Interreg Experience - Kent Perception Research

With the gradual easing of Covid-19 restrictions, the tourism, leisure and hospitality industry is having to re-think how to move forward and rebuild business, demand and revenue. Many organisations, both nationally and locally are being forced to re-examine business operations and products, in order to survive, adhere to guidelines and respond to changing consumer behaviour. To survive, businesses need to adapt existing products, collaborate with others in and out of the sector, and reach out to new audiences to recover and drive business growth. The sector has also been shown to be particularly vulnerable due to the seasonality of the visitor economy demonstrating the need for development of off-season product to make businesses more resilient in the future. The pandemic has also significantly hit consumer confidence, altered perceptions, priorities and influenced consumer behaviour.

Every 4-5 years, Visit Kent carries out a visitor perceptions study to better understand the current and changed perceptions of Kent as a destination, our audiences and their expectations and needs. This research plays a crucial part in informing our strategies, our focus and planned activities and given the current climate, shaped not only by the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the implications of Brexit and the effect these events have on visitor perceptions, the learnings will support our efforts to rebuild the visitor economy and welcome visitors back to Kent safely.

Visit Kent is looking to carry out a new visitor perceptions study. For full details of the scope of this research and information on how to apply, please see the Project Brief.