Safety Protocols and Mandates Updates
AS STATE MANDATES ARE LIFTED, CONSUMER DATA ON EXPECTATIONS SHARED
In an industry where customer service is important, here is a link to consumer expectations for safety protocols at your business or organization. As comfort levels are changing quickly, we'll continue to keep you updated on what customers expect. Pay careful attention to new research showing how families with children living at home feel.
Research Round-Up
View the latest trends and traveler sentiments in this one-page research summary.
Travel Research Updates
TOURS REBOUNDING QUICKLY, BUT AT UNEVEN RATES
Key findings from Arival fielded March and April, 2021.
- More than one in four U.S. tour operators expect 2021 bookings to be at least 80% of 2019 levels
- Depending on the type of tour or experience offered, where their customers live, and the customer segment serviced, tour operator recovery will vary widely.
- Based on what has happened in other areas as restrictions have loosened, recovery could happen very fast.
- Masks, providing hand sanitizer and social distancing are still in effect for most attractions and tour operators. Tour operators are less likely to mandate these than the attractions, themselves. (Remember, however, that this is a national survey with states loosening mandates at different speeds.)
- Those offering outdoor experiences are following CDC guidelines and are less likely to enforce masks outdoors.
- Few operators are thinking about requiring proof of vaccination (14%) or negative COVID tests (13%).
INTEREST IN URBAN AREAS JUST AS HIGH AS RURAL AREAS, GROWING CONFIDENCE IN ATTENDING CONVENTIONS AND CONFERENCES, MARKETING CHANNELS STARTING TO RETURN TO PRE-PANDEMIC NORM
Key findings from Destination Analysts fielded May 20-22:
- Consumers are feeling less anxious attending conventions and conferences. Those who are avoiding these has reached a pandemic-low of 52%, and 23% disagree that they will avoid.
- Great news for urban areas! Those travelers surveyed seeking to visit cities and urban areas is tracking similar to those who are interested in rural and beach destinations at 37%.
- In the last week, 78% dreamt and/or planned traveled, up nearly 5 percentage points. One-third report that they researched travel ideas online. Nearly 77% of American travelers say they are in a ready-to-travel mindset.
- Last week, 19% of American travelers booked a trip including hotels (57%) and airline tickets (44%). This is up 33% from the week prior.
- Americans report they will take an average of 2.3 leisure trips over the next 3 months.
- Instagram appeared in the top five channels travelers say they are most receptive to learning about destinations, and online travel agencies (such as Expedia) are among most frequent resources used to plan travel.
- Although 25% of those surveyed agree that gas price increases and shortages have led them to change or cancel Memorial Day travel, nearly a quarter (23%) of American travelers say they will take a trip for the holiday this year, averaging 3.5 days.
- When asked to evaluate their customer service experiences on their most recent trip, those surveyed had greatest concern with service in restaurants, with 24% saying a restaurant experiences diminished enjoyment of their trip. Hotels, motels and inns performed better, with only 8% of travelers saying they had encountered customer service problems. More than 40% of travelers agreed that, due to the pandemic, businesses in the travel industry appeared to be having trouble providing adequate service to travelers.
MASKS ARE STILL IMPORTANT IF YOUR CUSTOMER BASE INCLUDES HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN UNDER 13
Key findings from Impacts Research fielded May 21, 2021.
- Those likely to visit museums and cultural entities are more likely to have been vaccinated.
- Masks are still important, particularly if your customers are adults with children in the household. Approximately 67% of those likely to visit a museum, zoo, cultural attraction, etc. believe businesses should still require all visitors to wear face coverings.
- 70% of those with children under the age of 13 feel businesses should require face coverings, while 59% of those without children in their household feel the same way.
- When looking at those travelers who already have plans in place to visit these attractions (about half of those surveyed), about 50% of this subsegment say they are ready for things to return to normal, and 32% are willing to abide by modest safety protocols, such as face masks. As this group has either been traveling throughout the pandemic or is likely to be vaccinated, the greater desire for thing to get back to normal shouldn’t be surprising.
- When asked how important the following are when considering a visit to a cultural attractions, business, zoo, aquarium, etc., the following ranked highest in an index of 1 to 10:
- wearing a mask or face covering when indoors
- wearing a mask or face covering at all times (indoors and outdoors)
- staff and volunteers enforcing mask and face covering guidelines
- having exclusive hours for guest with special health considerations
- having hand sanitizer available for guests to use
- Those households with children under 13 scored higher than those without on all of the above.
- The speed with which attitudes regarding safety are changing is rapid.