Measuring Net Promoter Score® identifies destination ambassadors

Saskatchewan's Growth Plan includes a goal of a 50 per cent increase in annual tourism expenditures by 2030. High satisfaction with travel experiences is critical to boosting visitor spending, encouraging longer stays and ensuring repeat visits. Word-of-mouth advocacy, either through face-to-face or online conversations, is fundamental to attracting visitors to Saskatchewan.

Net Promoter Score® (NPS), developed by Frederick Reichheld and Bain & Company in 2002, is a metric that can be used to measure the intention to recommend a travel destination to friends and family. It is also an indicator of overall satisfaction with travel or customer experiences.

How does it work?

Measuring NPS starts with one simple question: “Based on your overall travel experience in Saskatchewan, how likely are you to recommend Saskatchewan as a travel destination to friends and family?”
Visitors answer on a scale from zero (not at all likely) to 10 (extremely likely). People who score nine or 10 are considered promoters – they are your ambassadors. Detractors measure six or lower. In between are passives, who give a grade of seven or eight.
To calculate NPS, subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. The score can range from -100 (very poor) to 100 (world class).

Tourism Saskatchewan began measuring NPS in June 2021 to accomplish three key objectives:
1. Identify Saskatchewan's best promoters
2. Track satisfaction with Saskatchewan as a destination over time
3. Shift priorities towards giving people a more satisfying visitor experience


How was information collected?

Tourism Saskatchewan and the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport launched a short visitor survey in June. The survey was distributed via email to people who stayed at a provincial campsite. Select hotels throughout the province also participated by circulating the survey link through email and placing tent cards with a quick response (QR) code in highly visible locations. Hotel guests could scan the code with their smart phone and then access the survey in the phone’s web browser.

What are people saying about Saskatchewan?

Tourism Saskatchewan collected over 3,600 responses within the first three months of the survey. Saskatchewan residents who visited other parts of the province accounted for 87 per cent of responses. Most out-of-province respondents were from Alberta and Manitoba. There were few international participants, given border closures and travel restrictions.

As of September 1, 2021, Saskatchewan’s NPS amongst non-resident travellers is 59. Although considered an excellent score, it falls short of competitor destinations like British Columbia (66) and Yukon (81). Lack of dining options in parts of the province, transportation (specifically poor road conditions and lack of rest stops) and ease of booking were cited by out-of-province visitors as issues that diminished their travel experience in Saskatchewan.

Tourism Saskatchewan has a goal to increase the province’s non-resident NPS by 0.5 points annually.



Working with Net Promoter Score®

Identifying ambassadors through measuring NPS benefits businesses, attractions, communities and destinations. Satisfied guests who are eager to recommend a destination are more likely to be return visitors. They spend more money while vacationing and influence new visits through their referrals.

Tourism Saskatchewan encourages participation in the NPS initiative. If you are interested in introducing the NPS survey at your business, contact Jeannette Lye at jeannette.lye@tourismsask.com.