Gray Research Solutions

19/06/2025

What makes a travel experience unforgettable?
Hint: It's not just stats. It’s sentiment.
Our new post breaks down the qualitative research tools we use to help destinations connect with travelers on a deeper level. Read more about the Gray Research Solutions approach.

Check it out!👇👇
https://www.grayresearchsolutions.com/post/qualitative-research-in-travel-tourism

While data can tell you what happened, qualitative research tells you why. At Gray Research Solutions, we use interviews, focus groups, and digital ethnographies to reveal the human side of travel—and help destinations create meaningful experiences.

12/06/2025

What makes the unforgettable? It’s not just the beauty—it’s the feeling. 💙 Now you can see what happened when we asked real visitors to share why they keep coming back. From family traditions to soul-stirring moments, these stories capture the true heart of the Lowcountry.

🎬 Watch the video: www.grayresearchsolutions.com/post/lowcountry-love-stories-vlog

Lowcountry Love Stories: Their Words is a video spotlighting real visitor experiences in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Based on research conducted by Gray Research Solutions, this short vlog captures authentic emotions, powerful memories, and meaningful reasons travelers return to this beloved regi...

10/06/2025

Last week was our favorite week of the year - Southeast Tourism Society's Tourism Marketing College. Every year tourism professionals from throughout the Southeast and beyond gather in Macon, GA to learn about place marketing and destination leadership, but it's so much more than that. Lifelong bonds are formed, a community is built, past efforts are validated, and ideas for creating bigger and better tourism programs are sparked. Our CEO Shannon Gray has been involved with this program for over 15 years and currently serves as its Provost as well as tourism research instructor. A huge thank you to all of our volunteer professors and congratulations to our 3rd year students who just finished their last Marketing College classes! Now to begin planning MC2026!!

Send a message to learn more

22/05/2025

In our recent research with SC Lowcountry Tourism Commission, we found visitors don’t just like the Lowcountry. They love it.
🧳96% plan to return.
💰 They spend more, stay longer, and feel more.
❤️ We’re calling it what it is: a love story.
See what makes the Lowcountry unforgettable 👇👇
https://www.grayresearchsolutions.com/post/lowcountry-love-stories

Photo Credit: SC Lowcountry Tourism

Some places you visit. Others, you feel. Visitors describe South Carolina’s Lowcountry as “magical,” “spiritual,” and “home.” We dig into why they keep coming back—and what makes this region so beloved.

30/04/2025

We’ve all been there—planning a trip with the best intentions, only to realize we missed a key detail! 😬 Watch our CEO Shannon tell marriner marketing an unforgettable ‘puffin fail’ in Iceland, when a little research would have gone a long way. 🦜✈️

https://www.marriner.com/blog/biggest-travel-oops/

22/04/2025

Every step we take toward sustainable tourism is a step toward preserving the Earth for future generations. 🌱 This , we’re thinking about the lasting impact travel can have on the environment and local communities. Let’s work together to travel smarter and more responsibly. 🌿

17/04/2025

It’s not just about where visitors go—it’s about how they feel. Discover the power of emotional connection in tourism marketing. Check it out 👇👇

https://www.grayresearchsolutions.com/post/emotions-drive-decisions-in-tourism-marketing

16/04/2025

We’ve officially launched our blog and have a fresh new website. 🤩Check it out!👇
https://www.grayresearchsolutions.com/post/understanding-tourism-research-human-connection

Gray Research Solutions is here to share insights on tourism research, visitor emotions, and why word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool.

28/03/2025

"Leadership is the foundation of success." - Bennish Brown, TMP, President & CEO, Destination Augusta
Bennish (as always) says it best.
We're so proud to be a part of building this new program. TMPs- don't miss Early Bird Registration (ending April 8th)! https://bit.ly/3Q7MxFP

09/06/2024

What. A. Week. It’s my favorite week every year, where I get to teach and spend time with the next generation of tourism marketing professionals in the Southeast (and Wisconsin and Oklahoma!) alongside experts that are the best in their fields and the AMAZING Southeast Tourism Society staff. Everyone works, learns and celebrates together and we all come away as better people and better destination leaders.

This year hit different as I stepped into Berkeley Young’s big shoes as Provost (impossible act to follow) and followed in the footsteps of my mentor Judy Randall (who saw over a thousand students graduate before she retired).

I’ll always be grateful for this program and for this opportunity!

31/01/2024

Wow—the GACVB annual conference is the place to be! Only in Cartersville Bartow Tourism has put on an amazing event for GA DMOs and their partners. Museum City is showing OUT!

If you haven’t been to Bartow County to see some of the amazing museums here you are missing out! Shannon even got to throw an atlatl today (ancient spearthrower) at the Etowah Indian Mounds state historic site. Who gets to do that?!? We love the tourism industry and the Southeast US!

21/12/2023

⚠️ Announcement: Our office will be closed from the 25th of December until the 1st of January. We will return to our normal activities on the 2nd. ⚠️

We wish our clients and friends Happy Holidays, and may 2024 be full of accomplishments! 🎉

- GRS team