Bicycling Tourist Preference Survey Results

In December 2011, Adventure Cycling's tours department issued a survey to assess the cycling preferences of touring cyclists to see if our tours were meeting the needs of current and potential new members. Thank you to all of our members and other bicycle travelers who took the survey. The results are in and we'd like to share some of the highlights.

From our survey and first-hand experience this year, our small group, self-discovery tours continue to be in demand. In fact, we have a record number of sign-ups for the 2012 tour season. Thank you for riding with us!

Of our 1801 survey respondents (72% male, 28% female), 52% were members and 48% were non-members; 82% of respondents were over age 50, 18% were under age 50 with 3% under age 30; 72% of our members have taken an Adventure Cycling tour in the last 5 years; 63% have taken tours with other bicycle-touring companies and 51% take an organized bike tour at least once per year.

The vast majority of respondents preferred a 5-7 day organized bike tour with 6-30 riders, camping with an occasional motel stay, a rest day to explore local culture and cuisine, and a daily mileage of 50-71 miles. These shorter tours fit nicely in the typical business vacation calendar -- a week plus 2 weekends. Most of Adventure Cycling's tour offerings fit within this model. When staying in motels, most respondents preferred to share a room with someone they knew prior to the tour and 20% preferred a single-supplement option. Adventure Cycling is exploring the single-supplement add-on as a standard amenity in the future.

A central element on our self-contained and van-supported tours is the shared-cooking experience. However, our tours survey, along with phone conversations and emails from participants, indicates that group cooking is not the preferred way of providing meals on these kinds of tours, mostly due to fears about a lack of skill or menu ideas. We are reviewing our current recipe book and exploring ways to ease the stress created by shared cooking.

For survey respondents, scenic landscapes and price were the most important factors in choosing a bike tour, with coastal and northern locations being the most popular.

We were surprised to find that 78% of respondents would consider riding cross-country in segments over the course of 3-4 years. They were especially keen on this type of extended adventure on the Northern Tier, TransAm and Pacific Coast bicycle routes. Based on these responses Adventure Cycling will explore adding segmented options to our epic tour offerings.

Thanks to all those who took the time to answer the survey. We look forward to hearing more from you in the future!

P.S. If you're interested in touring with us in 2012, sign up soon, our tours are filling fast.

Photo: TransAm 1976
Drawing by Greg Siple

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ON THE ROAD is written by the tours team -- Mo, Paul, Madeline, and Arlen -- tours specialists and intrepid bicyclists, covering all things related to Adventure Cycling's Tours Department. Our  2012 Tours  are filling up fast; grab a spot now!

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/02/bicycling-tourist-preference-survey.html

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