Percentages and Percentage Changes: Edexcel Business

Source for use with Extract A MV Pride There are around 100 inhabited islands in the Caribbean and the main form of transport between them is by boat. Boat travel between Union Island and Carriacou is only possible by owning or hiring a private boat. The only exception is to travel on the MV Pride, owned and captained by Mario Grand. The MV Pride runs a scheduled service for passengers between the two islands, providing a vital connection for the people who live and work in Union Island and Carriacou. It is a small boat, only 12.8 m in length, and can carry a maximum of 10 passengers. The service only runs two days a week, on a Monday and Friday. Mario charges $30 per passenger. The boat carries cargo, so passengers may be sharing the trip with large sacks of vegetables, boxes and crates. Mario has worked with boats all his life, learning the trade from his family. It is his passion as well as his livelihood. Although Mario offers the MV Pride for private hire to those wishing to travel on a day that is not scheduled, he does not spend money on advertising this fact, or on trying to gain market share from competing boat owners. He prefers to spend his days enjoying time on the water with friends when he is not running the boat service. Mario realised the value of using free services on social media, promoting the MV Pride’s scheduled service on Facebook and enabling tourists to ask questions via WhatsApp and email. As a result, the MV Pride typically runs at 100% capacity for each trip compared with 80% before he started using social media.

Extract A MV Pride There are around 100 inhabited islands in the Caribbean and the main form of transport between them is by boat. Boat travel between Union Island and Carriacou is only possible by owning or hiring a private boat. The only exception is to travel on the MV Pride, owned and captained by Mario Grand. The MV Pride runs a scheduled service for passengers between the two islands, providing a vital connection for the people who live and work in Union Island and Carriacou. It is a small boat, only 12.8 m in length, and can carry a maximum of 10 passengers. The service only runs two days a week, on a Monday and Friday. Mario charges $30 per passenger. The boat carries cargo, so passengers may be sharing the trip with large sacks of vegetables, boxes and crates. Mario has worked with boats all his life, learning the trade from his family. It is his passion as well as his livelihood. Although Mario offers the MV Pride for private hire to those wishing to travel on a day that is not scheduled, he does not spend money on advertising this fact, or on trying to gain market share from competing boat owners. He prefers to spend his days enjoying time on the water with friends when he is not running the boat service. Mario realised the value of using free services on social media, promoting the MV Pride’s scheduled service on Facebook and enabling tourists to ask questions via WhatsApp and email. As a result, the MV Pride typically runs at 100% capacity for each trip compared with 80% before he started using social media.

Using the data in Extract A, calculate the percentage change in revenue per trip, following Mario's decision to use social media to promote the scheduled services of the MV Pride. You are advised to show your working.