04/26/2024
04/26/2024: Ohio's Travel Industry and Current Travel Research
LONGWOODS REPORTS 7% OF AMERICANS TRAVELED AT LEAST 50 MILES FROM HOME TO SEE THE SOLAR ECLIPSE ON APRIL 8. AMERICANS SHARE THEIR FEELINGS ON WORK/LIFE BALANCE IN 2024 COMPARED TO 2023.
Key findings from Longwoods International, fielded April 10:
- Concerns on personal financial situations (25%), transportation cost (23%) and inflation (25%) remain as reasons greatly impacting Americans not to travel in the next six months.
- Longwoods reports 7% of Americans traveled at least 50 miles from their home to view the Solar Eclipse and 8% traveled less than 50 miles.
- Among those who traveled at least 50 miles to see the phenomenon:
- 44% took a day trip
- 39% stayed 1-2 nights away from home
- 9% stayed 3-5 nights away from home
- Americans also reported on their work/life balance in 2024 to compare to 2023:
- 36% reported they are less likely to work during leisure travel in 2024 compared to 28% in 2023
- 27% reported being more focused on work/life balance in 2024 compared to 25% in 2023
- 24% reported they are more likely to work on-site than remotely in 2024 compared to 20% in 2023
- 10% reported most likely including leisure activities while on a business trip in 2024. This is no change to 2023.
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND IS LESS THAN TWO MONTHS AWAY. AS THE UNOFFICIAL START TO SUMMER, AMERICAN TRAVELERS HAVE STARTED TO SHARE WHAT THEIR TRAVEL PLANS ARE FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON.
Key findings from The Vacationer, fielded March 27:
- 82% of American adults plan to travel at least once (40%), or more than once (42%) this upcoming summer. Those who plan to travel more than once during the warmer months make up about 108 million Americans.
- As for where they plan to travel this summer, 57% plan to travel domestically compared to only 25% who plan to travel either internationally (6%) or both domestically and internationally (18%).
- When asked if American adults plan to take a road trip this summer:
- 21% said yes, within 100 miles of home
- 21% said yes, within 250 miles of home
- 19% said yes, within 500 miles of home
- 25% said they do not plan to road trip this summer
- 75% of American adults who plan to road trip this summer account for nearly 196 million people. The age group with the most intentions to road trip this summer are American adults between the ages of 25 and 60.
- As for traveling over summer holidays, American adults do plan to travel during Memorial Day weekend (22%), Fourth of July (30%), and Labor Day weekend (20%). However, 55% of American adults do not plan to travel during any of these summer holidays.
PROFESSIONAL MARKETERS SHARE WHAT SOCIAL PLATFORMS THEY FIND TO HAVE THE HIGHEST ROI. WITH AI BECOMING A FAVORED TOOL, MARKETERS SHARE HOW THEY HAVE USED IT FOR BEST RESULTS. MEMES AND OTHER FUNNY CONTENT RESULTS IN HIGH ROI.
Key findings from HubSpot, fielded Jan. 2024:
- Professional marketers feel that YouTube (23%), Instagram (23%) and Facebook (22%) tend to have the best audience for participation on the platforms.
- As for what professional marketers find having a high ROI:
- 95% said long-form videos
- 96% said interview, podcasts and expert discussions
- 96% said temporary content like stories and polls
- With AI quickly becoming a favored tool among marketers, it is no surprise 71% reported using this new tool. They also said they use AI to create content that has performed better than made without (71%) and said using AI tools will be crucial in 2024 for successful social media strategies (87%).
- 17% of consumers have reported using AI chatbots to find what they are looking for.
- Marketers predict that consumers will search for brands on social media more than search engines in 2024 (87%). Consumers have reported they prefer to use social media to find the answers to what they are looking for (21%).
- Interestingly, 24% of marketers said that funny content has resulted in the biggest ROI this year and 94% rate memes as having average or high ROI.