The Travel Vertical

Weekly stories curated exclusively for digital tourism marketers

Recovery: Where We Are Now (Keep Those Fingers & Toes Crossed)

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Are we getting closer to the time when the tourism industry can put Covid in the rear view mirror?

Road trip activity is surging ahead in October, reaching 5.7% above 2019 levels and a big jump of 21% over the same period last year, the Arrivalist Daily Travel Index shows. What’s more, the back-to-school period before the holidays is traditionally slower.

Cree Lawson, Founder & CEO, says this begs two questions: “Is travel caught up? Or surging ahead?” 

Did you know? Arrivalist’s Daily Travel Index measures consumer road trips of 50 miles or more in all 50 U.S. states. The data is drawn from a panel of GPS signals representing road trips taken by car.

Delta News Hub on flickr (Photo by John Paul Van Wert/Rank Studios 2018)

In the first 15 days of October 2021, when there was one Monday holiday, TSA traveler throughput at all U.S. checkpoints (primarily airports) surpassed 2 million passengers on eight separate days. In the first 15 days of September 2021, when there was one Monday holiday, there were just two days that passenger traffic reached 2 million.

What are American travelers thinking, saying, feeling?

The experts report on very recent key findings via surveys:

“As the delta variant recedes, traveler confidence is improving.” — Longwoods International

  • 58% now support welcoming visitors back into their communities, a gain of ten points in just two weeks
  • 67% now feel safe travelling outside their communities, also up ten points in two weeks
  • 70% now feel safe shopping and dining locally, up 12 points in two weeks 
     

“This welcome rebound is just in time, making the outlook for the holiday travel season a pretty bright one.” — Destination Analysts

  • 28% feel that the U.S. has a significant degree of normalcy, up from 24.7% the week of October 4
  • 75.7% have strong feelings of excitement about travel, up from 64.4% the week of October
  • 44.9% have at least tentative plans to hit the road this season, up 17 percentage points from 2020

     

Am I Talking Too Much? This Tech Startup Will Tell You — Plus Social Media Updates

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Quick Bites: News Snippets from the World of Startups & Social Media

Is this a cool tool or something nobody needs?

Video-conference technology can now tell you when you are talking too much in a virtual meeting. Read.ai raised $10M in funding to create a dashboard showing when one or more people are dominating an online conversation.

The dashboard uses artificial intelligence, computer vision and natural language processing to measure engagement, performance and sentiment among participants.

screenshot from Read AI

“Read provides real-time graphs and meters that show if one or more people are dominating the conversation, if people seem bored, not paying attention or if people seem happy or sad about what is being said. For example, on a sales call, Read can show if what is being said is trending negatively quickly so you can either stop talking or pivot to another topic”, said CEO David Shim. The startup was founded in May 2021, and Shim is the former CEO of Foursquare. — Tech Crunch

Facebook is facing the music…again. However, users that indicate they are aware of the recent whistleblower’s testimony, say they’re unlikely to delete the app (62%), according to a survey done by the Harris Poll and Ad Age. That said, over half (55%) say that they do want corporate advertisers to pull the plug on Facebook.

Over three-fifths (63%) were aware of Haugen’s assertion that Facebook prioritizes “making money over the well-being of its users” — and three-quarters (77%) of the public agrees that Facebook is more interested in its bottom line than protecting users.

Facebook has one of the worst corporate images among highly visible companies, ranking #98 in the Axios Harris Poll 100 for 2021. “Takeaway: As Facebook’s reputation continues to decline amid scandals, brands may follow public opinion and take note before spending so much of their marketing budget on the platform.” — The Harris Poll

Screen shot: The top 10 & bottom 10: Axios Harris Poll 100 for 2021

TikTok has launched a new global ad campaign this week featuring their new tag line: “You have to see it.” So, let’s have a look. Here’s the first ad released.

The New Instagram (because it seems they’ve lost their way): “Instagram is getting rid of IGTV, sort of,” writes The Verge. Adam Mosseri got attention in July when he said Instagram is “no longer a photo-sharing app,” noting a shift into video in response to significant competition from TikTok and YouTube.

However since the update, there’s been frustration – the original “influencers” who make their living on primary photo sharing are now scrambling and losing engagement and are having to switch gears to create more video content. Also, small businesses are having to produce more content to maintain any visibility. Now, IGTV is rebranding as “Instagram TV,” and they’re getting rid of the exclusive IGTV video format to combine the long-form video and Instagram Feed videos into a new format called “Instagram Video.”

“IGTV was introduced in June 2018 and was essentially meant to become a mobile equivalent to YouTube, creating a space to discover and watch longer videos. But the longer format never caught on. And just two months later, an app called TikTok launched in the US.” — The Verge

Facebook is testing cross-posting of posts to Instagram. Users can cross-post Instagram Stories and Reels to Facebook, but the platform is rolling out an option to post in the other direction, too. The change is another way the company is touting Instagram to younger users amid increased competition from apps such as Snapchat and TikTok. — PR Week.


Instagram is adding scheduling and ‘practice mode’ for live creators. Users will be able to schedule live videos 90 days in advance, sharing news on Instagram to generate audiences. It’s also launching a feature allowing creators to join their guests ahead of the scheduled event to prepare for shows before going live. — PR Week

No Under-age Instagram (for now): Announced in March 2021, plans to create an “Instagram experience” for under-13s, “Instagram Kids,” have been paused. Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri, writes, “We believe building ‘Instagram Kids’ is the right thing to do, but we’re pausing the work.”

(Well, this statement was published a week prior to the Facebook whistleblower news bombshell, so we’ll leave it there…)

Twitter has announced an update to its Carousel Ad format. The main change is a new option to add custom headlines and landing pages into each frame of your Carousel Ads, which will provide more options to build responsive ads for variable audiences within one campaign.

Twitter explains it like this: “Website Clicks: Introducing Multi-Destination Carousels — Last year, we announced the launch of Carousel Ads. We are pleased to share that we are now launching multi-destination functionality for Carousels driving to a website. With Multi-Destination Carousels, advertisers can now customize headlines and landing pages to help drive the right actions for their audiences. 

Advertisers will have greater flexibility to diversify their message with unique headlines and URLs per Carousel Card. With just a swipe, people can engage with multiple images or videos, and click through to land on different destinations.”

Twitter says that it’s been testing the new option for the past few months, with beta advertisers seeing a 25% lift in click-through rates, on average, for campaigns that optimize for site visit conversions (relative to single-asset ads). — Social Media Today

Twitter eCommerce: Twitter is releasing a slew of features that will push forward its commerce initiatives connected to business profiles in the app. A while back, Twitter announced its Super Like and Subscription feature which allowed users to pay for more premium content.

Recently they added a Purchases tab for users to track those subscriptions. In company profiles, businesses will also be able to highlight products for purchase in a panel display within their profile feed. There is ongoing testing for in-Tweet shopping options with a button allowing users to explore products from businesses. While these are huge steps for Twitter, they have a long way to go to catch up with Instagram and even TikTok, as these platforms are expanding their capabilities.

Planning for Hawai’i’s Tourism Future: Mālama Ku’u Home

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Aloha! One of the world’s most popular destinations has been struggling through Covid-19 to strike the right balance between its all-important island tourism economy and public policy that addresses its precious natural and cultural assets.

During the delta surge this summer, Gov. David Ige asked visitors not to come to Hawaii through October, and the tourism industry took a hit. Now, with holiday planning in mind, tourism leaders eagerly await an announcement expected from the governor this week on welcoming visitors back to the 50th state.

The HTA states that “Hawai‘i tourism is at a point that requires a re-balancing of priorities. The continuous drive to increase visitor numbers has taken its toll on our natural environment and people, the very reason visitors travel to our islands.”

Kalani Ka’anā’anā

Hawaii Tourism Authority’s new vision of “Mālama Ku‘u Home” (caring for my beloved home) is expressed through the principles of regenerative tourism. HTA’s objective is to help empower the community to have a greater voice in tourism’s future, with a focus on regenerating the environment, perpetuating the Hawaiian culture, recognizing Hawai‘i’s multi-ethnic cultures, and supporting responsible economic outcomes.

A recent reorganization of the HTA has allowed it to pivot to becoming a more effective destination management organization, which includes the July appointment of Kalani Kaanaana to the newly created position of Chief Brand Officer.

A major presentation, “Malama Kuu Home: An Update from the Hawaii Tourism Authority,” took place on Oct. 1, 2021 and provided information on the DMO’s vision, 2025 Strategic Plan and four interacting pillars:

  • organizational changes
  • implementation of the Destination Management Action Plans (DMAP)
  • brand management efforts
  • market insights

A PDF of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Strategic Plan 2020-2025 is found here.

The presentation shared details of recent efforts to address overcrowding and how community feedback is being incorporated into destination-specific management action plans.

RFP 22-01: The Hawaii Tourism Destination Brand Marketing and Management Services for the United States Major Market Area

About the Hawai’i Tourism Authority: Established in 1998 as the agency responsible for strategically  managing support of the tourism industry, Hawai‘i’s leading industry and largest employer. HTA continually strives to help ensure tourism’s sustainability and the benefits it brings to residents and communities statewide. 

Goodbye, Columbus and Hello, Halloween: A Destination Roundup (Steal This Idea)

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Just For Fun: Will any other American city ever catch up?

For the first time ever, America observed Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a federal holiday on Monday, issuing a presidential proclamation that makes no mention of Christopher Columbus. The October day with that name was first recognized as a national holiday in 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1992, to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus, Indigenous Peoples’ Day was instituted in Berkeley, California. Momentum built over the past two decades as dozens of cities and states adopted the re-named holiday on the second Monday in October.

Removed: Christopher Columbus statue in front of Coit Tower, San Francisco

Empty Pedestals: The latest count shows 36 public monuments of Christopher Columbus have been removed since the 1970s.

  • In Columbus, Ohio, two statues remain hidden in storage while city officials considered the options following their removal in July 2020. A 7,000-pound bronze gift from Genoa, Italy in 1955, the Italian-American community wishes to weigh in on the decision making process.
  • In San Francisco, the Columbus statue in front of Coit Tower was removed by the city in June 2020, which issued a statement saying “It doesn’t align with San Francisco’s values or commitment to racial justice.”
  • In Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the Twin Cities recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Last year, the Columbus statue on the State Capitol grounds was pulled down as a protest. More than a year later, the fate of this statue is still up in the air.

Nevertheless, there are still 149 statues and probably 6,000 places that commemorate Columbus — colleges, schools, streets, rivers, mountains, parks, traffic circles, and even entire cities. That makes Columbus third among U.S. monuments and memorials, according to a national audit by the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Monument Lab. Only Abraham Lincoln and George Washington get a greater presence in American statuary.

In this Bloomberg CityLab piece that traces the topic, the writer suggests Americans aren’t ready to scrub the explorer’s name from the calendar just yet. “Check back in 2092,” he proposes.

Steal this idea: Our inbox is flooded by content from destinations across the USA, pitching Halloween-themed events, pumpkin weighing contests, spooky stuff and haunted hotels. There’s still time to produce your blog with a scary roundup for Halloween…or pull out last year’s for a quick refresh.

Our favorite one comes from Richard Stenger on behalf of the Humboldt County Convention & Visitors Bureau in Northern California, a.k.a. Bigfoot Country on the Redwood Coast. Richard shares an intriguing press release explaining how this ultra-popular haunted house image has dominated all others for the spookiest-looking one, attracting Hollywood and Google searches alike. He writes:

This scary Carson Mansion makeover by Daniele Montella is one of the world’s most popular haunted house images.

“The nation’s most photographed Victorian, a charming home in Eureka, has a diabolical side that becomes more pronounced each October. The Carson Mansion, a green gabled Queen Anne affair overlooking Humboldt Bay, serves as the backdrop of selfies from tourists the world over. It also does double duty as the poster child of haunted houses, inspiring Disney attractions, Hitchcock stories and Halloween-ish works of weirdness. To celebrate the spooky season, Victorian Seaport tour guides are offering special prices on their Old Town walks.”

Steal this idea: Have you considered making a video of the making of a video?

Travel Wisconsin Fall 2021 Campaign: Go Behind the Scenes

“Showcasing all that makes Wisconsin such an incredible place to visit in a single campaign is no easy feat. In fact, planning and production start more than a year in advance,” says Secretary-Designee Anne Sayers. The team, including Chief Marketing Officer Shane Brossard, have produced a look behind-the-scenes to give people an idea of at what’s involved in putting together Travel Wisconsin’s fall campaign.

Anne comments, “This global pandemic posed such a challenge…not only to our industry — which was of course the first hit, arguably the hardest hit — but also to us as an organization, as Travel Wisconsin, how were we going to handle this?”

Shane adds, “I have never been a part of a production where we hit fall colors just right. You’ll see it for yourself in the TV spot. It’s just spectacular.”

Watch it here (3:23 mins.)

Steal this idea: Ohio’s Scarecrow Capital is less than four hours’ drive from Detroit. Last week, Visit Fairfield County kicked off the third annual Trail of Scarecrows. Naturally, there’s an app for that…

With a lineup of 250+ scarecrows to see in 14 communities, there’s a map to locate them all and also a contest to vote for a favorite.

 

The challenge: “Let’s make Mesa, Arizona the most accessible city in America,” says the explainer video. “Accessibility should be everyone’s concern.”

Mesa, which already leads U.S. cities on accessibility, has launched a visual interpretation services for visitors and residents with Aira. It’s a new accessibility technology that serves people who are blind or have low vision.

Prior to arrival, visitors can download the Aira app and get access to a trained Aira agent who can assist with trip planning. While in Mesa’s city limits, visitors can access the agent to guide them throughout public buildings, attractions, restaurants, hotels and more.

“I want to find my way to the outside and call a Lyft, please.”

“Absolutely, it looks like you have the doors just ahead of you.”

“I’m trying to purchase some tickets to go on the subway.”

“Certainly.”

“Good morning, Joanne. I’m looking to find a coffee shop near me.”

“From my dashboard, I can see a few. I found one with fours stars on Yelp. How does that sound?”

You Can’t Know Too Much: Traveler Survey Findings for Fall & Ahead to the Holidays

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Expedia Media Group Solutions

Expedia Group Media Solutions

“We’re seeing positive signals continue into the fall.” A report just published follows the survey of 2,200 Americans conducted in collaboration with Morning Consult. Expedia Group Media Solutions finds the majority (58%) of respondents have travel plans during the fall with Millennials in leading (67%) compared to Gen Z (61%), Gen X (53%), and Boomers (53%).

Where are they heading? Hotel demand now through November indicated across Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Orbitz, and Travelocity tells us travelers are booking visits to:

  1. Las Vegas
  2. Orlando
  3. New York City

    Vacation rentals tell a different story:
  1. Pigeon Forge, TN
  2. Miramar and Rosemary Beach, FL
  3. Gulf Shores, AL

To get more information, read the Fall Outlook report in this blog post.

Longwoods International

Longwoods International

“As we enter the final quarter of the calendar year, we start taking a look at travel sentiment in regard to the upcoming holiday season in addition to our ongoing Key Sentiment Indicators. This is especially timely as the CDC has just announced their Holiday Gathering and Travel Guidelines. 

Key Findings:  Initial Outlook for Fall/Holiday Travel is Mixed

  1. American Travel Sentiment indicates a mixed bag among travelers in regard to the upcoming fall/holiday travel season, with 41% saying they plan on the same amount of travel and 32% saying they are planning fewer trips during the same season last year.
  2. On the positive side, 27% say they are actually planning more travel this fall/holiday season over last year. It will be interesting to see if the reported significant declines in the delta variant surge will help grow this number over the coming weeks.
  3. Overall demand for travel form now into early 2022 is solid, as 88% of American travelers indicate plans to travel in the next six months, and other Key Sentiment Indicators appear to be holding steady.
  4. Also, the news reports of the decline in the overall volume of delta variant cases in the U.S. is helping reverse or stabilize some the recent downward trends in resident/community sentiment in regards to welcoming back visitors to our communities, venturing outside our communities, and dining and shopping locally.

    Get more survey finding details here.

Destination Analysts

Destination Analysts

“Americans’ travel marketability continues to gradually recover from the Delta-variant damage but travelers are feeling more financial stress lately and some uncertainty about vaccine protection. Meanwhile, the reopening of the U.S. border to vaccinated international visitors is generating excitement for travel. And with the rash of poorly-behaved passenger incidents on airplanes lately, the concept of a national no-fly list of trouble-making passengers enjoys wide consumer support.”

More findings:

  1. Although our indices show that travel marketability continues to gradually improve from the dramatic drop it took during the height of the Delta variant spread, Americans are feeling more financially stressed lately.
  2. A combination of the recent Delta-variant surge and seasonality, Americans have slowed their previous rabid demand for travel. 
  3. Some American travelers are not entirely confident in the protection their COVID vaccines are currently giving them, fueling a strong likelihood for boosters.
  4. Politics in play in travel. This week, 18.7% of American travelers say there are places in the U.S. where they feel they wouldn’t be welcome as tourists. 50.6% of these travelers cite political differences as the reason.

Click here for the latest survey details from 1,200 American travelers collected September 29 – October 1.

Staff

Laurie Jo Miller Farr, Editor
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