Today's Takeaways
From SCT's director of marketing systems & insights, Ariane Hiltebrand
This week’s traveler sentiment update by Destination Analysts reveals that the returning belief in travel’s safety remains strong. Three-quarters of American travelers have confidence they can travel safely. Over 90% of American travelers have trip plans right now.
Destination Analysts Key Findings to Know
From Destination Analysts' Travel Sentiment Report
  • 57% of American travelers are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and a record 72.1% say they have or intend to be vaccinated.

  • Coronavirus anxiety—both from the health and financial perspectives—remains lower than any other period during the pandemic.

  • Half of American travelers say they won’t feel guilty traveling right now.

  • Over 70% of American travelers are highly excited by the prospect of near-term travel and highly open to travel inspiration. More than three-quarters of American travelers say their state-of-mind around travel is “READY.” Nearly 35% of American travelers researched travel ideas online in the last week, a pandemic-record.

  • Over 90% of American travelers plan to take 3.0 leisure trips this year, on average. More than 75% will take a trip within the next 3 months.

  • Consumer expectations about travel prices may have started to catch up with the reality of the demand.

  • The proportion who believe travel prices will be low this summer declined, and is now outweighed by the proportion who feel this will not be the case.

  • Many travelers report that the pandemic has changed them, leaving them more budget and safety conscious, and generally more on their guard. Three-quarters say they are now more safety conscious,

  • 45% feel they are now more budget conscious, and 58% say they have an elevated concern that “something could go wrong” on their upcoming trips.

  • In good news for the meetings and convention industry, avoidance of these events reached a record-low (53.2%).

  • Local support of tourism keeps growing, as well. The proportion who don’t want travelers in their community remains under 40%. Anticipated happiness of seeing a travel ad about their community rose again, this time to 56.8%, the highest level recorded in the pandemic.
Website Insights for sonomacounty.com
During the period of April 30 – May 6, 2021, the top content that people were engaging with on the website was: digital guide and print map order page, homepage, wineries, glamping, Coronavirus page, life opens up campaign page, outdoor activities, road trip itineraries, unique accommodations, restaurants, Mother’s Day, and wellness content.

Our blog saw traffic for Five Ecofriendly Wineries, Black-Owned Businesses, Tasting Pass, What to Expect After the Fires, and Wine Tasting by Bike. San Francisco is #1 and represents 13% of the total traffic this past week. Los Angeles is #3, San José is #4, Sacramento is #6, Oakland is #7. We see 4 out-of-state cities in the top 25: New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Phoenix.
STR Tracking for Sonoma County
Things to Note:

  • With hotels having been closed due to the pandemic around this time last year, percentages will continue to be comparatively high in the coming weeks and months. 
  • STR is comparing “Weekly Year Over Year.”
  • 52 of the county’s 127 hotels report to STR.
  • The average from other destinations includes: Napa, Palm Springs, Monterey, South Lake Tahoe, and Vallejo/Napa Valley.
  • For more information on how data is calculated due to hotel closures, please refer to this document.
Smith Travel Research (STR) is the recognized leader in hospitality industry benchmarking around the globe. Powered by the world's largest hotel data sample, they deliver confidential data, accurate and actionable insights, and comprehensive solutions to empower decisions. Discover how STR collects data, how it is calculated, and a glossary of terms, by clicking here.