This week, Destination Analysts are seeing more steps towards a positive travel sentiment among American travelers. 36.7% of American travelers already have very well-developed travel plans and 39.7% have somewhat developed travel plans. Beaches and resorts still top the list of trip destinations, followed by staying with family and friends, and then visiting rural destinations and parks.
This shows a continuous trend towards wellness-type vacations and reconnecting with family and friends. 49.2% indicate that personal safety plays a major role in destination choice, which makes it important that destinations clearly implement and communicate health and safety protocols. Sonoma County is certainly well-positioned as destination to fulfill those “travel as therapy” needs. This week’s findings also reveal that travelers are now predominantly using provider resources for trip planning, topped by hotel websites, online travel agencies, online review websites, airline and attractions’ websites and official tourism office websites, rather than government sites.
Likely places to stay for next trips are hotels (52.5%), homes of friends/family (33.6%), vacation rentals (15.1%), timeshares (9.8%), and campgrounds (7.6%). These findings indicate that travelers are looking to travel providers to thoughtfully restart their marketing efforts through online channels and popular travel planning websites.