owners that have built up a healthy rapport with local dogs have commented on how dogs tend pull their owners into the pub, without much of a struggle from their owners. One pub in Suffolk mentioned how dog owners spend longer reading through the ‘Mutts Menu’ than their own, although this does not generate a lot of profit, having the menu brings in a lot of business.

Other pubs throughout England have also had similar success stories but are keen to stick to their rules – pubs should have policies on how, when and where dogs are allowed in their pub, just like they do for children. To keep a healthy balance many pubs have separate areas where dogs are allowed so that those with allergies or who prefer to sit separate from the pooches can do so. Many of these pubs offer water bowls and signs outside to attract dog owners but do not except badly behaved dogs and often use anti-bacterial spray on the outside of their building to deter dogs from fowling (Mellows, 2012).

Café Bones targeted those living alone with their dog in a big city creating the go to place for local dog owners. Restrictions must be navigated such food and accommodation hygiene laws, creating dedicated spaces for dogs separate from food preparation areas is one solution.

Airlines have different rules about the transportation of animals with some only allowing pets in the hold, whilst others are not allowed at all. Midwest Airlines even have a frequent flier program for pets (USA Today cited by Dotson and Hyatt, 2008). Of those that are transported in the cabin there are occasionally horror stories such as a dog being put in the overhead locker and not surviving the flight on a United Airlines flight that charges $125 per animal (Gajanan, 2018).

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 Incidents like this led to airlines like United Airlines to suspend their pet carrying services (Peters, 2018). These incidents reflect the fragile nature of including dogs in a business plan – the comfort and practicality for the animal must be taken into consideration.

The risk is lowered in other situations, in the airport for example before stressed passengers are due to depart, therapy dogs have been introduced in over 30 U.S. airports and many in Canada (Bach, 2017). These dogs help lower travellers stress levels which will make their experience more enjoyable (Chew, 2016) – this is shown to be a reason why dog owners are so keen to travel with their own pets.

The world’s first dog passport photo booth was introduced in 2017 in the UK to make it easier for dog owners to have the suitable travel documents for heading abroad (Benjamin, A, 2017).

Dog owners are likely to purchase many travel products for their pets as it makes their journeys easier (Gardyn cited by Dotson and Hyatt, 2008) showing why Honda’s dog accessories were introduced.

Aside from the accommodation and the travel sector, there is a gap for dog friendly versions of tourist activities and attractions. There was a call from the stars of film ‘Isle of Dogs’ for more dog friendly screenings to be held. Bill Murry identified how dog days at baseball parks are already very successful and went on to suggest that cinemas should follow the trend (Lang, 2018) and breakaway adventures offered three dog walking tours throughout the French Alps after receiving many requests Jaccarino 2006).

The key feature to take away from More Than’s campaigns described in appendix five, is that each is an exciting, interactive experience for dogs whilst educating and informing owners on how to have the best experiences with their dogs. If their pet is relaxed and having a good time the owners are likely to have a better time.

Kruft’s engagement with twitter generated 47,450 tweets and 8.8 million impressions in a threeday period demonstrating the value of social media (Nottingham, 2016). The creators of dogfriendlybritain.com created their site due to dog owners not being clear on where they are welcome in Britain. They described how many owners will shuffle past establishments, unaware if their dog will be accepted or not and in return many dog friendly business loose the opportunity to earn a lot more money from these potential customers. One benefit for organisations joining their website is a door sticker, alerting passing dog owners that they are welcome in their building (Roberts and Croft, 2007).

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

2.7 Tourism development and marketing plans in the UK Visit Britain is a large user of social media, of all Destination Management Organisation’s (DMO’s) on twitter, Visit Britain had 66% distribution of tweets in 2011 (Hays et al, 2012). To improve their service for the 2012 Olympics, VisitBritain relaunched their website improving features such as maps (Brownsell, 2010). VisitEngland had £3 million of their £10 million preOlympic campaign funded by the department of culture, media and sport (Eleftheriou-Smith, A. 2011) which focused on building a sense of pride among consumers (Eleftheriou-Smith, B. 2011). Unfortunately, the Olympics had a negative effect on domestic tourism with travellers avoiding ‘busy’ areas (Eleftheriou-Smith, E, 2012).

VisitEngland’s largest domestic campaign called on celebrities such as Rupert Grint and Julie Walters to show off the British Isles. The £5 million marketing campaign TV campaign pushed the idea that ‘holidays at home are great’ (Eleftheriou-Smith, D, 2012). This marketing campaign was replaced by one featuring family favourites Wallace and Gromit (Reynolds, 2013). Visit Devon has also launched successful TV marketing campaigns (Charles-Kay, 2009).

Make it York attracted over 100,000 people to a free family Easter festival in 2016 providing large marketing opportunities for local businesses (Getmemedia, 2017), a dog friendly festival could be a good opportunity for dog friendly businesses. A good festival incorporates music music is a large draw for UK tourists (VisitEngland, 2018) with festivals taking place all over the country however negative comments such as Blackpool losing touch with its dancing roots (Campaign, B, 2005) are damaging to domestic tourism.

2.8 Advice on increasing dog owning tourism numbers in the UK Appendix six is a table reflecting all literature containing advice that is relevant to increasing dog owning tourism numbers in the UK divided into developments that can be made and marketing strategies that can be implemented. DMO’s can ensure they have covered all aspects mentioned on DogFriendly.com to responsibly promote dog-owning tourism numbers in their area (GOCVB, 2014).

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

3 Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Chapter Synopsis The methodology describes in detail the measurements that have been taken to gather the research data as well as illustrating the ethicality, validity and reliability of the project. The quality of the methodology has a direct result on the quality of the data that is gathered (Ghauri and GrĂ˜nhaug, 2005, p.75). This chapter includes the justification for the methodological strategy that has been applied to this research project to meet the aim and objectives set in chapter one.

Saunders et al (2003, p.83) research onion underpins this research projects methodology. The model compares a methodology to an onion as there are six important layers that peel away to reveal one after another. Figure 3.1 shows the model with the research type for this thesis identified in each layer.

FIGURE 3.1: THE RESEARCH ONION.

SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM (SAUNDERS ET AL ADAPTED BY DUDOVSKIY, 2017).

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

3.2 Research Paradigm There is a recurrent argument throughout research literature on whether theory comes before research and vice versa. In one instance the problem is developed from the theory and on the other the observations are made, and the theory is created from the assumptions. Figure 3.2 shows the balance that should be implemented between the two strategies as answering questions or conducting analysis through research may lead on to further explanations or methods (Ghauri and GrĂ˜nhaug, 2005, p.36). This is the research paradigm that this project is underpinned on.

FIGURE 3.2: PRODUCTION AND USE OF THEORY. SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM (GHAURI AND GRĂ˜NHAUG,2005).

3.2.1 Research Assumptions It is essential for a researcher to remain objective when completing a research project.

However, it is inevitable that the researcher will make assumptions related to their knowledge, reality and role. Ontological assumptions are the assumptions made about any facts found whilst conducting research, epistemological assumptions are taken from the researchers own knowledge whilst methodological assumptions are the directions that the methodology goes in due to the researchers on beliefs. Any assumptions made can affect the research project including the data collection tools chosen and the questions that are asked, therefore it is important that critical thinking is enforced, and the researcher is aware of their own assumptions (Hathaway, 1995).

21

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

3.2.2 Research Epistemology Epistemological considerations relate to the discussion of whether social sciences could or should be able to use the same methodology style as natural sciences. The classic epistemology for the natural sciences is positivism, but the principles, procedures and values do not apply comprehensively to this research project. Interpretivism epistemology is most suitable for this project as it focuses on qualitive research that seeks to understand human behaviour not to explain it (Bryman and Bell, 2011, pp.26-28). This is the role of the interpretivist; to make meaningful sense of the research participants motives, actions and interpretations (Saunders et al, 2016, p. 84).

3.2.3 Research Ontology The nature of this research project is constructionism as the social entities are being considered intangible repeated states of construction and reconstruction (Bryman and Bell, 2011, p. 32).

3.3 Research Design Although deductive theory is the more common, this project is conducted around an inductive approach as it has not been stared with any predetermined theories or a hypothesis to be tested (Bryman and Bell, 2011, pp.23-26). In this approach theory tends to follow data but as identified in 3.2, it is important to find a balance where previous knowledge and theory help to identify the problems. One of the most essential differences between deductive and inductive theory is that researched participants are generally treated more ‘human’ in inductive research rather than robots who respond in a computerised fashion (Saunders et al, 2003, p.87).

3.3.1 Research Strategy Data for this research project is being collected through a mono method qualitative study. This research strategy has been selected as it identifies the emotional opinions and ideals of a research respondent and is a reliable source in social sciences as the knowledge collected is relative and not absolute (Saunders et al, 2003, p.38). Data triangulation will be implemented as results will be taken at different times and be from different sources. Due to time and research limitations this will be the only triangulation. The research project is of a cross-sectional design as data will be taken in one-time frame. Furthermore, the only patterns of association will be between the variables (Bryman and Bell, 2011, p. 62).

22

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

3.3.2 Research Method The method for this research project is through an explanatory survey method. The justification for this is that the researcher is seeking ‘how’ to effectively market to dog owning tourists, the research phenomenon is contemporary, and the researcher has no control over the phenomenon A structured survey would allow for sufficient data to be collected however there should be the scope for respondents to fill in ‘gaps’ with information that may have been missed in preliminary research or explore further topics if the respondent wishes (SOPHIE, 2015: Saunders et al, 2003, p.248: Brassington and Pettitt, 2000).

Implementing a survey strategy for this thesis means that a generous amount of data can be collected from a substantial number of the population in an economically effective way (Saunders et al, 2003, p.92). Opinions and attitudes can be gained from dog owning tourists which is the key to meeting the objectives of this project (Ghauri and GrØnhaug, 2005, p.124).

3.3.3 Sample Size It is not possible for the entire population of dog owners in the UK who like to travel to be surveyed therefore a suitable sample size needs to be calculated. As of March 2018, the population of the UK was 66,468,797 people (Worldometers, 2018) and according to research 24% of households in the UK own at least one dog (Statista, A, 2018). If one assumes that there is one person per household then a population size of 15,952,511 people can be identified for this research project. Table 3.1 shows the sample sizes for this project when various confidence levels and margin of error percentages are calculated. The most realistic number of respondents that will respond in the fairly short time frame and still give a representative sample is 384, which would give the results a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5%. If more people respond these percentages could increase.

TABLE 3.1: SAMPLE SIZES FOR ALTERNATIVE CONFIDENCE AND ERROR LEVELS.

Margin of Error

3% 5%

Confidence Level 95% 1067 384

99% 1849 666

3.3.4 Time Horizon Survey data needed to be collected by the 11th of April 2018 to ensure time for analysing and completion of the thesis before the due date. This supports the use of cross-sectional design selected in the research strategy as time limitations mean that there is only time to conduct the

23

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 survey once (Bryman and Bell, 2011, p.61). The GANTT chart for the complete research project can be seen in appendix nine.

3.4 Data Collection tools The first stage of data collection is identifying what information is needed and determining the best tools to compile it (Brassington and Pettitt, 2000, p.224).

3.4.1 Secondary Research The secondary research gathered for this research project can be seen in chapter two.

Systematic searching led to a variety of sources being collated including published data such as government documents and published journal articles and commercial sources such as business magazine articles. The key themes identified and discussed in the literature review led to the development of the questions asked in primary research (Ghauri and GrĂ˜nhaug, 2005, pp. 100-101).

3.4.2 Primary Research The outstanding survey data tool to collect attitude and motivations data of a representative size is a structured questionnaire (Ghauri and GrĂ˜nhaug, 2005, pp. 105-106). Non-probability sampling is the best approach for the questionnaire as the researcher does not have access to the complete population of dog owners in the UK to approach statistically random research participants (Saunders et al, 2003, p.170). A self-selection sampling technique is applied as the questionnaire will be advertised on social media sites such as Facebook in dog-friendly groups and other channels that are popular with dog owners throughout the UK. This sampling method provides a large opportunity to gain respondents but may take a risk that those who self-select will do so due to strong opinions on the questionnaire topic. However, the questionnaire topic is seeking opinions and the responses are likely to be from varied attitudes. Word of mouth spreading of the questionnaire will also lead to snowballing sampling (Saunders et al, 2003, pp.176-177).

The questionnaire is self-completion and on-line as it will be administered through Bristol Online Survey. The justification for this is that a high number of respondents can be reached and there is a high chance that the respondent will fill it in themselves and not get someone else to do it for them (Saunders et al, 2003, pp.282-287).

Most of the questions are closed questions as these are easier to compare than open questions (Ghauri and GrĂ˜nhaug, 2005, p.128). Table two lists the questions that appear in the final

24

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 questionnaire and identifies what data will be collected for each question: whether they are qualitative or quantitative and what measurement scales are used (S. Stevens, 1946). The question types are also identified according to Saunders et al (2003, pp. 291-298).

TABLE 3.2: QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONS AND RESPONSE TYPES. Question

Questionnaire Question

Number

Type of Response

Respondent Profile 1.

What is your gender?

Qualitative

Nominal

Category

1a.

If you selected Other, please specify:

Qualitative

Nominal

Open

2.

What is your age range?

Quantitative

Ordinal

Category

3.

How many dogs do you currently own?

Quantitative

Interval

Category

3a.

If you selected Other, please specify:

Quantitative

Interval

Open

4.

Please indicate your living situation.

Qualitative

Nominal

Category

5.

Who does your dog (dogs) belong to?

Qualitative

Nominal

Category

5a.

If you selected Other, please specify:

Qualitative

Nominal

Open

6.

How much input do you have on holiday

Qualitative

Ordinal

Rating

Qualitative

Nominal

Category

Ordinal

Rating

Quantitative

Ordinal

Rating

Quantitative

Ordinal

Rating

Quantitative

Interval

Category

Quantitative

Interval

Rating

Qualitative

Nominal

List

Qualitative

Nominal

Open

plans?

7.

What size would you describe your largest dog as?

8.

9.

Respondent Frequency How often do you go on holiday (including Qualitative short breaks)?

On these holidays, how often does your dog accompany you?

10.

How often do you travel on holiday only by car (including short breaks)?

11.

Respondent Budget How much extra would you spend to allow your dog to accompany you on holiday?

12.

How much of your holiday choices are based around your dog?

13.

Why do you not take your dog(s) on holiday with you? (select all that apply)

13a.

If you selected Other, please specify:

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 14.

14a.

Respondent Activities Would you prefer to take your dog on Qualitative holiday with you?

If yes, why would you prefer to take your pet on holiday? (Select all that apply)

14i.

If you selected Other, please specify:

15.

Please rank 1-5 the importance of these at

Nominal

Category

Qualitative

Nominal

List

Qualitative

Nominal

Open

Quantitative

Ordinal

Ranking

Qualitative

Nominal

List

Qualitative

Nominal

Open

Nominal

List

Qualitative

Nominal

Open

Qualitative

Nominal

Category

Quantitative

Ordinal

Ranking

a destination when booking a holiday where your dog is accompanying you (1 being least important, 5 being most important) 16.

Which of these do you view as desirable and accessible destinations for a holiday with your dog(s)? (select all that apply)

16a.

If you selected Other, please specify:

17.

Respondent Influence How would you locate dog friendly Qualitative accommodation? (select all that apply)

17a.

If you selected Other, please specify:

18.

Would you be more likely to swap a holiday abroad for a holiday in the UK accompanied by your dog, if there were more/ better options?

19.

How much influence would these products have on your decision-making process of booking a holiday with your dog? (1 being least influence 5 being most)

There will be an opportunity for respondents to supply their email to enter a prize draw to win a dog hamper. The winner will be drawn randomly after all data is collected and contacted through their email address. The incentive is lottery style and something that will appeal to the desired respondents and be a stimulus to increase response rates. The prize is not necessarily of monetary value to the respondent and is not of an incredibly high value, so respondents should be emotionally interested in the questionnaire (Porter and Whitcomb, 2003: (Ghauri and

26

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 GrØnhaug, 2005, p.124). To be completed in the time limitations, the questionnaire will be open for respondents from the 27th March 2018 to the 11th April 2018. The online respondent facing version of the questionnaire can be seen in appendix eight.

3.5 Quality Criteria 3.5.1 Reliability The internal reliability of the questionnaire is strong as questions have been set to ‘required’ meaning respondents cannot move to the next page until they have answered all questions.

This tactic will ensure the consistency in responses to questions so test re-test and alternative form tactics will not need to be implemented (Saunders et al, 2003, pp. 309-310).

3.5.2 Validity A pilot of the questionnaire could help identify any problems with questions (UK Data Service, 2018) therefore there a pilot questionnaire on 26th March 2018 was held in which a small number of respondents known to the researcher provided feedback on the quality and ease of the questionnaire. The three required respondents identified grammatical and thematical missteps which could be modified before the launch of the questionnaire the following day (Ghauri and GrØnhaug, 2005, p.131). The pilot study review that improved the questionnaires content and face validity can be viewed in appendix five (Saunders et al, 2003, pp.308-309).

3.6 Data analysis The data types collected are a mixture of three of the four data types shown in table 3.3, these are linked to the measurement scales identified in table 3.2. Discrete data will not be collected.

Suitable data will undergo analysis on Bristol Online Survey and SPSS. Microsoft Excel will be used to create graphical analysis and Piktochart to create visual graphics.

TABLE 3.3: DESCRIPTION OF DATA TYPES. SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM (SAUNDERS ET AL, 2003, PP.329-330).

Level of numerical measurement

Data type

Measurement Scale

Descriptive

Nominal

Ranked

Ordinal

Continuous

Interval

Discrete

Ratio

Categorical

Quantifiable

27

Brief Description Non-numerical category data.

Non-numerical ranked data.

Numerical ranked data.

Precise numerical data.

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

3.7 Limitations of the research design 3.7.1 Ethical Issues This studies data collection is aligned with the Data Protection Act (1998) and an ethical research review form has been submitted as seen in appendix one, the ethical stance of the researcher is universalism Informed consent will be applied through a consent statement (seen in appendix eight) at the start of the interview to comply with the data protection act and ethical guidelines (UK Data Service, 2018). The consent information will state that only participants aged 18 or over should complete the questionnaire to ensure ethical conduct. By continuing with the questionnaire after reading the consent information, respondents are consenting for data collection. If respondents wish to partake in the prize draw they can consent by inputting an email address into the required box.

All data will be stored on encrypted and password protected USB drive to ensure confidentiality (Saunders et al, 2003, pp. 129-138). Emails for the prize draw will be stored in a separate folder to the project data and winners for the prize draw will be contacted through their email for a delivery address.

Fellow students and family members of the researcher may complete the survey, but their results will be uninfluenced, and results will not be discussed until all data is collected. All data will be anonymous, and participants have the right to withdraw at any time. Any personal information collected in interviews will be protected under the data protection act (GOV, 2017).

3.7.2 Access Issues The consent information will state that only dog owners and those that live in the UK should complete the questionnaire. Response-bias may be a problem as dog owners may want to portray themselves in a certain way, but this can be fixed by ensuring the questionnaire is anonymous (Bryman and Bell, 2011). Non-response-bias may be an issue as dog owners may not complete the questionnaire (White and Rayner, 2014, p.82) but this can be overcome with the incentive of entering a prize draw to win a dog hamper.

28

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

4 Chapter 4: Results and analysis 4.1 Chapter Synopsis In this chapter the data collected through primary research is presented, analysed and compared to data found in secondary research. Descriptive and inferential statistics are graphically displayed to meet the research needs of this project’s objectives (Ghauri and GrĂ˜nhaug, 2005, p.157).

4.2 Respondent Overview The sample size collected was 185% of predicted with 708 response participants. This larger sample size raises the confidence level to 99% with a 5% margin of error (table 3.1). There is a gender research bias as of the respondents, 635 were female and only 71 were male. Figure 4.1 is a cross tabulation stacked column chart showing the age and gender spread of respondents. Although the largest age range is 18-27, there are a considerable number of respondents in the other age categories aside from those over 68. This may be due to these age ranges not owning as many dogs or not having access to the online questionnaire.

FIGURE 4.1: AGE RANGE AND GENDER OF RESPONDENTS SOURCE: QUESTION 1 AND QUESTION 2 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 TABLE 4.1: CHI-SQUARE TEST ON RESPONDENTS LIVING SITUATION AND INPUT ON HOLIDAY PLANS SOURCE: QUESTION 4 AND QUESTION 6 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

Chi-Square Tests Asymptotic Value

df

Significance (2sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

466.530a

24

.000

Likelihood Ratio N of Valid Cases

424.390 708

24

.000

A chi-square comparative test was conducted on question 4 and question 6 of the questionnaire (table 4.1) which found p(<.0005).0.05 proving that the variables are significant to each other.

Therefore, the living situation of the respondent affects their input on holiday plans. 90.2% of respondents that live alone also have complete control of their holiday plans – other ways the values affect each other can be seen in appendix ten. The input that the respondents have on holiday plans will alter the knowledge they have on decision-making questions.

FIGURE 4.2: WHO RESPONDENT’S DOGS BELONG TO. SOURCE: QUESTION 5 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

Nearly half of the respondent’s dogs are family pets as seen in figure 4.2. Of the four ‘other’ responses, dogs belonged to a mixture of the options, although one was a working dog.

30

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

4.3 To assess the value of dog owning tourists to the UK. In research conducted by the NCTA, it was found that 16% of UK dog owners are willing to pay at least £200 more to be able to take their dog away with them (NCTA, 2018). This correlates with data from this project as 13.6% of respondents are willing to pay more than £200. Only 33% of respondents are not willing to pay more than £50.

A chi-square comparative test was conducted on question 11 and question 12 of the questionnaire (table 4.2) which shows that there is significant association between the amount of money respondents would pay to take their dog on holiday and how much of their holiday choices are based around their dog. Appendix eleven shows how 46.3% of respondents who claim all their holiday choices are based around their dog are willing to pay £250 or more to allow their dog to accompany them. Alternatively, 46.9% of respondents who claim none of their holiday choices are based around their dog would not pay anything extra to allow their dog to accompany them. This shows the importance of engaging dogs in holiday plans of tourists and that customers who want to take their dog on holiday are likely to be willing to large amount of money to accommodate them.

TABLE 4.2: CHI-SQUARE TEST ON AMOUNT RESPONDENTS ARE WILL PAY AND THEIR HOLIDAY CHOICES

SOURCE: QUESTION 11 AND QUESTION 6 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

Chi-Square Tests Asymptotic Significance (2Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio N of Valid Cases

df

sided)

68.769a

24

.000

58.804

24

.000

708

Most of the respondents would be more likely to swap a holiday abroad for a holiday in the UK accompanied by their dog, if there were more/ better options, as seen in figure 4.3. This supports research in the literature review (section 2.2 and 2.3) that suggests there is a large gap in the market for tourists who want to take their dog on holiday with them but do not feel they can.

31

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

FIGURE 4.3: WOULD RESPONDENTS BE MORE LIKELY TO SWAP A HOLIDAY ABROAD FOR A HOLIDAY IN THE UK ACCOMPANIED BY THEIR DOG, IF THERE WERE MORE/ BETTER OPTIONS SOURCE: QUESTION 18 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

87% of respondents would prefer to take their dog on holiday with them. Of the 13% who would not, a further 77.2% of respondents would not be likely to swap a holiday abroad for a holiday in the UK with their dog if there were better options. This analysis shows that those who would not swap a holiday abroad are more likely to not want to holiday with their pet in the first instance.

4.4 To identify the decision-making process of dog owning tourists.

Research in Australia found that the most popular reason owners would prefer to take their dog on holiday with them is that they are part of the family, with 110 out of 311 respondents selecting that option (Carr and Cohen, 2004). As seen in figure 4.4, this project supports this as 537 of 616 respondents that prefer to take their dog on holiday with them selected this option.

Other reasons respondents gave for wanting to take their pet included the dogs not being suitable to be left with anyone else, that the respondents holidays include dog agility events and that â&#x20AC;&#x153;my dogs deserve a holiday tooâ&#x20AC;?.

Appendix twelve shows a proportional symbol map of regions that respondents view as desirable and accessible destinations for a holiday with their dog(s). This was created by finding the square root of the number of respondents that selected each destination, then multiplying by 0.05. The most popular destination was Wales with 445 respondents selecting it whilst only 42 respondents selected London. The destinations that did not receive a high number of selections, such as London and Northern Ireland, should work to identify why this is and how they can develop and improve their marketing for dog owning tourists. Benchmarking can be followed from destinations such as Wales and South West England that are popular with dog owners.

32

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

FIGURE 4.4: WHY RESPONDENTS PREFER TO TAKE THEIR DOG ON HOLIDAY SOURCE: QUESTION 14.A (QUESTIONNAIRE).

Question 16a had 23 responses that detailed where respondents take their dog(s) on holiday.

Three respondents specified Cornwall as an ideal destination whilst seven respondents listed places in Europe such as Spain and Italy, UK islands such as the Isle of Wight and Isles of Scilly also had favourable mentions.

TABLE 4.3: CHI-SQUARE TEST ON FREQUENCY OF HOLIDAYS WITH DOG AND CAR ONLY HOLIDAYS SOURCE: QUESTION 9 AND QUESTION 10 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

Chi-Square Tests Asymptotic Significance (2Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio N of Valid Cases

df

sided)

884.861a

16

.000

762.456

16

.000

708

A chi-square comparative test was conducted on question 9 and question 10 of the questionnaire (table 4.3) which shows that there is significant association between how often dogs accompany the respondents on holiday and how often they travel on holiday only by car.

33

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 As seen in the crosstabulation results in appendix thirteen there is a direct link between the frequency of the two variables – destinations and businesses should therefore target tourists travelling to their destination by car and improve dog related services for them – such as having a secure car park.

A Kruskal-Wallis test was completed on question 3 and question 8 of the questionnaire as seen in figure 4.5. As proven, the number of dogs owned has a direct relationship with the frequency a dog owner goes on holiday. The respondents that selected ‘other’ to the question on the number of dogs owned all had five or more dogs. 66.67% of these respondents ‘not often’ go on holiday whilst none go more than three times a year. This may be that five or more dogs are not a practical number of dogs to travel with, there are not many tourism organisations that cater to this number of pets. Accommodation providers seeking to identify a niche market may develop an opportunity by creating accommodation that can easily facilitate these dog owners. There is also a gap for transport operators as one respondent identified, their licence is not valid when there are 8 dogs in the car.

FIGURE 4.5: KRUSKAL-WALLIS TEST ON THE NUMBER OF DOGS OWNED AND THE FREQUENCY OF HOLIDAYS

SOURCE: QUESTION 3 AND QUESTION 8 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

45.1% of respondents describe their largest dog as ‘medium sized’ with 24.4% describing their largest dog as ‘small sized’ and 30.5% describing their largest dog as ‘large sized’. A chi-square test was conducted to see if there is a relationship between the size of the respondent’s largest dog and the frequency of the dog(s) accompanying the respondent on holiday. From the analysis, p>0.05, which means the variables are not significant and the size of a dog does not affect how often an owner will take it on holiday.

34

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

4.5 To discover how UK destinations and businesses can earn a stronger appeal with dog owning tourists.

The reasons that dog owners do not take their dog on holiday with them can provide hints for organisations on how to develop and market themselves to meet the segment’s needs. Figure 4.6 shows the reasons that owners do not take their dog on holiday and the number of respondents that the reasons apply to. Transport issues was predictably high rated as there are few airlines that offer pet transport that are accessible to UK tourists. A lack of suitable accommodation being a problem for 191 respondents highlights the need, and the gap in the market, for dog friendly accommodation of a suitable quality. 102 respondents selected other and detailed their alternative barriers to travel with their pet. The main theme identified is that owners worry about the health of their dog and whether it would be ‘fair’ to take their dog on holiday due to car sickness, the dogs anxiety or the climate of another destination. Other key themes included the limitations that taking a dog can bring such as dogs not being accepted at eating places and museums. 10 of the respondents believe that taking their dog(s) adds stress to the holiday and many others engage in activities such as snowboarding, skiing and cruising that are not practical for a dog.

FIGURE 4.6: REASONS WHY RESPONDENTS DO NOT TAKE THEIR DOG(S) ON HOLIDAY SOURCE: QUESTION 13 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

Figure 4.7 shows the mean ranking of importance of dog-friendly aspects at a destination. The order of importance should be considered by destinations and improvements should be made starting with developing and marketing dog-friendly walks in the area. A secure garden at a destination is often overlooked by accommodation providers but this could be key to increasing the number of tourists, businesses such as pubs and cafes should not overlook this as they may

35

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 have outside space that can be secured. Comments provided in the questionnaire developed the idea that dog friendly beaches are rare to find, and when they are they are smelly and untidy or too small. Respondents have also had access issues as they have found dog-friendly beaches inaccessible to those in wheelchairs or elderly owners. One respondent identified beaches, such as some in Cornwall, ideal. These beaches ban dogs throughout the day and permit tourists with dogs to use them at less busy times in the evening, a high tide usually washes away any uncollected dog â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;messâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; throughout the night.

FIGURE 4.7: MEAN RANKING OF IMPORTANCE OF DOG-FRIENDLY ASPECTS AT A DESTINATION SOURCE: QUESTION 15 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

The most popular way respondents locate dog-friendly accommodation is through review sites as seen in figure 4.8. These findings support the secondary research that suggest review sites and friends are the most used ways of identifying dog-friendly holiday destinations (Carr and Cohen, 2004: Davies, 2016). Word of mouth both online and offline are essential to the decision-making process of tourists and therefore imperative to the success of tourism companies, proving the experiences offered and customer relationship management needs to be of a high standard. Question 15a also identified that internet searches such as google are

36

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 also carried out and booking site Air BnB is popular with dog owners alongside other search specialist websites such as the Dog’s Trust and Pet’s Pyjama’s.

FIGURE 4.8: HOW RESPONDENTS LOCATE DOG-FRIENDLY ACCOMMODATION SOURCE: QUESTION 17 (QUESTIONNAIRE) Of the three products suggested to respondents that may influence their decision-making process of booking a holiday with their dog, a destination website is the most popular as seen in figure 4.9. However, a mail to order booklet and an app were also ranked highly suggesting there is a market for each product and destinations should identify which product would be most suited to their audience, or even better, implement all three.

FIGURE 4.9: MEAN RANKING OF PRODUCTS INFLUENCE ON DECISION-MAKING PROCESS OF RESPONDENTS BOOKING A HOLIDAY WITH THEIR DOG(S) SOURCE: QUESTION 19 (QUESTIONNAIRE).

37

Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

5 Chapter 5: Discussion of results, conclusions and recommendations The conclusion to this research project is an artefact in the form of an industry video presentation. The video clarifies the value and decision-making process of dog-owning tourists in the UK and makes recommendations on how UK businesses and organisations can develop and market themselves effectively to this segment. For the video presentation please contact the researcher.

5.1 Recommendations The next stage of this research would be to conduct research on the usefulness of the artefact in industry. This would be done by contacting various businesses in different sectors such as DMOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, accommodations providers, transport providers and attractions and receiving their feedback on how they are implementing on the information.

Similar research studies have found that females are more likely to respond to surveys around dog ownership (Murray et al, 2010) so further research into maleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspectives on these themes could be further researched, however it is not identified if there are also males in these female respondentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s households.

Research should also be conducted into the views of non-dog owning tourists on sharing spaces with dogs. One respondent to question 13a said how they find accommodation can smell when dogs stay, there are other dog owners and non-dog owners who would agree with this. Bad experiences can lead to negative interpretation of dog-friendly facilities. Best practice by businesses looking to increase their dog-owner tourism levels can ensure that all customers are fully satisfied, but there is a stigma that needs to be investigated and recommendations that must be identified to keep both dog-owners and non-dog owners happy, such as increasing dog waste bins areas (Carr and Cohen, 2004, p.16).

Seasonality is a recurring topic throughout all tourism sectors and one that should be partnered with dog-owning tourists in the UK to identify their behavioural patterns. This would allow further insight to organisations and allow them to perform more economically.

5.2 Reflection on Personal Learning This personal reflection is underpinned by Gibbs reflective cycle (1988) which can be seen in appendix fourteen. My interest in this research project has increased as my knowledge has

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622 developed. Creating an academic thesis alongside an industry-based artefact has enabled me to embrace and develop various skillsets. I have had to present findings in both statistical and descriptive ways, design and create an engaging questionnaire with academic justifications and read and identify the value of a mixture of academic and operational anthologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

Tools such as SPSS analytics, creating graphs in excel and developing an industry video presentation are all employability skills that will help me in my future careen in marketing and tourism. Alongside project planning skills such as creating a GANNT chat, the abilities that I have developed throughout this thesis have in turn, developed me into a more confident, employable, soon-to-be-graduate.

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Effectively Marketing Dog Friendly Destinations to Dog Owners in the UK 1502622

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Statista. D. (2018). ‘Distribution of travel and tourism's direct contribution to GDP in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2014 to 2017, by visitor origin’, Statista [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/597889/travel-and-tourism-gdp-contribution-share-by-originunited-kingdom/ (Accessed: 25th February 2018).

Statista. F. (2018). ‘When you travel with your dog, do you typically choose well-known petfriendly cities or destinations?’, Statista [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/380540/importance-of-pet-friendly-policies-to-leisuretravelers-us/ (Accessed: 26th February 2018).

Statista. G. (2018). ‘Favorite road trip companions of United States travellers as of May 2014’, Statista [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/301071/favorite-road-tripcompanions-of-travelers-us/ (Accessed: 28th February 2018).

Statista. H. (2018). ‘Share of pet owners who take their pet on vacation in Canada as of April 2013, by pet type’, Statista [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/468226/share-of-pet-owners-who-take-their-pet-on-vacationby-pet-type-canada/ (Accessed: 28th February 2018).

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Statista. J. (2018). ‘Ranking of feelings caused by dogs and cats in men according to their owners in France in 2016’, Statista [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/765876/feelings-causes-cats-dogs-in-men-according-toowners/ (Accessed: 28th February 2018).

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Appendices Appendix One: Ethical Research Review Form

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Appendix Two: Adapted Relevance Tree

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Appendix Three: Literature Review Checklist Topic, aim and scope are identified Relevance of the topic is indicated Context of the topic is established There is a clear understanding of relevant terms and concepts shown Includes appropriate material and states why the material was selected Key resources and landmark studies are covered Includes up to date material Existing research is summarised and evaluated The relationship between theory and empirical research is addressed; main methodologies are identified.

Existing research is synthesised in a way that opens a new perspective.

The reviewer shows a reflective approach when detailing the analysis undertaken for the review Appropriate quotations and examples are used to justify the main arguments The review meets expected standards of academic writing (references, spelling etc.)

Adapted from: (Easterby-Smith et al, 2015, p.41).

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Appendix Four: Google Trends Related Queries Related search term dog friendly cottages cottages dog friendly hotels dog friendly pubs dog friendly holiday dog friendly hotel dog friendly uk dog friendly holidays accommodation dog friendly accommodation dog friendly holiday cottages dog friendly beaches dog friendly cornwall cornwall holiday cottages dog friendly beach dog friendly cottage dog friendly devon dog friendly wales dog friendly lake district dog friendly b&b lake district dog friendly pub dog friendly places dog friendly self catering

Search ranking 100 98 74 56 54 35 35 35 32 31 31 31 31 30 30 25 22 20 19 17 16 16 16 16 15

Breakout search terms dog friendly places dog friendly restaurants dog friendly bed and breakfast dog friendly lodges dog friendly cottages wales dog friendly cottages devon dog friendly cabins dog friendly luxury cottages dog friendly cottages lake district cottages in cornwall dog friendly cottages norfolk dog friendly cottages in cornwall dog friendly caravan parks norfolk cottages dog friendly log cabins caravan holidays dog friendly hotels lake district dog friendly york dog friendly holiday parks dog friendly short breaks dog friendly cottages dorset dog friendly hotels scotland dog friendly pubs near me dog friendly cottages in wales dog friendly brighton

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Appendix Five: Benchmarking Dog-Friendly Businesses Company/ Organisation Beverly Hills Hotel

Lowes hotels

The Peninsula Chicago

Billmac Cottage Guest Suites in New Jersey

Cottages.com

The New York Dog Spa and Hotel Midwest Airlines Honda

Café Bones in Sydney

Winalot

Best Practice Example Accommodation Guest dogs are welcomed with their own custom-made beds, inscribed ceramic bowls and personalised treats.

Supply a map of the area showing dog friendly walks and owners are supplied with a ‘puppy pager’ so if they leave their dog in the room they can be reached immediately. There are plenty of other special services such as a supervised swim or a hike with a personal trainer just for the family pet.

Offers pet massages and a dog room service menu. A guidebook series named ‘The Dog Lover’s Companion’ has been developed to guide owners to restaurants, shops, hotels, amenity’s, parks and beaches that are welcoming to dogs across the country and suggests which tourist attractions are most suited for visiting pets.

Have found doggie scarves serve as a great way to generate repeat business as well as providing clients with a free accessory that promotes the cottages to all that approach their dog. This is not the first marketing accessory the business has presented, they also provided a local restaurant with six coffee mugs with the idea that customers to the restaurant who may not know of the dog friendly accommodation will become aware.

Joined up with PDSA to advertise a competition in Metro newspaper where entrants could win a mini-break with their pet and get to be a “vet for a day”.

To avoid breaking health legislations related to having dogs inside a café, they divided their second floor in two to create an area for dog and human food preparation and a lounge area for owners and pets complete with its own trees.

Transport Have a frequent flier program for pets.

Designed a car for dog owners in 2005 alongside a line of “Travel Dog” accessories.

Café’s/ Restaurants Became the go to place for local dog owners as it offered food and drink for both dog and owner such as a ‘Pupaccino’ for thirsty dogs. This idea makes use of ‘third spaces’, the areas used for socialising that are needed in urban areas where there is an increase in people living alone.

Dog Products Dog Food chain launched a £12million marketing campaign that featured the first lenticular insert postcard competition. Readers of ‘Essentials’ had to “spot the ball” in freezeframe staring Winalot’s face of the company, Holly the Golden Retriever. Scratch cards along the same theme also appeared in ‘Woman’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ where readers scratched to reveal where they thought the chewed frisbee would be. Prizes included a weekend at a dog friendly hotel. The campaign was specifically interactive to grab attention in a “cluttered market” but platforms for the campaign included press, posters and online.

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More Than

Fetch and Follow

Dog’s Trust

VisitScotland

Promoted their pet insurance scheme by creating a temporary bus tour for dogs throughout London. Steve Jay the head of innovation for the company identified that “Animals are an emotional subject, so we've created an activation that aims to appeal to people's emotions and inspire them to think about keeping their dogs active as well as having fun.” The bus tour showed off London’s dog walking hotspots and provided owners with leaflet information on where to find the best dog friendly pubs and restaurants to relax in after their walk. This campaign followed on from the world’s first ever art exhibition for dogs hosted in 2016. Over 400 dogs and their owners attended over two days and dogs participated in interactive exhibits such as ‘Cruising Canines’ – a car window simulator where dog friendly scents such as fish and old shoes were fanned through the windows of a car recreation. Another popular exhibit was a 10ft dog bowl filled with over 1,000 balls that looked like chunks of dog food. All art on display was created in yellow, grey and blue to fit dogs colour vision and were displayed at dog’s eye level whilst scented to attract attention. Meanwhile owners were educated from veterinary experts on the best mental and physical stimuli that they can provide their dog.

The dog lifestyle brand recently presented their first Christmas market for dogs which featured all things doggy including dog friendly cupcakes and dog-themed human gifts. A pop-up studio was also on sight for professional photography of dogs and their owners.

The charity hosted a MicroChippy pop up event in London in 2016 to inform owners on the importance of microchipping their dogs and to raise money for the organisation. The temporary diner encouraged owners to eat alongside their pets as the humans feasted on real hot dogs the pooches enjoyed biscuits shaped into hot dogs. Non-slip bowls and beanbags ensured the comfort of the dogs throughout the night and the dogs trusted handed out yellow bandanas showing their logo.

DMO’s Identified the importance of dog owning tourists and took the step to implement a pet-friendly page on its consumer facing website that enables tourists to search for and book holidays throughout Scotland.

Sources: (Mclaughlin, 2003: Jaccarino 2006: O’Neil and Anderson, 2004: Zorgen, 2007: USA Today cited by Dotson and Hyatt, 2008: VisitScotland, 2016: Headlight Vision, 2003: Campaign, A 2004: Benjamin, 2016: Benjamin, C, 2017: Benjamin, B, 2017: Carter and Deighton, 2016: Smith, 1998: VisitScotland, 2016. Sapsford cited by Dotson and Hyatt, 2008).

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Appendix Six: Advice on increasing dog owning tourism numbers in the UK Recommended by • VisitScotland (VisitScotland, 2016).

Market Finder (Market Finder, B, 2018).

Davies for Kantar (Davies, 2015).

Chen et al for the International Journal of Tourism Research (Chen et al, 2013).

Barth for Planning (Barth, 2016).

Zorgen for Successful Promotions (Zorgen, 2007).

• • • • • • •

• • • •

NCTA (NCTA, 2018).

• • •

Recommendation Developments Provide secure access away from roads, parking options, facility requirements and/or a small greenspace for the pets to relieve themselves.

Greet the dog and offer a bowl of water.

Conduct research on the dog market.

Ensure various and commonly used payment methods are available.

Increase communications with customers about products and services.

Follow laws e.g. no dogs in food preparation areas.

Partner with brands outside of the tourism sector to engage with consumer trends and technology such as augmented reality.

Provide information needed by pet owners, e.g. nearby accommodation, transportation, areas and activities for dogs and owners and the locations of toilets (with and without washing facilities).

One acre of off-leash park/beach per 15,000 owners.

“Dog-friendly fencing, dog appropriate surfacing, fresh water, and “airlock” gates—a two-gate system to prevent canines from escaping into the neighbourhood while people enter and exit the fenced area.”

Introduce wearable merchandise such as doggie scarves, fleeces, reversible bandanas and dog coats.

Consider Providing: Dog bowl at the entrance of the business, an area (and towels) to towel down a damp dog, dog treats, dog bed/basket in bedroom, a secure garden, a supply of waste bags, a lounge room where dogs are welcome, a selection of leads, a dog sitting service, pet-friendly soft furnishings, a welcome pack containing a personalised card, dog treats, paw mat, bottle of water, dog bowl, towel, toy and a map recommending places to explore, beaches, parks and walks and a list of local dog-friendly attractions. E.g. from website www.doggiepubs.org.uk.

Staff should greet both owner and dog.

Factor a deep clean into the room rate.

Consider a separate area for dogs around food. Make it clear where they are and are not allowed.

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• VisitScotland (VisitScotland, 2016).

Chiswick for the DMA (Chiswick, 2013).

Market Finder (Market Finder, B, 2018: Market Finder, C, 2018).

Brech for Campaign (Brech, 2000).

Brophy for YouGov (Brophy, 2018).

YouGov Profiles (YouGov, A, 2016).

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

NCTA (NCTA, 2018).

• • •

Volgger and Pechlaner for Tourism Management.

(Volgger and Pechlaner, 2014).

• • •

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Marketing Join organisations like Dugs Welcome www.dugswelcome.com/ - list your business on their website and get a sticker for the window. Place your own notice on the window which tells passers-by that you are dog friendly.

Ensure that your dog friendly information is easily visible on listings and your website.

Have a good website and social media sites e.g. SEO. Partner with voucher sites such as Groupon.

Have fliers in tourism offices, be listed in directories and ensure signage is up to date.

Identify keywords and improve SEO. Keep a strong brand identity.

Search advertising, display advertising, video advertising and app advertising.

Desensitise the business to external factors by building on the brand strategy and providing high levels of service quality and consistency.

Understand target markets.

Appeal to a dog owners lifestyle.

Investigate other interests of dog owners that can be exploited such as the interest in celebrity Paul O’Grady.

Display information on where the nearest patch of dog-friendly grass is.

Suggest suitable walks and identify where dogs must be kept on a lead.

Staff awareness of dog-friendly beaches, if and when restrictions apply, and accessibility.

On the website clarify areas of the business dogs are allowed in and whether they can be left in accommodation when the owner is not in the room.

Attract online customers by describing local dog friendly beaches, walks, parks, accommodation, open spaces and dog friendly places to eat and drink.

Make dog supplements clear (usually £10 to £20 per night).

Consider registering on sites such as: dogfriendly.co.uk, petspyjamas.com, dogpeople.co.uk and dogfriendlybritain.co.uk.

Link up with other dog friendly businesses in the area.

Advertise on DMO’s website and promote a dog friendly section and provide a dog-friendly press trip.

DMO’s should fully engage in marketing dog friendly material.

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Appendix Seven: Pilot Study Review

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Appendix Eight: Bristol Online Survey (BOS) Questionnaire

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Appendix Nine: GANTT Chart

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Appendix Ten: Crosstabulation Results of Question 4 and Question 6

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Appendix Eleven: Crosstabulation Results of Question 11 and Question 12

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Appendix Twelve: Proportional Symbol Map of Regions that Respondents View as Desirable and Accessible Destinations for a Holiday with Their dog(s)

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Appendix Thirteen: Crosstabulation Results of Question 9 and Question 10

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Appendix Fourteen: Gibbs Reflective Model

Description What happened?

Action Plan

Feelings What were you thinking and feeling?

If it arose again what would you do?

Conclusions What else could you have done?

Evaluation What was good and bad about the experience?

Analysis What sense can you make of the experience?

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Adapted from: (Gibbs, 1988).

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