Approaching weeks, and for many global markets, months of living a new normal of daily life to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we’re starting to see conversations around where we plan to travel when this time has passed along with posts of travelers nostalgic of their past wanderlust. It is not just travelers looking to the return of vacationing, the travel industry is sitting with bated breath to open their destinations and welcome travelers back into restaurants, attractions, bars, and onto our beaches and parks. This moment will come, with many signs pointing globally to sooner than later, but the question remains ‘how do we know when’ and even more ‘how do we adapt to the new normal’. 

After weeks of decline in traveler sentiment, the most recent survey of American Travel Sentiment from Longwoods International has seen key data points finally appear to stabilize with a shocking 85% of American travelers having changed their plans.  Couple this point with a stark decline in persons searching for travel here in the US, down 85% last week compared to last year, according to ADARA. 

That being said, travelers may be settled in at home today, but this will not be the new normal. The travel industry should be focused on the rebound because it is coming. ‘We seem to have found the floor with declines in travel here in the US the past four weeks, it’s now a question of how long we run along this floor’- Andria Godfrey at ADARA. While today we see a stall in travel demand, there has been an uptick in travelers planning to take a trip in the next six months according to this week’s Longwoods International’s COVID Traveler Sentiment Study. According to the survey, 70% of Americans indicate they will be traveling in the next six months (up from 65% the prior week)! A shift in measurable demand will follow a shift in sentiment when travelers move from dreaming to planning their post travel limitations.

The data points are not only suggesting that travelers want to return to destinations in the upcoming six months, but also that the inflection point of travel demand sits in the third-quarter of the year according to ADARA’s Tourism Dashboard. With data pointing to the rebound, the travel industry must first be informed of what is happening in the market today, and second look at when and where travel will emerge. 

We have the data, that is not a challenge for the industry to overcome, it is a matter of focusing on the right data- the blending of data points to have as fully an informed perspective as possible. Not only does the industry need to look at traveler sentiment and search behavior to inform re-entry into the market, but also look to inflection points of the disease itself. Understanding when the market and key domestic travel sources will hit their peak in COVID-19 cases is a leading indicator to the lifting of social distancing restrictions. Understanding both when and how people think about their return to travel coupled with the actual ability to get back on the road informs the perspective of rebound.

‘We should always be looking to understand the context and the behavior itself to inform travel development and marketing, but even more so today where consumers are influenced by a variety of new concerns, this is key to a successful rebound’ says Amir Eylon CEO of Longwoods International.  While data providers are taking a multi-pronged approach to understanding the recovery, the industry as a whole will benefit from a cohesive market perspective to guide an informed recovery plan that puts money back in local economies and people back to work.

Bottom Line:  Now more than ever, work with your data and research suppliers to triangulate what each individual report is telling you to get a bigger and better picture.  Each report may be just one piece of the puzzle, but the picture becomes much clearer when multiple data sources are put together to tell the story of what is happening and where the opportunity may be emerging.  Like the old saying goes, “Never judge a book by its cover!”...  Data content and context will get you closer to understanding the whole story.  

For more information on current insights from ADARA and Longwoods during the COVID-19 crisis, please visit:

1.  ADARA COVID-19 Resource Center
2. Longwoods International American Traveler Sentiment highlights