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In Part 1, you learned about Google
Trends and how to research the interests of vacation and holiday
travelers. We used the tool to compare different travel types, and to determine
their relative popularity and seasonal trends over multiple years.
In Part 2, we'll analyze searches for different types of
destinations such as parks, beaches, museums and golf courses. Remember, our
research assumes that Google searches indicate travel behavior. The information we discover will help us
understand the interests of travelers around the world.
So what types of destinations do travelers want to visit? To
start finding the answer, go to Google Trends
(see the address at the end of this article) and submit this search: "national
park, state park, county park, regional park" (with the commas but without the
quotes). When the page reloads, you'll see a line graph of the search phrases
over multiple years. The relative heights of the lines show that national and
state parks are more popular than county and regional parks. The peaks and
valleys of the lines show that interest is seasonal, with interest highest in
June and July (meaning summer in the northern hemisphere) and lowest in
December.
The lower half of the page shows the regions and cities
where the searches originated. For example, interest in national parks is high
in South Africa, Australia, New
Zealand and the USA.
Now let's look at search results for other destination
types. Because the y-axis on the graph is relative, we will use "national park"
as a constant in the comparisons. That way we can compare, for example, beaches
vs. theme parks without having to submit them in the same search. This is
necessary because Google Trends only allows the comparison of five phrases at a
time.
As we try different destination types, we'll see that some
destinations are less popular than national parks. For example, search for
"national park, theme park, water park, scuba diving,
ecotourism". Some of the destination types reach their highest popularity in
July, such as the strong peak for water parks and the weaker peak for theme
parks.
Now try "national park, shopping mall, shopping center, ski
area, ski resort". These last four destination types have peaks of varying
height in December.
To drill down into more detail, you can pick specific
destinations such as this search: "national park, Disneyland , Disney World, Six Flags, Sea World". Note the relatively continuous
popularity of the Disney parks and Sea World throughout
the year, while Six Flags gets the most interest
in July.
Camping and campgrounds are seasonal, of course, with
strongest interest in July. More interesting is the fact that "camping" (meaning
the activity or perhaps the type of equipment) is much more popular than
"campground" (the place). Try it yourself: "national park, camping, campground".
Golf courses and golf clubs
have similar popularity and seasonal trends (with strong peaks in July) to
national parks. To see for yourself, search for "national park, golf course,
golf club".
Other destinations are much popular than national parks,
such as in this search: "national park, beach, mountain, museum". Beaches have
a wide range of seasonal interest, with a peak in July and lowest interest in
December, though beaches remain more popular than any other destination type.
The seasonal trend of mountains and museums is mostly flat, except mountains
have a wide peak from December to February (ski season?) and museums have a
sharp peak at the end of December (school break?).
Looking deeper into the seasonal popularity of beaches, we
can see it depends on the beach's distance and direction to the equator. For
example, where summers are hot and winters are cold, beaches tend to be more
popular during summer-such as the USA
in August or Australia
in December. Where temperatures are more constant (such as in Hawaii), beaches remain popular throughout
the year. Try it yourself: "Sydney beach, Mexico beach, Hawaii
beach, Texas
beach, France beach".
Using these research techniques, you will better understand
the interests of travelers around the world.
Dan Salas is a software
engineer, Web developer and occasional world traveler. To find places to visit
and things to do on your next vacation or holiday, visit his Web site at http://www.AreWeThereYetMap.com.
The address for Google Trends is http://www.google.com/trends.
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