One of the things I love about research and statistics is how often the numbers seem to contradict themselves.  I say "seem to" because most often it's not the numbers that are twisted, it's our interpretation of them.  Research and the skilled number-crunchers who populate the tourism industry are one of our greatest assets.  But sometimes it seems we have so many statistics and analyses swirling around us that you can't see the forest for the trees.  Each day brings a new trend, a new niche, and a new "emerging market."

A case in point:  here are a few headlines pulled from just a single edition of The Canadian Tourism Commission's Tourism Daily newsletter (yes, I read it religiously):

• "Babymoon pregnant with possibility" (about the growing numbers of pregnant couples taking a pre-birth vacation)

• "Boom in youth tourism expected"

• "For the Common Good" (about the growing numbers of folks who want "meaningful travel experiences" and to give something back to the communities they visit)

• "Tweens" - the growing importance of the pre-teen market

• "A Couple of Chicks Bring Internet Marketing Workshops to Nova Scotia"; and

• "Two US Cities Get Summer Transborder Flights to Canada"

Now I'm not a professional research analyst, but if I had to sum up the above, I'd say we should ditch culinary tourism and go after pregnant teenagers from Seattle who want to build water purification systems in Antigonish.

But that would be wrong.

The risk in having such a wealth of information at our fingertips is that we can become paralyzed into inaction, chasing one data point after the next and losing focus on the big picture.  We can fixate on the five percent of people who can name a barrier to travel versus focusing on the ninety-five percent who are just waiting for an invitation to visit.  Or chase a small but growing segment when there is a large and profitable market that still doesn't know we exist.







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