RRC Associates’ CEO, Sean Maher, recently presented results from the 2022 Visitor Intercept Survey to the Downtown Boulder Partnership Town Hall meeting. RRC has been conducting intercept surveys in downtown Boulder since 1995. Originally done annually, they are now done every other year. The most recent prior survey in the series was done in 2018. In 2020, the regular research was paused due to the pandemic.

Goals of the research included:

• Defining visitor profiles – who is coming downtown?
• What drives various user segments to visit downtown?
• Measuring spending impacts
• How does the downtown rating compare to expectations and past experiences?

The intercept interviews were conducted on the Pearl Street Mall during the daylight hours over the course of part of the summer. Intercept interviewing is an excellent way to collect qualitative data on-the-spot randomly from a large pool of visitors to the area, thus allowing for timely feedback on specific questions from a variety of respondents. The 2022 results are compared to results from prior years, particularly pre-covid (2018) and 2012, to assist in identifying trends. Over the years, many questions remain similar, allowing for the monitoring of longitudinal trends.

RRC Associates conducts tailored research and analysis for communities across the country.