07/30/2021
Update 07/30/21: Ohio's Travel Industry and the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Economic Updates
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OHIO INDUSTRY TOURISM GRANTS AND APPLY TODAY
If you suffered revenue or occupancy losses in 2020, take the time to learn more about the Investing in Ohio’s Future grants. Non-repayable grants are available for entertainment venues, lodging, food and beverage, and new businesses.
The Ohio Travel Association and the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association hosted a webinar this past week with John Werkman, chief of Business Services Division at the Ohio Department of Development. Below is a link to the recording, as well as the slides. He answered a lot of the most common questions regarding these grants, such as the following:
Q: I’ve never written a grant before. How difficult is this?
A: These are not competitive grants, so grant-writing experience or expertise is not needed. If you are eligible (based on the definitions in the guidance) and can show losses, you will receive up to $30,000.
Q: What if I’ve already received PPP, EIDL or other funding?
A: It doesn’t matter. These are state grants given to help those who suffered the greatest losses.
Q: What if I’m not certain if I’m eligible?
A: Read the information about each grant. It’s very thorough and explains a lot. If you are still uncertain because you don’t see your exact type of business listed, apply anyway and add a sheet explaining why you feel you are eligible.
Q: Is there a deadline? Is money still available?
A: There is plenty of money to go around as of today and there is no cut-off deadline for applications.
Travel Research Updates
FEAR OF DELTA VARIANT IMPACTING SOME TRAVEL PLANS; TRAVELERS EXPRESS STRONG SUPPORT FOR VACCINES
Key findings from Longwoods International fielded July 27, 2021
- With coronavirus case numbers, hospitalizations, and deaths on the rise again, support among travelers for opening their communities to visitors also has dropped from a peak of 67% in early June to 57% as of July 27.
- Confidence in the safety of eating in local restaurants and shopping in local retail locations has suffered a similar decline, from three-fourths to only two-thirds of travelers.
- More than half of travelers surveyed would require vaccinations for all international travelers to the U.S. and another 14% would make that a requirement for visitors arriving from “high-risk” countries.
OPTIMISM ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS SITUATION IN THE U.S. HAS PLUMMETED; DELTA VARIANT DISRUPTING TRAVEL PLANS; ON A BRIGHTER NOTE, METROPOLITAN AREAS CONTINUE TO MAKE GAINS IN RECOVERY
Key findings from Destination Analysts fielded the week of July 25, 2021
- American travelers’ expectation that the coronavirus situation will get worse in the next month has made a significant jump from 19.6% the week of July 12th to 43.0% this week—surpassing expectations that the situation will get better (32.0%) for the first time since the week of February 1st. This worsening expectation has impacted Americans’ excitement to travel right now (68.2%, down from 72.6%), personal health concerns (56.6%, up from 49.5%) and their confidence in the ability to travel safely right now (49.3%, down from 52.9%).
- When asked to give one word that best describes how they feel about travel right now, Americans’ top response was “exciting” the week of July 12th. Now, they mostly feel “good” about travel; however, the number of people citing “unsafe,” “nervous,” “worried,” or “anxious” is growing.
- Due to recent media coverage of the COVID-19 situation, 44.8% are now doubting that it is safe to go out and about and 45.0% doubt that it is safe to travel now. These decreased feelings of safety have led to a drop in perceptions of normalcy. This week, less than one-in-three (32.3%) American travelers feel that the U.S. is close to “normal” in terms of resuming leisure activities—down 10 percentage points from 42.7% the week of July 12th.
- Recent news about increasing Delta variant cases have made half of American travelers less interested in traveling right now (53.6%, up from 51.0% the week of July 12th). In fact, a quarter (25.4%) have postponed an upcoming trip and 18.9% have cancelled a trip specifically due to the Delta variant. In addition, overnight trips appear to be in decline—this week 43.8% of Americans said they took at least one such trip in the past month which is down from 49.6% who said the same the week of July 12th.
- Among those who took an overnight trip in the past month, cities/metro areas were the top destination type visited (39.3%), followed by small towns (30.9%) and beach destinations (26.9%). Due to recent COVID outbreaks, some cities have reinstated indoor mask requirements and while 15.7% of American travelers are opposed, 68.2% support this requirement.
Travel Research Round-Up
View the latest trends and traveler sentiments in this one-page research summary.