GeckoGo Travel Research

• High awareness of the iPad The results show that Apple’s marketing machine has done a very good job at creating buzz and brand awareness for the product. 71% of respondents said that they had heard of the Apple iPad, including 88% of American respondents.
• Solid interest in purchasing iPad
  
  14% of respondents said they were very interested in purchasing the iPad and 13% saying they were interested. This compares favorably to the iPhone, where 7% of respondents were very/extremely interested and 8% were interested prior to launch according to a Harris Interactive survey
• iPad seen as a potential netbook replacement Potential iPad purchasers (defined as respondents who were interested or very interested in the iPad) were most interested in using the iPad to browse the web (68% very interested), email (62% very interested), and view pictures (61% very interested). They also expressed a high interest in bringing the iPad with them on their travels (60% very interested). These functions overlap with key netbook functions. Heavy laptop users also expressed particularly high interest in the iPad, with 23% of them saying they were very interested in the iPad. 79% of heavy laptop users that were potential iPad purchasers were very interested in bringing the iPad with them on their travels.
• iPad is not really perceived as an eBook reader Despite talk of the iPad being a strong competitor to Amazon’s Kindle, respondents expressed limited interest in the iPad as an eBook reader. Only 37% of potential iPad purchasers said they were very interested in reading eBooks on the iPad. Reading eBooks came in 7th of the 8 activities we surveyed, and only beat playing games on the iPad for interest levels. Of all current eBook owners surveyed, only 25% said they were very interested in reading eBooks on the iPad and 29% said they were not interested in that.

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• Seeing the World Wonders, safaris and rain forest expeditions are the top experiences travelers are most interested in for a once-in-a-lifetime trip. 70% of respondents said they are most interested in visiting natural and man-made wonders on a once-in-a-lifetime trip such as Machu Picchu, the Pyramids or Victoria Falls. Beyond that, 53% said they were very interested in going on safari and 42% were very interested in a rainforest expedition. Extreme sports - like sky diving - proved less popular with only 16% saying that they were very interested.
• Picking the right travel companion is THE most important consideration when planning a once in a lifetime trip. 50% of respondents felt "who I travel with" is a very important consideration, followed closely by "being able to fulfill a personal goal", which was selected as very important by 45% of respondents. The preferred travel companion(s) are typically a partner/spouse (59% of respondents) or friends (24%), although 5% of married respondents would prefer to go on their trip by themselves.
• Travel media plays an important role in decision making--70% of travelers said that inspiration for a trip typically came from books or magazines versus 40% who were inspired from hearing stories from other people or 27% who gained inspiration from TV.
• The majority of travelers are independent, yet travel agents and tour groups play an important planning role. While 52% of respondents organized their lifetime trip independently, 18% join a tour group, and 16% use a travel agent to organize their trip. The remainder either used a combination of options or let their travelling partner handle the arrangements.
• A Once-in-lifetime trip does not have to break the bank. 28% of respondents who are planning a once- in-a- lifetime trip reported that they are willing to spend between $2,000-$3,999 (excluding airfare) and another 26% are willing to spend $4,000-$5,999.

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• Volunteer vacationers help out at home too
  A large number of people who volunteer abroad have also volunteered in their home country (60%), with another 33% interested in volunteering who haven't yet found the right opportunity
• Females volunteer more than men
  Sixty-four percent (64%) of females are currently volunteering or have volunteered before, compared to only 51% of males.
• Motivations for volunteering are altruistic
  Travelers looking to volunteer abroad want to be useful (most important to 38%) and have a personal learning experience (most important to 21%), while convenience is surprisingly not important to 48% of the respondents. In terms of activities, 62% of respondents cited they wanted to do humanitarian work, 56% wanted to do conservation and teaching, followed by community development at 53% and building at 28%.
• Volunteers stay abroad a while
  For those that have volunteered abroad, the duration of their trip tended to be longer than expected, with 51% of respondents going on a trip for more than one month and 76% traveling for at least two weeks.
• Volunteer solo
  The majority of travelers went on their trip alone (57%), 31% traveled with friends (or church groups), and only 9% traveled with a relationship partner.
• Volunteers find their trips meaningful
  Seventy-seven percent (77%) of respondents believed that their trip was very meaningful, 22% found it was meaningful, and less than 1% felt that their trip was not meaningful in any way. A constant battle in the voluntourism field is to effectively manage expectations of the volunteer -- the fact that almost 100% of respondents found their experience meaningful in some way shows a major victory for the field.
• Volunteer programs are not too commercial
  On the subject of commercialization, 29% of respondents found that voluntourism has become too commercialized, 23% thought that it should be more commercialized, and 48% thought the level of commercialization was just enough. The reasons volunteers cited for wanting more commercialization were related to the ability to recruit more volunteers to go abroad and potentially reducing costs.

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