British Travel Awards plans consumer data capture

Attitudinal data and details about consumer travel spending, holiday booking preferences, habits and perceptions of travel in today’s market is to be collected as part of the British Travel Awards voting process.   

Consumers who visit the BTA website from this week will be asked a series of survey questions in association with Lloyds TSB Cardnet as part of the voting for the 2008 awards.

Consumer-facing partners of the awards will encourage their audiences to vote and take part in the survey until September 30.  

With press and TV adverts, editorial features, programme promo slots, subscribed newsletters, direct customer mailshots, bus and rail posters and online marketing, the awards has a potential reach of more than 18 million consumers, organisers claim. This comes via the audiences of Lloyds TSB, The Sunday Times and Times Media, Sky Travel, Consumer Data and CD-Traveller, CBS Outdoor and TripAdvisor.

Newly appointed BTA’s chairman Roger Allard – chairman of All Leisure Group – said: “The data captured will provide a transparent and totally independent picture of the travelling public’s views and preferences towards the various booking options and types of holidays available. 

“The individually profiled data will also provide a snapshot of current consumer attitudes to holiday expenditure and the choices they are making as a result of the economic downturn for holidays in 2008 and beyond. 

“Under the terms of the BTA’s IOC licence, we will be making a proportion of this independently gathered data available to sponsors and supporters of The British Travel Awards after the event.”

Also new to the BTA’s board of directors is Christopher Photi, senior partner at travel specialist accountants White Hart Associates LLP.

He said: â€œBased on the numbers of calls and emails the team in the BTA office receives from consumers, we know that if a company uses the British Travel Awards ‘winner logo’ on their brochure or website this can influence the customer’s final booking decision. 

“The vast number of travel-interested consumers we are able to reach this year means that we can now find out what other factors they take into consideration when making holiday choices. 

“Apart from providing valuable profiled data for our industry partners, this information will also help to ensure that we maintain the relevance of The British Travel Awards categories going forward.”  

In addition to the consumer-facing partners, The British Travel Awards 2008 is supported by industry companies including Thomas Cook, Training for Travel, The ITT, Advantage Travel Centres, Sandals & Beaches Resorts, DoSomethingDifferent.com, Triton, P&O Ferries, GTA by Travelport, Avis, Hurtigruten, AITO, ResortHoppa, Bupa Travel Services, New Frontiers, Thomson, First Choice, Virgin Atlantic and TravelMole.

The open Voting and Survey stage for The British Travel Awards closes on Seotember 30. 

Training for Travel visited 1,000 agents last month to gather industry opinion on the awards categories.

This month nominees will be invited to complete criteria forms prior to the panel adjudication process in October. 

To vote online or to reserve your tables at the awards ceremony – November 6 at Battersea Evolution in London – visit www.britishtravelawards.com   Sponsorship enquiries to [email protected]