Flexibility the Key Lesson From Nordic Motorhome Tourism.

The tourism industry environment is one where customer behaviour is constantly in flux. The Nordic motorhome rental market has made it clear that flexibility can be turned into a business advantage. Business of the Nordic Motorhome rental and research is connected with doctoral research conducted for Elle Tick.

The research was based on customer transaction data over several years showing changes in terms of location of the customers, composition and the rental length.

Pre pandemic - International customer a main player Before 2020 and the start of the COVID19 pandemic the market for motorhome rentals was driven by international travellers who accounted for approximately 80 percent of rental bookings in 2017 and nearly 84 percent in 2019. It was a vital part of the business ecosystem for Nordic motorhome companies and key markets include Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and France. Families made up a majority of bookings, representing about 65% of relevant rentals in 2019 and about 35% were by couples, with average rentals duration of 12 days. Flexibility helped these Nordic businesses adapt to rapid changes In 2020 there was a decline of almost half of number of rentals from 2,290 in 2019 to 1,257.

However, at the same time local customers jumped from representing around 16% of the rental bookings in 2019 to just over 53% in 2020.

This shift underscored the importance of ability to respond to changing customers environment. As the border closures resulted in an inability to travel abroad for tourism, domestic travellers helped to support demand in the interim, with locals still comprising close to 47% of relevant bookings in 2021. The new business environment that emerges during an unprecedented crisis As the boundaries re opened, customers began to move away from the local market and international travellers came back as the dominant factor in the market.

International travellers accounted for approximately 86% of motorhome rentals in 2022. The implication here is that it is not really important who is your best traveller at the end of the day, but what important for your business is the capacity and capability to serve to different kinds of clientele The average rental period increased to nearly 13 days in 2021 and almost 14 days in 2022, staying near that length through 2025. In parallel the customer demographic changed further with couples making up a higher share (close to 46%) of bookings from 2025 onwards.

This created opportunities for strategic consideration including fleet planning for specific customer groups, marketing strategies targeting domestic and international travellers, and changes in customer service for longer trips.

The data indicates flexibility as an approach to operating in a changing tourism market, not just as a response to immediate crisis. Monitoring data enables Nordic motorhome companies to detect such shifts and adapt their strategies. This study by Elle Tick for her PhD dissertation highlights these shifts and provides relevant lessons for anyone interested in the dynamics of the tourism market and the advantage of being adaptable.

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Read More: https://www.globalxpublications.com/blog/who-are-the-customers-and-how-have-they-changed-2017-2026

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