Five steps to recover tourism according to TripAdvisor

In the early days of the pandemic, there was high hope that the temporary application of travel restrictions in many markets would be short-lived and that traveler confidence would rebound quickly and sharply.
As it became clear that the restrictions were likely to be in place for an extended period, the prevailing opinion in the sector leaned towards the idea of ​​a gradual and potentially prolonged recovery, with concerns about the long-term effect on the confidence of consumers on travel.

The reality seems to be somewhere between these two scenarios.

The good news is that the desire to travel remains a powerful motivator for many consumers, and it continues to be remarkably present even now.

However, it is also true that as the pandemic subsides, the travel sector will not be able to function simply as it did before, in part due to continued government interventions, but also as a result of changes in expectations and purchasing power of consumers.

This will lead to a staged recovery, marked by five distinct stages, according to the latest report released by TripAdvisor:

1 – The decline stage
In the early stages of the global pandemic, the industry entered a logical stage of decline. Widespread travel restrictions came into effect in most major markets, directly implying that travelers stayed at home.
The impact on the travel and hospitality sector was immediate and far-reaching, leading to a sharp decrease in bookings and a sharp increase in cancellations.
In fact, more than a third – 34 percent – of consumers surveyed at the end of March reported that they had rescheduled a trip due to COVID-19 instead of canceling it, and another quarter – 27 percent – planned to reschedule a trip. canceled at a later date.

2 – The ‘plateau’ stage
In April, more than two-thirds of travelers stated that they were still planning to travel and where they wanted to go next. A third have viewed videos of destinations they were interested in, and 18 percent have watched travel programs or documentaries.
All of this points, according to TripAdvisor, to a key underlying trend: There continues to be significant pent-up consumer demand for travel that could soon be met by both destinations and businesses as restrictions on travel are reduced. travels.
The point at which this demand begins to become more tangible travel behaviors marks the beginning of the next stage: emerge.

3- The moment to emerge
At the time of writing this report, some of the world’s major markets had already started lifting some restrictions that were in place. If these markets serve as an indicator of what is to come in other countries that are further behind the COVID-19 curve, then there are reasons for moderate optimism.
The first signs of recovery can be seen in the catering sector. Looking at restaurant page traffic on Tripadvisor in recent weeks, New Zealand was the first to post a strong recovery trend, correlated with its success in containing the spread of the virus to date.
Traffic to restaurants in other markets, including Germany, Switzerland, and Spain, has since followed a similar upward trend, as those markets are also beginning to ease local travel restrictions.

4 – The domestic stage
Initially, this trend could be seen in national travel searches that took place more than 90 days away.
In other words, consumers were starting to go into research and planning mode, and they were doing so with specific national trips in mind, but the trips they were scheduling were at least three months away.
The same growth was not evident in travel searches less than a month away, likely reflecting consumer uncertainty about when inland travel would be allowed again.
Since mid-May, domestic travel searches due to take place in less than 30 days have grown rapidly in the United States and in other markets.
This shows that as consumers see restrictions ease elsewhere, confidence grows that their own countries will soon follow suit.
It follows that, as markets around the world enter the emerging countries stage, the foundations of the national recovery stage are already being built.

5 – The international scene
While the indications pointing to both emerging and national recovery stages are already evident in the underlying data, the latest recovery stage, the international one, is the most difficult to decipher.
Nearly half of consumers believe their next international trip will be in more than a year, compared to only a quarter who expect it to be in six months and 31 percent who believe it will happen in seven to twelve months to from now on.
Ultimately, what the data reveals is a strong desire for consumers to return to international destinations when they can. That can only be good news for the industry as a whole.