Americans Expect Excellent Service as They Resume Travel

According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, more than 80% expect the travel and tourism industry to provide as good or better service than they did prior to the pandemic.  Given the scramble to attract adequate staffing at many tourism-related businesses across the country, this may be a summer of disappointment when it comes to customer service as travel accelerates nationally.

“We urge travelers to be patient this summer, as tourism businesses ramp up after a very tough 2020,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International.  “The industry is well aware of the need to provide excellent service as a key part of the travel experience, but labor shortages in many parts of the U.S. are keeping hotels, restaurants, retail outlets and attractions from being able to fully staff for the peak summer season.”

About half of travelers are keeping an eye on the vaccination rates for potential destinations, saying the rate of vaccinations will have an impact on their destination selection.   Conversely. nearly 40% of respondents say the percentage of the population vaccinated in a destination will have no impact on the travel plans.

The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded June 9, 2021 using a national sample randomly drawn from a consumer panel of 1,000 adults, ages 18 and over.  Quotas were used to match Census targets for age, gender, and region to make the survey representative of the U. S. population.