Update on American Travel in the Period of Coronavirus—Week of July 20th
Over two-thirds of American travelers say they plan to wear a mask during their trips and report they would feel happy if their destination required mask-wearing while in public. Meanwhile, findings show Americans continue to feel down on near-term travel, but are exhibiting signs of optimism for the next year.
IMPORTANT: These findings are brought to you from our independent research, which is not sponsored, conducted or influenced by any advertising or marketing agency. Every week since March 15th, Destination Analysts has surveyed 1,200+ American travelers about their thoughts, feelings, perceptions and behaviors surrounding travel in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and explored a variety of topics. The findings presented below represent data collected July 17th-19th.
Key Findings to Know:
- Travel morale remains depressed: a record 46.7% of American travelers now say they don’t have any trip plans for the remainder of 2020.
- Over two-thirds of American travelers plan to wear a face mask during trips and largely plan to practice other pandemic etiquette such as following social distancing guidelines.
- When asked how they would feel if a destination they wanted to visit required visitors and residents to wear masks while in public, over two-thirds (67.4%) said that would make them happy.
- Of the 9.5% that expressed unhappiness about a mask mandate, half said it would not keep them from visiting a place they otherwise wanted to visit.
- Americans are exhibiting some signs of optimism as they look out at their travel future. Now, 16.0% say they expect to take more leisure trips in the next 12 months than they did in the previous year.
- Another positive trend: 34.7% now say they will prioritize leisure travel in their budget and expected leisure travel spend for the next year is up to $2,721 from $2,361 six weeks ago.
American travelers’ morale about COVID-19 improved marginally this week: health and financial concern levels lowered very slightly and 16.4% of travelers expect things to get better in the next month, up from 13.8%. Their travel spirits, however, remain significantly depressed. Yet another record 46.7% of American travelers now say they don’t have any trip plans for the remainder of 2020. Only 41.1% express any meaningful enthusiasm about the possibility of taking a getaway in the next month (down from 57.7% at the end of May), and just 36.6% feel open to travel inspiration—levels not recorded since the height of the lock-down in April. Even discounts and prices cuts’ ability to motivate travel in the next 3 months is down to 28.4%, with a larger proportion of travelers disagreeing that deals could get them to find traveling more attractive.
As the pandemic continues its assault on the United States and many travel and hospitality professionals find themselves leading or in the middle of mask debates, this week we looked into American travelers’ likely use of masks while traveling and their support of mandatory policies. First, we found that 77.6% agree that face masks should be worn in public, and 66.6% say they “always” wear one while out (those that don’t always most commonly cite that there aren’t enough people around for it to be necessary). Right now, 68.8% of American travelers plan to wear a face mask during trips taken over the next 6 months. American travelers also largely plan to practice other pandemic etiquette such as following social distancing guidelines.
When asked how they would feel if a destination they wanted to visit required visitors and residents to wear masks while in public, over two-thirds (67.4%) said that would make them happy or, most likely, very happy. Those 9.5% that expressed unhappiness about a mask mandate were asked if this requirement alone would be enough to keep them from visiting a place they otherwise wanted to visit. One in five of this group said it would, half said no and the remaining 30% said they weren’t sure.
Nearly 5 months into the pandemic and more than half way through 2020, this week was a good time to revisit how Americans feel about their travel as they look out over the next year. While Americans continue to feel down on near-term travel, they are exhibiting signs of optimism for the next 12 months overall. When we last did this exercise the week of May 25th, the proportion of travelers who said they would increase the number of leisure trips they will take compared to the past 12 months had plummeted to 14.1% from 34.9% in January. Now, 16.0% say they expect to take more leisure trips in the next year than they did in the previous year. Also positively trending for travel’s future is the percent who say they will prioritize leisure travel in their spending. After falling to 26.9% in May from a record 70.6% in January, now 34.7% say they will prioritize leisure travel in their budget. Expected leisure travel budgets for the next year are also up to $2,721 from $2,361 six weeks ago.
