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| Longwoods International | |
|---|---|
| Name | Longwoods International |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Market research |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Lansing, Michigan, United States |
| Key people | CEO (see Corporate Structure and Leadership) |
| Services | Tourism research, brand tracking, visitor profiling, economic impact analysis |
Longwoods International is a private market research firm specializing in tourism and travel consumer behavior. Founded in 1989, it has provided visitor studies, brand tracking, and economic impact analyses for destination marketing organizations, convention bureaus, and hospitality companies. The firm is known for combining survey research, behavioral segmentation, and benchmarking to inform strategic planning for public and private sector clients across North America and internationally.
Longwoods International was established in 1989 during a period of growth in destination marketing and the emergence of sophisticated market research techniques. Early decades saw the firm partner with regional tourism bureaus and convention centers similar to clientele of American Hotel & Lodging Association and Meeting Professionals International. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s Longwoods expanded its methodologies to incorporate advances popularized by firms such as Nielsen and Ipsos while engaging with academic research from institutions like Michigan State University and Cornell University. The company navigated market shifts following events that reshaped travel patterns, including the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and the global financial crisis of 2007–2008, adapting its approaches in line with industry responses seen at organizations like U.S. Travel Association and World Travel & Tourism Council. In the 2010s and 2020s, Longwoods broadened its footprint to support recovery and resilience planning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and worked alongside provincial and state tourism offices similar to Travel Portland and Destination Canada.
Longwoods International offers visitor profiling, exit polling, brand tracking, advertising effectiveness, economic impact modeling, and segmentation studies. The firm employs survey techniques comparable to those used by Pew Research Center and integrates panels and sample sources akin to YouGov and Dynata. Methodologies include online panels, intercept surveys, telephone interviews, and longitudinal tracking similar to practices at J.D. Power and Gallup. For economic impact, models reflect multipliers and inputs like those developed by IMPLAN and Bea-style analyses. The company uses audience segmentation frameworks related to work by Philip Kotler and behavioral insights referenced in publications from Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business. To assess marketing effectiveness it applies attribution and exposure metrics that resonate with approaches by Google and Facebook advertising research teams.
Longwoods serves destination marketing organizations, convention and visitors bureaus, state and provincial tourism offices, attractions, hospitality companies, and economic development agencies. Typical clients include entities similar to Visit Florida, Tourism Australia, NYC & Company, and provincial organizations like Ontario Tourism-style offices. The firm partners with convention centers and chambers of commerce comparable to Los Angeles Convention Center and Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. It also provides research for trade associations akin to U.S. Travel Association and hospitality brands with profiles similar to Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide. Project work spans public sector clients, private attractions, and nonprofit cultural institutions analogous to Smithsonian Institution or Metropolitan Museum of Art in their market research needs.
Longwoods has published studies on traveler intent, advertising recall, and recovery trends that have informed policy debates and industry strategy. Reports have tracked intention-to-travel data similar in interest to surveys by Destination Analysts and insights cited in analyses by Skift and Bloomberg. The firm’s work on advertising effectiveness has paralleled measurement efforts seen at Nielsen Catalina Solutions and attracted attention from media outlets such as The New York Times and Forbes when travel patterns shifted. Notable projects include longitudinal tracking during crises comparable to research conducted by Oxford Economics during the COVID-19 pandemic, and targeted segmentation studies that echo the market-facing outputs of McKinsey & Company tourism practice. Academic and industry conferences where Longwoods findings have been presented resemble venues like International Conference on Travel and Tourism Research and gatherings hosted by Tourism and Hospitality Research Association.
Longwoods International operates as a privately held firm headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, with leadership comprising executives and senior researchers experienced in tourism, marketing, and applied statistics. The executive team has engaged with partner organizations and advisory relationships similar to those seen between research firms and university centers such as University of Michigan research initiatives or collaborations with Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Senior staff typically participate in panels and policymaking discussions at associations like Meeting Professionals International and Destination Marketing Association International.
The firm’s work has been recognized within the travel research community through citations and awards comparable to honors from associations like Travel and Tourism Research Association and mentions in industry publications such as Skift and Travel Weekly. Longwoods’ studies have been used as benchmark references by state and provincial tourism offices and cited in policy discussions alongside research from entities like World Travel & Tourism Council and OECD.
Category:Market research companies Category:Tourism research