09/10/2021
Updates 9/10/21: Ohio's Travel Industry and the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES AND ROADTRIPS STAY AT TOP OF TRAVEL INTENTIONS, CONFIDENCE IS SLIPPING, MIXED DESIRE FOR SAFETY PROTOCOLS
Key findings from Longwoods International fielded Sept. 1, 2021
- 90% of American travelers have plans to travel in the next six months. However, 58% say the pandemic will impact their travel decisions, while 22% say it won’t. Those saying coronavirus would greatly impact their decisions to travel rose to 36% from holding steady at 34% since early August.
- When asked specifically about how the Delta variant impacts their travel intentions, 30% say they are still planning to travel between October and December, 20% have postponed travel to later this year, and another 15% have postponed travel till 2022.
- Of those planning to change travel plans due to COVID (55%), here is how these plans may change:
- Driving versus flying – 33%
- Reducing the number of trips – 33%
- Traveling domestically instead of internationally – 28%
- Rural destinations over urban areas – 16%
- Not traveling at all – 11%
- Canceling trips – 10%
- Activities for fall travelers include intent to visit friends and relatives (66%), take a road trip (58%), visit a park (33%), go on a hike or bike ride (28%), visit a farmer’s market (27%), view fall foliage (30%), visit a museum, art gallery or other arts/cultural institution (22%), visit a theme park (19%), visit a farm to experience fall harvest activities (22%), go to a winery, brewery or distillery (19%), attend a festival (17%), participate in a sporting event (12%), go fruit or berry picking (15%).
- 42% are concerned with personal financial situations compared to 36% who say that financial concerns won’t impact their decisions to travel.
- While concerns over COVID-19 continue to be top of mind for many American travelers during travel planning, they are split when it comes to the implementation of health and safety protocols at destinations. Half of travelers cite having clear health and safety protocols as being important when deciding where to travel. However, 44% says that having no travel restrictions at potential destinations is important to them when making these plans.
- Consumer confidence in staying safe is dropping, with 60% say they feel safe dining in local restaurants and shopping in retail stores in their communities compared to a high of 74% in late June. 57% say they feel safe traveling outside their communities, down from 72% in early June.
- Support for opening up their communities to visitors has dropped to 45% from a high of 67% in early June.
MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z SUPPORT SAFETY PROTOCOLS AND SHOW INTENT TO TRAVEL, CONCERNS WITH SAFETY INCREASING IN RECENT WEEKS
Key findings from Destination Analysts fielded Sept. 1-3, 2021:
- Nearly a quarter of Americans said they would be traveling during the Labor Day holiday weekend, up from 13% last year. Among those who did not travel on the holiday weekend, 13% said they cancelled planned trips due to concerns about the Delta variant.
- Millennial and Gen Z age travelers are likeliest to be in a ready-to-travel mindset right now (77%). They are also likelier to be supportive of pandemic protocols like indoor mask requirements right now (72%)
- Perceptions of air travel, indoor attractions and indoor dining as safe have fallen. Travelers viewing indoor attractions as safe is 44%, while 53% view restaurant dining as safe.
- Even though 71% say they are excited to travel in the next 12 months, fewer Americans are reporting planned overnight leisure trips (53% compared to 47% two weeks ago) and leisure day trips (43%, down from 51%).
- Employed travelers say they would be happy to take an out-of-state business trip in the next six months (46%), indicating an increase since early this year.
- Also on the rise since April is the appeal of attending in-person group meetings. Now 40% would be happy to do so, up from 38% the week of April 12. 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.
Travel Research Round-Up
View the latest trends and traveler sentiments in this one-page research summary.