Resigned that COVID is not going away anytime soon, the majority of travelers support regulations proposed to enhance traveler safety—from NFL games to the office. Fortunately, feelings of normalcy and optimism are starting to return and more Americans are once again marketable for travel.
IMPORTANT: These findings are brought to you from our independent research, which is not sponsored, conducted or influenced by any advertising or marketing agency. Since March 15, 2020, Destination Analysts has surveyed American travelers about their thoughts, feelings, perceptions and behaviors surrounding travel—specifically in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic—and explored a variety of topics. The key findings presented below represent data from 1,200 American travelers collected September 15th-17th.
Key Findings to Know:
After an anxious period, feelings of normalcy and optimism are starting to return. This week, 24.0% report feeling the U.S. has a significant degree of normalcy, up from 21.6% the week of September 6th. This sentiment has improved most among Gen X travelers (28.6%, up from 21.7%) and travelers who reside in the Southern region of the U.S (23.8%, up from 16.1%). Those pessimistic about the pandemic’s course over the next month is at 38.9%, a significant drop from September 6th when it hit 51.2%. Meanwhile, optimism bounced up to 30.2% from 23.7%. Younger travelers remain more optimistic, as do those that reside in the Western and Southern U.S.
More Americans are now marketable for travel. The percent of Americans highly open to travel inspiration grew to 65.0% from 58.4% in the last two weeks. In addition, there is moderate growth across the many traveler segments we track in our travel marketability index, suggesting we may be entering a more sustained positive period.
Americans appear resigned that COVID is not going away. The strong majority of American travelers (67.4%) feel that it is “likely” or “very likely” that COVID-19 will be with us for the longer-term. When asked to share in one word how they feel about COVID-19 being with us in the longer-term, “sad” was overwhelmingly the top-of-mind response. Many also feel “scared,” “bad” and “frustrated.”
COVID remains a barrier to getting fulfillment out of travel experiences. Over 40% of Americans say that COVID-19 is seriously impacting their ability to have meaningful travel experiences right now. When asked to share how their travel experiences have been affected, many pointed to “safety concerns” and “avoiding travel,” as well as to “restrictions.” A quarter (24.9%) of recent overnight travelers reported feeling a high degree of anxiety about the COVID-19 situation during their trip.
Americans appear to be increasingly pushing off the early Fall leisure trips they planned to later this year. In fact, those who say they have at least tentative plans to take overnight trips in September (10.0% now, down from 22.8% the week of August 30th) and October (24.8%, down from 28.1%) have fallen while planned overnight trips for December has ticked up (23.9%, up from 21.2% two weeks ago). Similarly, plans to take leisure day trips in September (11.7%, down from 21.0%) and October (22.6%, down from 25.0%) have dropped while plans for leisure day trips in November (26.1%, up from 19.9%) and December (21.4%, up from 18.3%) have increased.
As has been the case throughout the pandemic, the majority of travelers support regulations proposed to enhance traveler safety. Mask requirements (where appropriate) continue to be popular with the majority (67.8%) of American travelers. By nearly a 4-to-1 ratio, far more travelers support the reintroduction of masking requirements when necessary than oppose it. Vaccine mandates for indoor activities are also approved of by the majority of the traveling public. Nearly 60 percent say they “Support” or “Strongly support” such regulations in their home communities. Approximately 25 percent of travelers oppose such regulation. 66.5% of travelers support a proposed requirement that all airline passengers be vaccinated or have a recent negative COVID-19 test, compared to 17.9% in opposition.
From NFL games to the office, travelers largely give the thumbs up to vaccine requirements. The recent announcement that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is creating a rule that would require companies with at least 100 workers to mandate COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing for their employees before they can come to work is also supported by most travelers. 61.9% of travelers support such a rule, compared to 24.8% in opposition. On the heels of some NFL teams requiring vaccination for fans to attend games, we asked American travelers if professional football teams should require in-person attendees to have full vaccination or a recent negative test. 66.1% expressed support, while only 17.0% opposed this. Travelers who have attended such a game in the past 5 years showed even stronger support for the idea.
Follow us on social for infographics of these and other key findings. You can also download recent infographics here. Need assets for a presentation or something else? Find all the presentation decks from our ongoing traveler research here—new decks posted on Tuesday afternoon. And please join us Tuesdays at 11:00am EST for a live presentation of the latest insights into traveler perceptions and behaviors.
We appreciate your support of this research from our small but mighty team of devoted tourism researchers.
To make sure you receive notifications of our latest findings, you can sign up here.
Have a question idea or topic you would like to suggest we study? Let us know!
We can help you with the insights your tourism strategy needs, from audience analysis to brand health to economic impact. Please check out our services here.
https://www.destinationanalysts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rsz_shutterstock_1690896064.jpg400600Destination Analystshttps://www.destinationanalysts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/rsz_1da_logo_header.pngDestination Analysts2021-09-20 02:49:552021-09-20 03:15:03Update on American Travel Trends & Sentiment—Week of September 20th
A Window into the Current State of the Meetings Industry
During our webinar on August 23rd, Destination Analysts’ President & CEO, Erin Francis-Cummings, interviewed a panel of meeting planners to discuss what’s top-of-mind as they plan future events and how destinations can set themselves apart to gain their business.
You can watch the full panel discussion with meeting planners in the following video. Highlights from this discussion are presented below.
Although the Delta Variant is causing the live events industry to pull back again, as Miriam Davis from EventPro Productions shared, it is causing unevenness throughout different sectors. While some corporate events and trade associations have decided or are contemplating taking their Fall live events completely virtual, some industries are leaning on technological tools to keep in-person events going safely.
As Marshall Jones from Prestige Global Meeting Source shared, “There is a will to meet. This is how our country was built and we have to find a way to overcome.” He notes that he is not blind to the struggles of the meetings industry at large, but his clients are in the fortunate position of having higher discretionary incomes that allow their organizations to invest in technological interventions to keep their attendees safe such as:
Color-coded wrist bands that denote attendees comfort level with hugs/handshakes
Clear Health Pass
Thermal cameras upon entry
Rapid testing set-up in the facility
Sourcing a separate wing of the hotel to isolate attendees who may be ill
UV filters for sterilization
Decontamination portals (that spritz hydrogen peroxide which is known to kill the novel coronavirus)
The unfortunate reality is that not all organizations are in the financial position to institute such tech savvy but costly measures, so they instead must lean on their partners. As Marnie Hinkle from Synapse shared, “There are struggles, and we are back to having to make decisions and assessments day by day.” To help alleviate these stresses, planners are looking to their hotel and CVB/DMO partners to come to the table with solutions. “If I work with a good hotel partner, they say ‘How can I help?’ A bad hotel partner says, ‘What is your plan?’” The massive responsibility of keeping attendees safe is one that meeting planners do not want to shoulder alone and a common sentiment was, “Let’s work together and help each other.”
There has been a lot of disruption to the meetings industry because of this pandemic, but the communication and cooperation that is a core part of this industry will be its saving grace.
https://www.destinationanalysts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rsz_1shutterstock_358977299.jpg240519Destination Analystshttps://www.destinationanalysts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/rsz_1da_logo_header.pngDestination Analysts2021-09-13 04:25:412021-09-13 04:47:17There is a Will to Meet, We Just Have to Find a Way to Overcome.
Although nearly twice as many Americans headed out for Labor Day weekend trips this year than in 2020, summer 2021 ends in a quite a different place than it started: Since the Fourth of July, Americans’ sense of normalcy and optimism about the pandemic’s course has fallen by half.
IMPORTANT: These findings are brought to you from our independent research, which is not sponsored, conducted or influenced by any advertising or marketing agency. Since March 15, 2020, Destination Analysts has surveyed American travelers about their thoughts, feelings, perceptions and behaviors surrounding travel—specifically in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic—and explored a variety of topics. The key findings presented below represent data from 1,200 American travelers collected September 1st-3rd.
Key Findings to Know:
Far more Americans headed out for Labor Day weekend trips this year compared to last. Nearly a quarter of Americans said they would be traveling for the holiday, almost doubling 2020 levels (24.0% vs. 13.0%).
Labor Day travel would have been stronger had not Americans been grappling with the disruption of the Delta variant. Among the American travelers who did not head out on Labor Day trips, 13.0% of this group said they had cancelled trip plans specifically because of Delta variant concerns.
Summer ends in a quite a different place than it started: Since the Fourth of July, Americans’ sense of normalcy and optimism about the pandemic’s course has fallen by half. Over half (51.2%) of American travelers expect the pandemic to get worse in the next month; comparatively only 16.2% felt this way heading into the Fourth of July holiday just two months ago. When asked how close to “normal” the U.S. is in terms of leisure activity, just 21.6% of American travelers felt that the U.S. was at least 70% back to normal, down from 42.7% at the beginning of July. Those Millennial age or younger were much likelier than Baby Boomer-age travelers to feel normalcy (27.7% vs 15.1%). Meanwhile, those in the South were less likely to feel normalcy (16.1%).
Although Americans generally continue to see travel and leisure activities as safe rather than unsafe, air travel, indoor attractions and restaurants have suffered notable declines in safety perceptions. Since early July, perceptions of commercial air travel as safe has fallen to 37.1% from 51.1%, while indoor attractions (like museums and aquariums) have declined to 44.4% from 59.9%, and dining in a restaurants to 52.8% from 67.7%.
Although Americans largely remain excited to travel in the next 12 months, expectations to travel for leisure in the next 3 months has declined. In total, 71.4% said they have a high level of excitement. However, compared to just two weeks ago, fewer Americans now report planned overnight leisure trips (52.6% down from 56.7% two weeks ago) and leisure day trips (43.1% down from 51.4%) in that timeframe.
The appeal of out-of-state business trips and convention travel has improved among employed American travelers relative to early this year. Now 45.7% of employed American travelers says they would be happy to take an out-of-state business trip in the next 6 months, up from 39.5% the week of April 12th. Also on the rise since April is the appeal of attending in-person group meetings. Now 40.4% would be happy to do so, up from 37.9% the week of April 12th. In fact, one-in-five employed American travelers now plans to attend a convention, conference or other group meeting sometime in the remainder of 2021, with October appearing to be the peak month for this trip type. However, the Delta variant is disrupting group meetings travel–16.8% say they have cancelled an upcoming trip to attend an in-person conference/convention and another 6.2% say they are currently considering cancelling such upcoming trips.
The welcoming reputation of destinations remains important to a majority of American travelers (68.0% consider it important or very important), but perceptions of specific destinations as being unwelcoming appears to be shifting. Of the 17.2% of American travelers who say they can name a destination that does not have a welcoming atmosphere for people like themselves, far more of this group are now naming New York, Texas and Hawaii as places that they feel are unwelcoming.
After a recent period of decline, Americans’ travel marketability index scores have held at the same levels for the last two weeks, offering hope for a turnaround. In particular, Millennial and Gen Z age travelers are likeliest to be in a ready-to-travel mindset right now (77.1%). They are also likelier to be supportive of pandemic protocols like indoor mask requirements right now (72.1%)
Follow us on social for infographics of these and other key findings. You can also download recent infographics here. Need assets for a presentation or something else? Find all the presentation decks from our ongoing traveler research here—new decks posted on Tuesday afternoon. And please join us Tuesdays at 11:00am EST for a live presentation of the latest insights into traveler perceptions and behaviors.
We appreciate your support of this research from our small but mighty team of devoted tourism researchers.
To make sure you receive notifications of our latest findings, you can sign up here.
Have a question idea or topic you would like to suggest we study? Let us know!
We can help you with the insights your tourism strategy needs, from audience analysis to brand health to economic impact. Please check out our services here.
https://www.destinationanalysts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rsz_shutterstock_14592625.jpg480720Destination Analystshttps://www.destinationanalysts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/rsz_1da_logo_header.pngDestination Analysts2021-09-06 05:13:232021-09-07 15:11:22Update on American Travel Trends & Sentiment—Week of September 6th
Destination Analysts’ annual tracking study, The State of the International Traveler™ tracks key destination performance metrics in 14 major feeder markets for over 60 U.S. destinations. Custom reports are available for destinations including:
Alaska
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Anaheim/Disneyland, California
Anchorage, Alaska
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Austin, Texas
Baltimore, Maryland
Boston, Massachusetts
Branson, Missouri
Charleston, South Carolina
Charlottesville, Virginia
Chicago, Illinois
Dallas, Texas
Denver, Colorado
Detroit, Michigan
Hawaii
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Houston, Texas
Jacksonville, Florida
Kansas City, Missouri
Lake Tahoe area (California/Nevada)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Los Angeles, California
Louisville, Kentucky
Memphis, Tennessee
Miami, Florida
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
Montana
Monterey County, California
Napa Valley, California
Nashville, Tennessee
New Orleans, Louisiana
New York City, New York
Newport Beach, California
Niagara Falls, New York
North Dakota
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Orlando, Florida
Outer Banks, North Carolina
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Phoenix, Arizona
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Portland, Oregon
Rapid City, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands area
Reno, Nevada
Rural Nevada (outside Reno or Las Vegas)
Salt Lake City, Utah
San Antonio, Texas
San Diego, California
San Francisco, California
Santa Barbara County, California
Sarasota, Florida
Savannah, Georgia
Seattle, Washington
Sonoma County, California
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Texas (other areas of the state)
The Florida Gulf Coast
Washington, DC
Wyoming State
With the global spread of COVID-19, the travel industry is facing an unprecedented crisis. To help industry leaders navigate their response strategy and communicate to their stakeholders and communities, Destination Analysts is fielding a weekly survey of 1,200+ American leisure and business travelers, representing each region of the U.S. These timely insights into feelings and behaviors related to travel will provide important data to gauge the pandemic’s changing impact on travel as a lifestyle priority, as well as when travel demand will rebound—and from which traveler segments and to which types of destinations first.
Our team can present a brief 15-minute update on American Travel Sentiment from this research or a full presentation of findings.
Entertain your audiences with a lively custom look into your destination’s competitive landscape. This unique and custom presentation will show you how travelers in America–and around the world–view your destination. Using data collected in Destination Analysts’ on-going opinion tracking surveys of travelers in the USA and 14 of the largest global travel markets, our speakers make sense of current trends and reveal a surprising new perspective on your position in the marketplace.
The American leisure travel market is an ever-shifting landscape. Presenting current data and trends from nearly two decades of research into American travel sentiment, behaviors and aspirations, Destination Analysts will help you move your marketing and business strategies forward with confidence in understanding The State of the American Traveler™.
International visitors to the United States represent hundreds of billions in spending impact to the vast array of destinations they visit. With data from our annual study of international travelers in the top 14 U.S. feeder markets (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea), Destination Analysts will share how international travelers can be reached and influenced, the media they consume, the types of experiences, lodging and dining they desire in the U.S., anticipated spending in the U.S. (including on types of items) and more. The presentation can be also be customized to illustrate the appeal of and familiarity with certain U.S. destinations, as well as intended future visitation to and “buzz” levels.
Different types of travelers dream about and approach leisure travel in a myriad of ways. In this fascinating presentation, Destination Analysts provides an in-depth look into the travel inspiration behaviors, planning habits and psychographic compositions of the most important travel segments of now and the future.
The long-term health of most destination brands will be reliant on tourism leaders effectively attracting new and diverse audiences. Destinations which are seeking to position their brand and visitor experience to a more culturally diverse group of travelers will benefit from hearing directly from these potential customers on what will inspire them and how to reach them. Key insights from a custom analysis of a national survey of these important traveler audiences will be presented, along with video interviews of these travelers discussing their opinions and desires. Your audience will walk away with insights into audiences that their brand may have particular success with, ideas for positioning their brands to be interesting and welcoming to diverse audiences, successful messaging strategies for different cultures and images, as well as content to be sensitive to. Option to include a live focus group of a diverse panel of travelers representing a myriad of cultures and backgrounds.
Fresh insights from the latest The CVB and the Future of the Meetings Industry study will reveal effective means of getting meeting planners to pay attention to you, the products and services they are seeking DMOs to further develop, and meeting planners’ perspectives on how the relationship between DMOs and meeting planners can improve. Attendees will walk away with an understanding of whether their current service offerings are matching meeting planners’ needs, tactics for best marketing to, selling and servicing meeting planners, and ideas for new products or services that will be appealing to meeting planners to consider their destination. Option to learn more and in real-time with a live online panel of meeting planners, who will share their perspectives and take questions from attendees.
What mistakes are destinations making on their website? How can they more effectively attract visitors and serve their audience needs? Destination Analysts has overseen thousands of hours of traveler interviews as part of DMO website usability studies. In this entertaining and thought-provoking presentation, we will take attendees inside the psyche of their website audience and share what we’ve learned about the common mistakes most DMOs continually make. Using examples taken from pertinent DMOs, we’ll show how to quickly and cheaply improve a DMO website.
Smaller destinations face the same pressure to make hard decisions and justify their expenditures as larger ones. Yet, to many small destinations, market research is perceived as expensive and out of reach. In this one-hour session, you will learn the basics of conducting reliable and cost-effective market research in-house. This presentation will leave you with a treasure trove of ideas with the highest impact to your organization and new ideas for minimizing and sharing research costs.
