As we know, information concerning the coronavirus or COVID-19 is changing very rapidly and sentiment around this virus changes along with it. We conducted a survey from 3/10 to 3/11 of 600 US residents who have vacations planned in the next one to sixth months, both internationally and domestically. This data is a snapshot of traveler sentiment over the last two days. The goal was to understand how plans may change due to COVID-19. What we found was that travelers are hopeful things will be back to normal in the next few months.
Of the US travelers we surveyed who have vacations planned in the next month, 30% are extremely (17%) or very (13%) likely to cancel or change their travel plans. This number drops to 21% for those traveling in the next three months and drops again to 16% for those traveling in the next six months. This steady decline reflects a hopeful traveler with expectations that things will gradually get back to normal. We certainly hope this outlook holds true. Not surprisingly, those US travelers with plans to travel abroad are much more likely to change or cancel their upcoming trip compared to those traveling domestically.
Of the US travelers we surveyed who are traveling within the US in the next one to six months, 18% are extremely (10%) or very (8%) likely to cancel or change their travel plans. This number more than doubles to 37% for those traveling abroad, with US travelers extremely (14%) or very (23%) likely to cancel or change their travel plans. With the new travel ban on most of Europe this will only get worse.
As the news changes and updates come in, we'll all be bracing to see how things progress, not simply for our businesses but for our family and friends. Although tourism and travel will take time to get back to normal, we take solace in the hopefulness of US travelers.
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