09/09/2022
Updates 9/9/22: Ohio's Travel Industry and Current Research
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE CONTINUES TO RISE AS GAS PRICES FALL
Key findings from Longwoods International fielded Aug. 31, 2022:
- As gas prices continue to improve, consumer confidence toward travel grows. Only 27% of travelers said gas prices would greatly impact their decision to travel in the next six months, down dramatically from the 43% of travelers who expressed the same sentiment two months ago.
- More than half of travelers plan to visit friends and relatives on their fall trips, and 43% are planning to take a fall road trip. Other top fall trip activities include visiting state and national parks, and going to museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions, as well as fall color tours, visiting a farmers market, attending a festival and hiking/bicycling.
CUSTOMER SERVICE STILL AN ISSUE AND COULD IMPACT FUTURE TRIPS. INTENT TO TRAVEL IN THE NEXT YEAR INCREASES. TRAVELERS SEEKING NEW PLACES AND 'ACTIVE' TIME.
Key findings from Destination Analysts fielded August 2022:
- 62% of American travelers have taken at least one overnight trip since mid-May.
- 40% of these travelers experienced at least one customer service issue, with staffing shortages topping the list of problems. Gen X travelers expressed the highest level of frustration, while Boomer travelers appeared more patient.
- Bad experiences with service could impact future travel plans – 31% of those reporting moderate to extreme levels of frustration with service issues in recent trips are reconsidering their fall plans.
- Lots of people isn’t always a good thing, as 17% of travelers say crowds are why they didn’t travel this summer.
- Nearly two-thirds of travelers expect to take at least one overnight leisure trip in the next three months, and nearly half play to specifically visit friends or family.
- 30% say COVID is negatively impacting their travel experiences – this is down 17 points from early 2022.
- The top reasons why people are not traveling remains financial – cost of gas, cost of travel and their own personal financial situation. The situation appears to be improving, however, as 31% of travelers saying they’d be taking more trips in the next 12 months, up from 28% in July.
- Top priorities include spending time with loved ones, visiting new places, having fun, relaxing and being happy.
- 53% are seeking new places to visit, 45% want “active” time, and 37% report wanting luxury travel experiences.
- Looking more deeply into American attitudes toward travel messaging, one-third (34%) say they do not see themselves represented in travel advertisements. There is an opportunity to diversify travel messaging to ensure all travelers feel welcomed to the destination.
- In terms of planning windows for marketers to bear in mind, American travelers are planning their domestic leisure trips about 11.4 weeks in advance on average for trips with a length of stay of one week or longer.
- As for where marketers can best reach travelers, Americans are most receptive to learning about new destinations through websites found via search engine (32%), followed by Facebook (23%), review websites (23%) and online content (22%). TikTok was by far the most popular channel for Gen Z travelers to learn about new destinations (44%), while Millennials were most likely to select Facebook (31%). Websites found via search engine were the top choice for Gen X (35%) and Baby Boomers (36%).