As anxiety wanes and optimism gains, Americans are feeling more and more love for travel—and the advertising that inspires their wanderlust.

 

 

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 February 12th-14th.

Key Findings to Know:

In total, 12.7% said they took a trip for the long Valentine’s/President’s Day weekend—double what was reported for Memorial Day weekend in the early pandemic period, and a similar rate to Labor Day weekend, which followed the summer coronavirus case surge.

Americans’ anxiety about the pandemic—from both the financial and health impact perspectives—continues to decline. Now a record 39.3% of Americans feel the situation will get better in the next month.

These better feelings translate to travel. Perceptions of travel and leisure activities as unsafe has fallen to an average of 46.2% —a record low since the start of the pandemic. About 60% of American travelers feel at least somewhat confident they can travel safely in the current environment, and those who would have travel guilt has declined to 44.0% from a recent peak of 54.6% the week of December 14th. Now 58.5% are in a travel readiness state of mind.

Vaccines continue to keep optimism up among a majority of American travelers. Nearly 6-in-10 travelers say COVID-19 vaccines make them more optimistic about life returning to normal in the next six months and 52.9% say it makes them more optimistic about the ability to travel safely in that same time.

This week, 54.0% of American travelers report that they have a friend or relative who has received the vaccine. Seeing people we know get vaccinated against COVID-19 clearly benefits travel sentiment. Those who know others who have already been vaccinated are even more optimistic about their travel future and have begun planning travel specifically in anticipation of a wider vaccine rollout at higher rates than others. They are also more likely to have done any travel dreaming and planning in the last week, and have more trips planned for 2021.

Right now, 80.2% of Americans have plans for one or more upcoming trips, with July still looking like the peak travel month this year. While nearly a quarter of the next road trips Americans will take will be within the next 3 months, the majority of American travelers still anticipate their very next air trip to be after June.

More than half of Americans have taken some action towards their very next leisure trip, including researching destinations to visit (26.1%), booking lodging (18.8%) and researching travel activities (14.4%).

Advertising certainly plays a role in inspiring more travel. This week, 55.8% report being highly open to travel inspiration. Well over a quarter of all American travelers —and over 35% of those Millennial age or younger —say that an advertisement has specifically motivated them to travel to a destination. In fact, 38.9% say the last travel destination ad they saw made them feel “happy” or “very happy.”

Where American travelers feel most receptive to travel advertising varies by age, but websites, social media (particularly Facebook), both broadcast and streaming television, and email are common.

In addition to how they are feeling about traveling, how Americans perceive travel within their own communities is also critical to understanding the travel industry’s recovery. This week 44.3% agree they feel comfortable going out for leisure activities where they live. In addition, a larger proportion of Americans continue to say they would be happy to see their community advertised for tourism (39.1% vs 29.1% who would be unhappy). Those residing in urban areas are far likelier to feel happy about travel advertisements of their city compared to those residing in suburban or rural areas.

Read more below.

 

Americans celebrated both Valentine’s Day and President’s Day…was love in the air for travel during this holiday? In total, 12.7% said they took a trip for the long weekend—double what was reported for Memorial Day weekend in the early pandemic period, and a similar rate to Labor Day weekend, which followed the summer coronavirus case surge.

 

 

As daily new cases have dropped dramatically over the last month and vaccines continue to be administered, Americans’ anxiety about the pandemic—from both the financial and health impact perspectives—continues to decline. Now a record 39.3% of Americans feel the situation will get better in the next month—and only 22.7% feel it will get worse. The highest optimism about the pandemic’s course had ever previously been prior to this period was the week of May 4th, 2020, when 35.1% believed things would get better in the next month. And even then, pessimism still outweighed optimism, unlike today. These better feelings translate to travel. Perceptions of travel and leisure activities as unsafe has fallen to an average of 46.2% —a record low since the start of the pandemic. About 60% of American travelers feel at least somewhat confident they can travel safely in the current environment, and those who would have travel guilt has declined to 44.0% from a recent peak of 54.6% the week of December 14th. Now 58.5% are in a travel readiness state of mind.

 

 

Vaccines continue to keep optimism up among a majority of American travelers. Nearly 6-in-10 travelers say COVID-19 vaccines make them more optimistic about life returning to normal in the next six months and 52.9% say it makes them more optimistic about the ability to travel safely in that same time. This week, 54.0% of American travelers report that they have a friend or relative who has received the vaccine. This rate is even higher among older travelers, as well as among those residing in the Western half of the U.S. Seeing people we know get vaccinated against COVID-19 clearly benefits travel sentiment. Those who know others who have already been vaccinated are likelier to have been or plan to be vaccinated themselves. These travelers are even more optimistic about their travel future and have begun planning travel specifically in anticipation of a wider vaccine rollout at higher rates than others. They are also more likely to have done any travel dreaming and planning in the last week, and have more trips planned for 2021 (3.0 vs 2.6).

 

 

Right now, 80.2% of Americans have plans for one or more upcoming trips, with July still looking like the peak travel month this year. While nearly a quarter of the next road trips Americans will take will be within the next 3 months, the majority of American travelers still anticipate their very next air trip to be after June. More than half of Americans have taken some action towards their very next leisure trip, including researching destinations to visit (26.1%), booking lodging (18.8%) and researching travel activities (14.4%). The primary motivators for these next leisure trips are to spend time with family, relax and escape stress and simply get away from the routineness of daily life. Thus, Americans express how important it is to have such experiences on their trips. In terms of other experiences they want to have on their next trip, outdoor recreation and connecting with nature, food and culinary and any brand new experiences overall are key for many.

 

 

What could inspire even more Americans to travel, and to travel more? Advertising certainly plays a role. This week, 55.8% report being highly open to travel inspiration. Well over a quarter of all American travelers —and over 35% of those Millennial age or younger —say that an advertisement has specifically motivated them to travel to a destination. In fact, 38.9% say the last travel destination ad they saw made them feel “happy” or “very happy.” This week, one-third of American travelers recalled having seen an ad for a travel destination in the past month, most commonly on broadcast television, social media and elsewhere on the Internet. Where American travelers feel most receptive to travel advertising varies by age, but websites, social media (particularly Facebook), both broadcast and streaming television, and email are common.

 

 

In addition to how they are feeling about traveling, how Americans perceive travel within their own communities is also critical to understanding the travel industry’s recovery. This week 44.3% agree they feel comfortable going out for leisure activities where they live. In addition, a larger proportion of Americans continue to say they would be happy to see their community advertised for tourism (39.1% vs 29.1% who would be unhappy). Those residing in urban areas are far likelier to feel happy about travel advertisements of their city compared to those residing in suburban or rural areas (50.1% vs 35.6% for rural and 34.7% for suburban).

 

 

A complimentary report of these key findings is available for you to download and share.

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In the Fall of 2020, Destination Analysts conducted a survey of over 240 DMO executives about change and disruption in the tourism industry, commissioned by and in partnership with BVK, as one part of their Destination Tailwind: A Strategy Series on transformational change. The findings from this research have important strategic implications for DMOs—from where to focus resources, to the skills that should be hired for in order for these organizations to stay competitive in this increasingly fast-moving world.

 

 

When we asked DMOs to describe their organizational purpose and mission with a single response, it’s clear that DMOs see themselves as there to strengthen the local economy and quality of life, far more so than as existing for the purposes of destination promotion or as travel demand generators. But some sense is compelling 70% to agree that their organization needs to change or evolve their mission and purpose.

 

DMO executives see a need to change in important ways. Nearly all agreed—and 41% strongly—that their organization recognizes the need to transform in response to disruptive industry trends, including changing customer needs, technology, and on a vastly different side, local community and resident sentiment. In fact, in part to this, DMO executives agree the ways they need to change are significant. There is strong agreement across the DMO industry that their organizations need to change or evolve their funding model and even change or evolve their core offerings.

 

DMO executives are challenged with how to create an internal culture prepared for change with the funding and resources they currently have, as well as grapple with the inevitable external forces that impact their ability to adapt and change, even when the internal structure is there. 25% say that new concepts, products and ideas at their organization often or always get LESS attention than they should because key constituents tend to favor the way things have always been done. 61% say this sometimes happens—only 11% never. Many DMO executives cited getting internal buy-in and a lack of compelling ideas as obstacles to their ability to transform. Clearly, they need people on their teams that are skilled at obtaining resources and inspiring internal buy-in.

 

Competitive pressure is intensifying and coming from all angles—56% of DMOs believe the competitive intensity they feel now will only increase moving forward. Just within the next year, almost 70% say they expect increased competition specifically within their own industry, and 61% anticipate increased competition from adjacent industries, such as technology or travel influencers. Over half of DMOs say they anticipate competition for their services and offerings from entirely new industries, and over a third even anticipate competition for their services from organizations within their own communities. As DMO executives look out over the next five years, a majority likely feel they will face increased competition for the very core services these organizations are likely most currently known and valued for, including Destination Branding, Product/Experience Development, Tourism Marketing, Visitor Information, Economic Development.

 

A “working together” ethos may thus be more critical than ever.

 

You can watch Destination Analysts’ CEO, Erin Francis-Cummings, discuss highlights from this research in Episode 1: The Business Case for Change here. If you would like a presentation of the full findings of this important research for your internal team, Board of Directors or other stakeholders, we would be happy to help. Please register and submit a request here.

Anxiety about the pandemic is as high as ever right now, but driven by optimism about vaccine timelines, Americans keep seeing the light at the end of the tunnel grow larger and closer. This more hopeful outlook has lifted excitement about travel, with planned trips beginning to ramp up in May and urban destinations continuing to show signs of recovery.

 

 

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 January 22nd-24th.

Key Findings to Know:

• Americans’ anxiety about the pandemic is up. The percentage of Americans highly concerned about personally contracting the virus, their friends or family contracting the virus, the pandemic’s impact on their personal finances and its impact on the national economy overall all increased this week—and, in fact, are among the highest levels they have ever been.
• But Americans also keep growing more optimistic about the future. This week, 35.0% said they feel the pandemic situation is going to get better in the next month. The only other times this measure of optimism reached this level were the weeks of May 4th and June 8th.
• This more hopeful outlook for the near future has lifted excitement about travel. Americans’ excitement levels for potential getaways and their 2021 travel vision, as well as their openness to travel inspiration, all grew and are in a pandemic-era high period.
• In a measurement of “pent up demand,” two-thirds of those whose typical travel patterns were altered by the pandemic say they miss traveling “very much,” and now 22.2% of them say they are going to travel more in 2021 to make up for lost time—up from 18.6% last week. Meanwhile, 50.9% confirm they will return to their pre-pandemic levels of traveling.
• In the last week alone, 38.7% day-dreamt about leisure travel, 30.3% talked about travel with friends or relatives and 27.0% researched travel ideas online.
• Americans continue to rate travel and leisure activities as safer than they ever have since the start of the pandemic.
• The availability and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine remains a primary contributor to the growing optimism Americans are feeling about travel. Two-thirds say the vaccines are making them more optimistic about life returning to normal in the next six months and nearly 60% say they are making them more optimistic that they can travel safely within that same period. More American travelers than ever are saying they will get vaccinated against COVID-19 (66.3%).
• The pace of vaccine distribution will impact the timing of travel volume and trip types. For example, when parents of school-aged children were posed a scenario in which their own and other children had not been vaccinated by this summer, 43.2% of them said that they will NOT travel with the kids in this situation. This is up nearly 18 percentage points from when we last asked this question the week of December 7th.
• You can see vaccine expectations and how Americans envision the year in their current travel plans. The percent of Americans with leisure trips planned begins to jump up in May. Right now, 26.1% of American travelers say they already have plans to travel in July.
• In gauging Americans’ march “back to normal,” we continue to see signs of urban destinations recovering. New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles comprise 3 of the top 5 places Americans say they want to visit this year.
• However, it appears that rural areas will continue to be strong competitors to cities in a way not seen before the pandemic. Those traveling over the next three months are as likely (even slightly more so) to go to small towns and rural areas as cities and metropolitan areas, and while 32.6% of American travelers say their travel preferences favor visiting cities, 29.7% say their preference is for rural.

 

As confirmation of new strains of COVID being detected make headlines, Americans’ anxiety about the pandemic is up. The percentage of Americans highly concerned about personally contracting the virus (74.3%), their friends or family contracting the virus (79.6%), the pandemic’s impact on their personal finances (58.3%) and its impact on the national economy overall (86.7%) all increased this week—and, in fact, are among the highest levels they have ever been. But Americans also keep growing more optimistic about the future, seemingly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel grow larger and closer. This week, 35.0% said they feel the pandemic situation is going to get better in the next month. The only other times this measure of optimism reached this level were the weeks of May 4th and June 8th. Meanwhile, feelings that the pandemic situation will worsen in the next month dropped again and is now at 38.1%.

 



 

This more hopeful outlook for the near future has lifted excitement about travel in spite of current anxieties. Although 48.2% of American travelers still have lost their taste for travel for the time being, their excitement levels for potential getaways and their 2021 travel vision, as well as their openness to travel inspiration, all grew and are in a pandemic-era high period (5.7, 6.1 and 6.1 respectively on a scale from 0-10). Well over half are in a ready-to-travel mindset (54.3%). In a measurement of “pent up demand,” two-thirds of those whose typical travel patterns were altered by the pandemic say they miss traveling “very much,” and now 22.2% of them say they are going to travel more in 2021 to make up for lost time—up from 18.6% last week. Meanwhile, 50.9% confirm they will return to their pre-pandemic levels of traveling. In the last week alone, 38.7% day-dreamt about leisure travel, 30.3% talked about travel with friends or relatives and 27.0% researched travel ideas online. This week, a record 43.7% of American travelers say that discounts can motivate them to take a trip they had not previously considered. Americans also continue to rate travel and leisure activities as safer than they ever have since the start of the pandemic.

 



 

The availability and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine remains a primary contributor to the growing optimism Americans are feeling about travel. Two-thirds say the vaccines are making them more optimistic about life returning to normal in the next six months and nearly 60% say they are making them more optimistic that they can travel safely within that same period. More than a third now say they have begun planning or booking travel in anticipation of wider vaccine distribution. More American travelers than ever are saying they will get vaccinated against COVID-19. This week, 66.3% said they will take one of the available vaccines, and nearly one-third expects to be inoculated by the end of March. Interestingly, this anticipation appears to make them more likely to say they will not be traveling until they get vaccinated (51.5%—up over 10% in the last 6 weeks) or distribution is wider (52.0%—up over 5% in the last 3 weeks). Given this, the pace of vaccine distribution will impact the timing of travel volume and trip types. For example, when parents of school-aged children were posed a scenario in which their own and other children had not been vaccinated by this summer, 43.2% of them said that they will NOT travel with the kids in this situation. This is up nearly 18 percentage points from when we last asked this question the week of December 7th (25.8%).

 



 

You can see vaccine expectations and how Americans envision the year in their current travel plans. As shown in the infographic below, the percent of Americans with leisure trips planned begins to jump up in May. Right now, 26.1% of American travelers say they already have plans to travel in July. Over the next three months, travel looks like it will be relatively muted compared to the rest of the year, although approximately 47% of American travelers anticipate taking a trip in the next 12 weeks. Nearly 75% of these trips are expected to be within 250 miles of these travelers’ residences.

 



 

In gauging Americans’ march “back to normal,” we continue to see signs of urban destinations recovering. New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles comprise 3 of the top 5 places Americans say they want to visit this year. However, it appears that rural areas will continue to be strong competitors to cities in a way not seen before the pandemic. Those traveling over the next three months are as likely (even slightly more so) to go to small towns and rural areas (38.7%) as cities and metropolitan areas (36.3%), and while 32.6% of American travelers say their travel preferences favor visiting cities, 29.7% say their preference is for rural. The pandemic remains a driver of this—56.3% of those that say they prefer rural destinations say COVID-related safety concerns are an important factor to their preference. Other top reasons those with rural preference orient to these destinations include peace and quiet, scenic beauty, escaping from crowds, relaxing atmosphere and these destinations’ charm and ambiance. Meanwhile, those with an urban preference want the food, shopping, cultural offerings, attractions and energy and excitement offered.

 



 

A complimentary report of these key findings is available for you to download and share.

…

You can register for our online presentation of these findings Tuesday at 11:00am EST.

…

We appreciate your support of this research from our small but mighty team of devoted tourism researchers. If you would like further and deeper insights from the complete study, you can learn more here. Please consider donating or purchasing to support this research.

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To make sure you receive notifications of our latest findings, you can sign up here.

As travel industry professionals, we are well aware that all facets of travel halted with the onset of COVID-19. The loss of business travel, an essential segment for the travel industry’s health, is a particularly painful hardship. According to the U.S. Travel Association, in 2019, direct spending on business travel by domestic and international travelers, including expenditures on meetings, events and incentive programs totaled $334.2 billion. So, you can only imagine what the lack of business travel has done to our industry in 2020 and now into 2021. And with the pandemic ongoing, in-person business travel activities, such as client meetings, training, presentations and product launches, continue to be nixed or heavily restricted.

 

With the pandemic’s drastic impact on working life for many Americans, what does this mean for the future of business travel?

 

Destination Analysts explored the future of business travel in the December 7th wave of our Coronavirus Travel Sentiment Index Study. We asked Americans who traveled for business if they anticipate their employers will approach business travel differently in the next 2 to 5 years. Just under half of business travelers feel that the COVID-19 pandemic will indeed change the business travel dynamic in both the short and longer term.

 

 

The expected changes that will affect business travel range from a decline in the volume of business trips that will be taken to required adherence to stricter health and safety standards. When asked what ways they expect their employers will change business travel over the longer term, over half of American business travelers said they anticipate fewer overall business trips will be taken, while nearly a third said trips will be shorter in length. Other anticipated changes include more travel that is replaced by webinars or virtual meetings. There are also notable expectations for smaller groups traveling on a business trip, more restrictions on travel budgets and more restrictive health or safety protocols for traveling staff.

 

 

On the employer side, there is a lot to consider when it comes to business travel and the ongoing threat of COVID-19. In our October 20th industry update webinar, Destination Analysts’ President & CEO Erin Francis-Cummings interviewed Elaine Cameron, Global Senior Director of Human Resources at Munchkin, Inc., where employee travel is currently restricted to business-critical travel only. At Munchkin, business travel is only permitted if it meets safety standards and can’t be done virtually. While business travel is important to Munchkin’s operations, Elaine predicted that the turning point for business travel to resume to normal levels would be “when our employees feel safe and that’s ultimately when we have a vaccine.” In a positive sign for business travel, findings from our January 18th wave of our Coronavirus Travel Sentiment Index Study show that the majority of business travelers who have not yet been vaccinated anticipate that they will receive the vaccine by June of this year (62.8%).

 

Although the pandemic looks to have a continued effect on business travel for both employers and employees alike—from fewer to shorter to virtual–the January 18th wave of our study also found that over two-thirds of business travelers felt that vaccine developments made them more optimistic about life returning to normal within the next 6 months. Perhaps then the severity and time frame of these impacts to business travel may be lessened.

 

Anxieties may be raised, but as Americans look out over the next month, they see an improving situation. For the travel industry, this means a delightful shift in sentiment towards travel, with openness to travel inspiration never higher in the last 10 months.

 

 

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 January 8th-10th.

Key Findings to Know:

• Across the country, anxiety was up this week, particularly about personally contracting COVID-19 and the pandemic’s impact on the national economy. But as Americans look out over the next month they see an improving situation.
• Undoubtedly, the availability and ongoing distribution of COVID-19 vaccines are a contributor to these feelings of encouragement. The proportion of American travelers who say the vaccines make them more optimistic about life returning to normal in the next six months (61.9%), the proportion who say the vaccines make them more optimistic about being able to safely travel in the next six months (56.4%), and the number of travelers saying they have begun planning and booking trips specifically in anticipation of vaccines being available (33.7%) have all risen.
• Amongst the most critical indicators of Americans’ path to a travel norm is the plummet in perceptions of travel activities as unsafe. This week, an average of 50.1% perceive the travel and leisure activities we track as unsafe, which is the lowest it has been since March 15th. More Americans are confident they can travel safely now, rising to 31.8% from 24.7% last week.
• Americans’ openness to travel inspiration reached a pandemic-period peak, measuring 6.0 on a scale of 0-10. Those in a travel readiness state-of-mind soared nearly 12 percentage points to 58.6%, also the highest it has been in the pandemic. Excitement levels about travel in 2021 grew to 6.1 from 5.8 last week.
• As Americans plan their travel for 2021, July is still the peak month, with 27% saying they have at least tentative plans to travel then. Right now, 31.4% of American travelers anticipate their next air trip to be in the first half of the year.
• When it comes to travel in the next three months, more Americans are seeing this as a reality. This week, 48.9% say they will take at least one leisure trip in the next 12 weeks, up from 37.5%. Of those Americans who will travel, they anticipate 1.7 overnight trips on average, largely within 250-miles of where they live.
• 43.0% of all American travelers say discounts and price cuts can motivate them to take a trip they had not previously considered—a 43-week high.
• With the important increase in Americans’ desire for travel inspiration, content found through search engines, email and travel/lifestyle magazines are good bets for travel marketers across generations, while streaming video services and social media are also key for inspiring younger travelers.
• While 53.5% still do not want visitors to their communities right now, a high of 40.3% said they would be happy if they saw an advertisement promoting their community as a place for tourists to come visit when it is safe.

 

Across the country, anxiety was up this week, particularly about personally contracting COVID-19 (72.5% highly concerned) and the pandemic’s impact on the national economy (85.1% highly concerned). But as Americans look out over the next month, they see an improving situation—the percent of Americans who feel the pandemic will get worse in the U.S. in the next month dropped below 50% for the first time since the week of October 12th, and the percent who feel things will get better rose to 24.9%, the highest it has been in 7 months, since the week of June 8th. For the travel industry, this resulted in a delightful shift in positive sentiment towards travel.

 

 

Undoubtedly, the availability and ongoing distribution of COVID-19 vaccines are a contributor to these feelings of encouragement. A high of 67.8% of American travelers believe the COVID-19 vaccines are safe. Last week, more American travelers than ever said they would be getting vaccinated against the virus, and this week that figure rose again to 61.4%. The percent of those with school-age children who say they will inoculate their kids increased to 53.2%, after being below half for the last 6 weeks. Most American travelers who will take a COVID-19 vaccine believe they will get their doses in the first half of this year. In terms of how this impacts their travel, while 48.7% still say they will engage in some travel avoidance until vaccines are widely available, there was a 5 percentage point rise in the proportion of American travelers who say the vaccines make them more optimistic about life returning to normal in the next six months, which is now at 61.9%. There was a similar increase in the proportion of American travelers who say the vaccines make them more optimistic about being able to safely travel in the next six months, as well as a rise in the number of travelers saying they have begun planning and booking trips specifically in anticipation of vaccines being available—now at 33.7%.

 

 

Amongst the most critical indicators of Americans’ path to a travel norm is the plummet in perceptions of travel activities as unsafe. This week, an average of 50.1% perceive the travel and leisure activities we track as unsafe, which is within 0.9% of where this metric was March 15th and the lowest it has been since that date. More Americans are confident they can travel safely now, rising to 31.8% from 24.7% last week. Loss of interest in travel for the time being declined to 42.5%, down from a high of 49.5% one month ago. Those whose normal travel patterns were disrupted by the pandemic are now missing travel even more, with nearly two-thirds saying they miss traveling “very much.” Americans’ openness to travel inspiration reached a pandemic-period peak, measuring 6.0 on a scale of 0-10. Those in a travel readiness state-of-mind soared nearly 12 percentage points to 58.6%, also the highest it has been in the pandemic. Excitement levels about travel in 2021 grew to 6.1 from 5.8 last week.

 

 

As Americans plan their travel for 2021, July is still the peak month, with 27% saying they have at least tentative plans to travel then. Right now, 31.4% of American travelers anticipate their next air trip to be in the first half of the year. The traumatic events of last week may have disrupted the amount of time devoted to travel dreaming (there was a small decline in those that said they had day-dreamed about travel in the last week), although twice as many report having actually made travel reservations last week than the week prior (15.9% up from 8.0%). When it comes to travel in the next three months, more Americans are seeing this as a reality. This week, 48.9% say they will take at least one leisure trip in the next 12-weeks, up from 37.5%. Of those Americans who will travel, they anticipate 1.7 overnight trips on average, largely within 250-miles of where they live. Although the average anticipated spending on travel in this period has increased to $1,398, 50.5% report they will be more budget conscious. In fact, 43.0% of all American travelers say discounts and price cuts can motivate them to take a trip they had not previously considered—a 43-week high.

 

 

With the important increase in Americans’ desire for travel inspiration, travel marketers will be keen to reach them. This week, we asked American travelers which channels they were most receptive to learning about destinations to visit. While online content found through search engines, email and travel/lifestyle magazines are good bets across generations, streaming video services and social media are key for inspiring younger travelers.

 

 

It’s also essential to track how Americans are feeling about travel to and within their own communities. This week, 43.8% feel comfortable going out for leisure in their own community, the highest this has been in 2 months. While 53.5% still do not want visitors to their communities right now, the percent that that said they would be happy if they saw an advertisement promoting their community as a place for tourists to come visit when it is safe hit 40.3%–another metric to hit a pandemic-period high this week.

 

 

A complimentary report of these key findings is available for you to download and share.

…

You can register for our online presentation of these findings Tuesday at 11:00am EST.

…

We appreciate your support of this research from our small but mighty team of devoted tourism researchers. If you would like further and deeper insights from the complete study, you can learn more here. Please consider donating or purchasing to support this research.

…

To make sure you receive notifications of our latest findings, you can sign up here.