Reception statistics: from figures to decisions

Start with a decision the team needs to make

A reception report earns its place when it helps the team prepare what comes next. Should you expand suggestions for families, improve information about car-free activities or review the resources available during an outreach session? Choosing a question before opening the charts helps you select information that can inform that decision.

To prepare for the next season, the insights team can work with advisors on expressed needs and recommended content. Management contributes priorities and available resources. In Roadpress, this analysis covers recorded exchanges and profiles. It provides material for improving the reception service, without counting every visitor across the destination. A focused question gives everyone a shared purpose for the review.

Name what each total actually counts

Before commenting on a total, write down what it represents. The number of booklets created describes that part of the advice service. Qualification records contain information about recorded profiles and needs, including exchanges where no booklet was created. These totals answer different questions and should not be added together to produce a visitor count.

A single booklet can also serve a whole group. Creating one does not automatically represent one unique person. Use precise labels such as “booklets created” or “qualification records” rather than simply “visitors”. Keep the definition in the table or its caption. A colleague, elected representative or partner should be able to understand the figure without having attended the meeting where it was prepared. Clear units make the report easier to reuse.

Read percentages alongside their counts

Consider an entirely fictional example. During one period, a team saves 40 qualification records. The group profile is completed in 30 of them, and 12 of those concern families. Families therefore account for 40% of the 30 available responses; the field is completed in 75% of the 40 records. The 10 missing profiles remain unknown. They do not become “non-family” responses.

A useful report statement would be: “Of the 30 qualification records with a completed group profile, 12 concern families; the profile is missing in 10 of the period’s 40 records.” Readers can see both the result and the basis for it.

The team can then examine those families’ requests when preparing its content. If the priority is to understand all recorded group profiles, the first task is to investigate missing information and agree consistent recording practices. The percentage alone would not show which of these two tasks to choose.

Build a comparison with a consistent scope

When comparing seasons, first align the periods and reception conditions: opening days, information points, advisor types and recording instructions. Roadpress filters by period, information point and advisor type help define that scope. Check response coverage within each selection as well.

If a new information point opens or a field becomes more consistently completed, record the change alongside the comparison. You can show the new information point separately from the locations already being monitored. An increase in recorded activity then comes with the context needed to interpret it.

Insee documents methodological changes affecting continuity in its statistical series. Within a tourism office, a short collection log serves a practical purpose: keeping track of new opening arrangements, form changes and revised instructions so they are available when the next report is prepared.

Source : Methodology reference: Insee on coherence and comparability

Use recommendations to improve the advice you offer

Places recommended in booklets offer another line of inquiry: which suggestions do advisors use to answer requests? Reviewing recommendations by theme or area can prompt the team to update a selection, check practical information or prepare alternatives that fit the needs being expressed.

The map shows those recommendations. It does not establish actual visits or measure tourists’ physical movements. To study attendance at a particular site, use a source designed for that purpose and explain its coverage. Both perspectives can inform the same meeting while retaining their own units. A recommendation describes advice offered; a count at the site answers a different question. Keeping that distinction clear helps the team give each action an appropriate objective.

Share a report that leads to the next action

Roadpress statistics are available only to authorised administrators. They can explore results and export a view or the full report in XLSX with its filters. Before sharing a summary, keep the periods, filters, units, counts and relevant completion information together. Readers should be able to understand the report outside the platform.

For the team meeting, select a few findings and connect each with a possible decision. A recurring request might prompt a content update; a rarely completed field might need clearer instructions. Assign an owner and a review date. At the next review, check what was done and what the new records allow you to observe. This creates continuity between conversations at the desk, analysis and service planning.

Before circulating your summary, check these four points:

• Every figure has an explicit period, scope and unit.
• Percentages appear alongside counts and missing responses.
• Changes in collection and limits to comparisons are explained.
• Decisions have a named owner and a follow-up date.