As tourism is increasing so it the amount of people going to Quick Service Restaurant (QSR). As tourism increases, so is the amount of money spent. It is estimated that in 2012 quick service and fast casual restaurants made up almost 34% of the money brought in from tourism. This idea does not come as a wonder to many. It can only be assumed that while people and families are out on vacation, they want quick, easy food that is affordable.
As the economy is growing, the travel and tourism sections are growing as well. They are growing faster than what the actual economy is and the travel industry has grown 6.8% while the economy has only grown 1.8%. With this growth, the quick service and fast casual industry will continue to see a rise in profit. This can happen because families want the ability to see what they are on vacation for while being able to get affordable food. With people constantly wanting to vacation and be out and about, the industry is only bound to grow more.
It has been estimated that one in every five restaurant dollars spent is at quick service locations. The NRA (National Restaurant Association) is trying to push the idea of travelers and tourist onto the restaurant owners, to easily attract more customers. In order to help increase the amount of travelers a restaurant can get, the owner must be able to understand the demographics and potential customers that may be coming through.
Knowing the demographics of the tourists that are traveling through will help exponentially with pleasing the needs of those tourists, there are a few ways that restaurants can figure out these demographics. First, U.S. averages and national agencies can provide data to owners, also the International Trade Administration can give data based on the Survey of International Air Travelers to track international flights and their passengers. Being able to track where the customers are from and where they are heading can help owners brand and advertise to those specific customers.
This understanding can help bring more customers into the restaurant, more frequently. In addition to understanding the demographics, it can be suggested to pair up with another brand to become more visible. One idea has been to pair up with a hotel chain somehow. This exposure has high potential to bring more customers into the restaurant.
Restaurant owners want to make sure that their brand is prominent in the customer’s head and to create an established presence as well as an enjoyable experience so that the name will automatically generate a good experience when heard. Over the duration of a family, or tourists stay owners want them to come back two or three times and really build on that mind presence. By building this micro-relationship, it will create brand loyalty and hence through word of mouth it can generate more traffic to the restaurant.
Some quick service restaurants face the issue of being seasonal, meaning that they are open all year round, however they get huge bursts of business during a specific time of the year. The key to getting those spurts of business is the customers that are local and buy from the restaurant all year. When tourists come through during those busy months they want to feel like the locals and do as the locals do. So having a regular group of customers that will spread the word about a restaurant will increase the number of seasonal customers and boost profit. There is no doubt that the main source of revenue for these seasonal quick service restaurants are the tourists that come through, it is also important for the company to gain loyalty among the locals.
With quick service restaurant industry growing as much as the travel industry, it is no wonder that they grow together. People stop to enjoy a fast, affordable meal while traveling. Having restaurant owners take advantage of this could help increase their business, immensely.
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