The Travel Vertical

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MMGY Global Releases New Survey on Omicron Variant and Travel Decisions

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The first research is in since Omicron surfaced. This survey was conducted December 3–5, 2021, by MMGY Travel Intelligence, MMGY Global’s research and insights division. For more traveler research related to COVID-19, visit mmgyintel.com.

Survey of U.S. Adults Shows Omicron Variant Is More Likely to Affect Travel Decisions of the Vaccinated Than the Unvaccinated 

Americans are largely in favor of vaccination mandates from airlines and testing requirements for travelers entering the country

KANSAS CITY, MO (December 7, 2021) – MMGY Global’s latest survey of U.S. adults revealed that 45% of respondents who are familiar with the Omicron variant are less likely to travel in the next three months because of related concerns. Interestingly, unvaccinated travelers’ intentions appear to be far less impacted than those of the vaccinated. The survey found 39% of vaccinated adults familiar with Omicron say news of the variant has no impact on their likelihood to travel in the next three months, while the majority (71%) of those who are unvaccinated say this news does not impact their likelihood to travel. 

As scientists learn more about how Omicron behaves, the next couple of weeks will be very important in determining how much of an impact this new variant is likely to have on travel plans. A significant percentage of Americans say it would have an effect on their likelihood to travel.

  • Forty-three percent say they would be significantly less likely to travel if scientists determine Omicron is more likely to result in hospitalizations.
  • Thirty-four percent say they would be significantly less likely to travel if scientists determine Omicron is more resistant to current vaccines.
  • Thirty-two percent say they would be significantly less likely to travel if scientists determine Omicron is more easily transmitted.

Clayton Reid, CEO of MMGY Global, shared his perspective on how to interpret the data. “As we have seen with the Delta variant, traveler mentality can be affected by a perpetuated media and social narrative, but that effect can be fleeting and somewhat unreliable. While we see an expected apprehension among travelers as they first learn of Omicron, we also expect this to be replaced quickly with a bullish sentiment toward 2022 travel.”

The national survey, which was conducted among nearly 900 U.S. adults, also examined consumer sentiment related to health and safety measures that could prevent the spread of Omicron cases, and coronavirus in general, throughout the United States.

  • Sixty-seven percent of Americans support President Biden’s decision to increase testing requirements for inbound international travelers to the United States.
  • Sixty-four percent of Americans believe airlines should require all passengers to be fully vaccinated in order to fly domestically, and 67% believe this requirement should be in place for international travelers.

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About MMGY Travel Intelligence

MMGY Travel Intelligence is MMGY Global’s industry research and insights division, offering proprietary data and research including MMGY Global’s Portrait of American Travelers® as well as DK Shifflet’s TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/MonitorSM, which is comprised of the largest continuous consumer travel database in the industry. The organization’s services are designed to power travel industry decision-makers through consumer insights, travel performance data, and audience modeling and segmentation. To learn more about the extensive collection of research, analytics and strategy services, visit mmgyintel.com or email us at research@mmgyglobal.com.

About MMGY Global 

MMGY Global is the world’s leading integrated global marketing firm specializing in the travel, hospitality and entertainment industries. With eight operating brands across the world, the award-winning organization maintains a global communications practice in all marketing channels, serving many of the world’s premier travel and tourism brands. As a company dedicated to the travel industry, MMGY Global strives to create a connected, inclusive and peaceful world by promoting travel as a cultural bridge of understanding. For more information, visit www.mmgyglobal.com.

Elvis Tribute Artist and a Hot Dog King Cheer On International Tourism and Experts Chime In, Too

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America Is Open for Business

It’s been 602 days. Who’s counting? Everybody.

In Las Vegas, Elvis tribute artist Travis Allen is back on the job. Bliss Wedding Chapel already has new bookings from 23 couples traveling from France, Germany, Brazil and the U.K. Two weeks ago, owner Brandon Reed says there were zero weddings on the books.

In New York City in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, Don Rossi’s street cart is open for business. Before the pandemic, he sold up to 500 hot dogs per day, which fell as low as 10 hot dogs during the height of the pandemic. The self-proclaimed Hot Dog King welcomes back the international visitors that he calls his “lifeblood.” (Source: USA Today)

Fully vaccinated international visitors from 33 countries are required to show official proof and a recent negative viral test. The airlines are responsible for verification.

The top-booked destinations for overseas travelers in November are New York, Miami, Orlando, Los Angeles and San Francisco, in that order, per Travelport data, with Brits emerging as the “most eager to get back to U.S. cities.”

It’s a welcome sign of recovery for the U.S. travel industry, which has seen flight bookings to and within the country rise to 70% of pre-pandemic levels, Bloomberg reports.

Excitement for Nov. 8 has been building overseas, with airlines reporting sold-out flights on Monday.

In London, the moment saw rivalry put aside as two flights from Heathrow simultaneously took off from parallel runways at 8:30 a.m. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic A350s orchestrated a first-ever double historic departure for JFK International Airport.

Just in time for the holidays. Congestion is expected as the U.S. opens back up. “It’s going to be a bit sloppy first,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said. “There will be lines, unfortunately.”

Increased wait time is also expected at border crossings. Closer to home, Mexican and Canadian visitors will be able to drive to the U.S. for non-essential purposes for the first time in 20 months, and some cars were lining up at the northern border over the weekend.

Visit Rochester‘s Rachel Laber Pulvino spoke on-air with Global News Toronto about “Bordering On,” a new campaign targeted at Canadians from New York State’s third-largest city, just 90 minutes’ drive from Canada and three hours from Toronto.

In Minnesota, Gov. Walz proclaimed Nov. 8, 2021 as “Canadian Travelers Day.” To mark the re-opening of international land borders to vaccinated travelers, a press conference highlighted the importance of Canada to Minnesota’s economy, along with travel marketing efforts to welcome back the state’s neighbors to the north.

Good news came from the busy San Ysidro Port of Entry. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported, “Border reopens smoothly to cheers, hugs and tearful reunions.” Before the reopening, “On Sunday night, hundreds of cars formed lines stretching back miles into Tijuana waiting for the clock to strike midnight, as tourists planned to cross into San Diego during the first hour of eased restrictions. Many said they used that strategy to try to avoid the peak rush-hour traffic later Monday morning.” However, “the milestone moment came with shorter lines and less traffic than anticipated, leaving international land travelers pleasantly surprised.

Latest Recovery News From Industry Movers & Shakers

  • Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, FL
  • Pike Place Market, Seattle

Tripadvisor: CEO Steve Kaufer will leave his position in 2022, it was announced this week. “Steve Kaufer had a good run,” writes Executive Editor Dennis Schaal at Skift, “transforming a company with a small office over a pizza shop in Massachusetts 20 years ago into a global, household name brand. The issue for Tripadvisor isn’t who will replace Kaufer, but what innovations will it take to revive the company.”

YouGov: A new survey reveals that about one in five global consumers believes that celebrity and influencer endorsements are effective in travel advertising (18%). In a list of 11 retail categories asked about in 17 global markets, travel came in sixth. Indians and Chinese are among those most impressed; Brits, French, Italians, Swedes and Americans among those least. Download the report here.

Hopper: Since the re-opening of U.S. borders was announced in late September, travel app Hopper has seen international flight searches to the U.S. spike 338% for trips after 8 November.

ADARA: Thanksgiving Travel Trends Report: The upcoming holiday is demonstrating the best performance yet. Hotel bookings are within 6% of 2019’s level. Trip length patterns are reverting to norm while some traveler segments are splurging like never before.

Download the US Hotel Bookings Report to find out key traveler trends for the upcoming holiday season based on data from Aug. 15 to Oct. 7 comparing the booking and searching pace to the same period in both 2020 and 2021.

STR and Tourism Economics upgraded the hotel industry forecast for 2022 during this week’s NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference. The experts are now forecasting U.S. hotel demand to reach “near full recovery” in 2022. Previously, they had forecast that demand would not fully recover until 2023.

Marriott International: The world’s largest hotel company reported improvement in the third quarter, as did CEOs from other large hotel chains. Group room revenues for the quarter were down 46% versus the same period in 2019. That’s a significant improvement over the second quarter 2021, which saw a decline of 76% versus the same period in 2019. Average daily rates for groups are up.

Hyatt: The company’s largest corporate accounts have grown by 50% since June and cancellations caused by delta variant in late summer leveled off and decreased in October.

Hilton: Leisure travel remained strong and business travel continued to pick up during the third quarter. Hilton experienced significant improvement in its results as compared to the same periods in 2020, due to an upward trend in travel and tourism. Certain hotels suspended operations at various times throughout 2020, but the majority of those hotels have reopened.

Airbnb: Following a busy summer, Airbnb’s revenue for the period ending Sept. 30 beat forecasts at $2.2 billion, up 67% from the same period in 2020 and surpassing 2019 third quarter revenue by 36%.

CEO Brian Chesky commented during the earnings call that, “Something bigger than a travel rebound is happening. The world is undergoing a revolution of how we live and work. For the first time ever, people can travel any time, anywhere, for any length, and live on Airbnb. This trend towards more flexibility will only accelerate.”

Pointing to work policies at some of the world’s largest companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Procter & Gamble, and Amazon, Chesky said remote flexibility policies are evidence that this trend is here to stay.

On the international travel front, Airbnb has seen U.S. searches increase by 50% and bookings by foreign guests go up 44%. The most popular destinations are Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, and the South Florida Atlantic Coast for guests primarily traveling from London, Paris, Santiago, Toronto, and Vancouver. 

AHLA: Considering the high price of gas, there’s a damper on road trips for Thanksgiving, according to a new national survey conducted by Morning Consult for the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Expedia Group Media Solutions: The Q3 Travel Recovery Trend Report indicates that the industry is maintaining its momentum, search volumes are holding steady, and search windows are shortening. Holiday bookings are up by double digits and business travel is on the rise.

On a regional level, New York City leads the list for top 10 destinations by bookings from both global and North American-based markets. Starred cities indicate those new to the list this quarter.

Business travel demand in Q3 was up more than 40% quarter-over-quarter and up more than 110% compared to Q3 2020. Chicago and New York were among the top four booked destinations for business travelers globally .

Download the full report.

 

Countdown: USA Borders Open to Fully Vaccinated Visitors From November 8

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From next month, we “…will begin allowing travelers from Mexico and Canada who are fully vaccinated for Covid-19 to enter the United States for non-essential purposes, including to visit friends and family or for tourism, via land and ferry border crossings.” — U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Here’s how the re-opening of our borders will roll out in two phases over the next few months. 

First, in November, we begin allowing fully vaccinated travelers from Mexico or Canada to enter the United States at land and ferry points of entry for non-essential reasons. Travelers will be required to show appropriate paperwork that provides proof of vaccination.

Second, beginning in early January 2022, the United States will require essential visitors, like truck drivers or healthcare workers, to be vaccinated to cross land borders.

Related: Breaking News: You Didn’t Read It Here First, But…YAY!!!

This new travel system will create consistent, stringent protocols for all foreign nationals traveling to the United States – whether by air, land, or ferry – and accounts for the wide availability of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Destination & Vendor Roundup: Bravo, Visit Houston Plus Saving Giant Sequoias and More

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A jumbo-sized roundup of news from DMOs, cities, states, parks and attractions…as well as vendor news

Artwork by David Maldonado (@capdavjon) w/ permission

Following months of work by the team at Houston First Corporation, President & CEO Michael Heckman has announced that Houston will be the host city for the next season of Bravo’s Emmy Award-winning show, Top Chef.

“…will highlight the exceptional diversity of Houston’s world class culinary scene and will provide tens of millions of dollars of positive public relations for H-town as we accelerate our recovery from Covid. Huge shout out and credit to HFC CMO Holly Clapham-Rosenow and her team for their work to land this for Houston,” said Heckman.


Image: Discover Puerto Rico at THRIVE 2019

Discover Puerto Rico reaffirms LGBTQ friendliness with a new campaign, “Live Out.”

Creative content is centered on the idea that Puerto Rico is a place where travelers can celebrate one’s full self; a place to live out travel dreams in a welcoming atmosphere that encourages self-expression.

“Among Discover Puerto Rico’s core values are inclusivity, agility and the importance of being collaborative. These elements are even more prevalent as we look to the support of our LGBTQ+ community, both on Island and off,” said Leah Chandler, CMO, Discover Puerto Rico. “We are fostering a travel industry that is safe and welcoming for both guests and employees. By increasing representation and strengthening our position as an ally, we make Puerto Rico welcoming for all travelers and support a historically excluded community.”

In other news from Discover Puerto Rico: Remote worker campaign results are in from the spring “Deskover” campaign (The Travel Vertical, 4/27/21). The sweepstakes giveaway attracted 14,642 entries resulting in 90M impressions and $1.6M in ad value.


So, which one is the real Jennifer Hudson? To celebrate her 40th birthday, the celebrity’s wax likeness—fingernail art included—by Madame Tussauds was unveiled at SUMMIT One Vanderbilt in New York City before its installation at the Times Square attraction.

“We’re so excited about this new addition to Madame Tussauds New York,” said Tiago Mogadouro, head of marketing at Madame Tussauds New York, in a press release. “By introducing such a powerful essence to our New York family, we hope the addition of Jennifer Hudson offers an exciting new experience for our guests.”

Cedar Rapids Tourism was a sponsor of the Connect THRIVE Summit in Las Vegas on Sept. 18-19 where the DMO hosted the fabulous Carson Kressley as keynote speaker in conversation with the entertaining David Downing.

With special thanks to Julie Stow, Director of Meetings & Conventions, for her enthusiastic support.

Related: Cedar Rapids Tourism + Gaycation Travel

Visit Philly – AKA University City: copyright & credits: David Fields

The Philadelphia metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is recovering faster than its Northeast competitive set, including Boston, New York City and Washington, DC. Labor Day weekend was particularly strong; hotels had 67% occupancy on Friday and 85% on Saturday; the highest rates on record since the pandemic’s onset.

To keep this momentum going, Visit Philadelphia will launch a fall tourism marketing effort to promote hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions through an advertising, social media, web site and public relations push designed to drive overnight hotel stays from Northeast markets through December.

“We’re always happy to report good news about our tourism industry, but we know there’s still a ways to go before our region’s strong mix of business, group and leisure travel returns in full,” says Jeff Guaracino, president & CEO.

Last week, Nevada Commission on Tourism approved the allocation of nearly $13.6 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to visitors bureaus and other related agencies, including $1 million for that office’s efforts toward encouraging in-state and domestic tourism.

The remaining funds will be split four ways with the largest portion of $7 million going to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority as a direct grant for domestic and international marketing initiatives. Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority will receive $1.25 million as a direct grant to target domestic visitor marketing and $760,000 will be used for rural grants to help smaller communities and tourism outlets promote their attractions.

“This funding opportunity allows important tourism and outdoor recreation programs to move Nevada forward in recovery,” Brenda Scholari, Director for Nevada Tourism and Cultural Affairs, as quoted in Casino.org.

At Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, firefighters applied a fire-resistant foil wrap blanket around the 102-foot base of the world’s largest tree to protect it against wildfires raging nearby.

Last week, the National Park Service allowed press photographers into the Giant Forest, a spectacular grove that contains five of the largest trees in the world by volume, including the 275-foot tall General Sherman estimated to be 2,300 to 2,700 years old.

Sadly, California wildfires in 2020 killed 7,500 to 10,600 of these large trees, roughly 10% to 14% of all the the world’s sequoias, according to the National Park Service.

This year’s KNP Complex fire, ignited by lightning on Sept. 9, 2021, threaten these famous trees, which are all wrapped in foil blankets. The Windy Fire advanced more than nine miles overnight on Friday; both parks are currently closed. Follow the containment @sequoiaforest.

Photo by Marti Sotto on Unsplash

Los Angeles County is introducing proof of COVID-19 vaccination for customers and employees at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs and lounges from Oct. 7, with full vaccination by Nov. 4. Restaurants, where masks are required indoors, are encouraged to set their own vaccination safety protocols for patrons and employees.

Throughout California, indoor events like concerts and sports games with more than 1,000 attendees require proof of vaccination or a recent negative virus test result. LA County’s new order extends the safeguards to outdoor events as well.

The mandate extends to theme parks including Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain (Disneyland is outside LA County).

In other news from LAX, long-awaited improvements in ground transportation at the airport are in the works.

NYC & Company has launched a new meetings-focused digital campaign,”It’s Time to Make it NYC” with the tagline, “Plan a Meeting for Any Moment.”

It comes on the heels of a $1.5 billion expansion of the Javits Center and will maintain a presence on Google, LinkedIn and Facebook, with targeted media across major meetings platforms and publications. The branding will also be seen at industry events and trade shows for the remainder of this year and into 2022. 

Did you know? There’s a 10,000-square-foot farm and orchard on the roof of the convention center where they plan to grow 40,000 lbs. of produce each year.

Downtown Steamboat Springs – image: Colorado.com

Steamboat Chamber of Commerce would like 75% of its $750,000 budget to be dedicated to destination management and 25% for marketing. Chamber officials said the overarching idea behind destination management is to mitigate negative impacts from growth and tourism, as well as providing visitor education, such as a “Visit Responsibly” campaign aimed at educating visitors on health & safety, wildlife, fires, trash and showing kindness to local employees.

Galveston Island Trolley, est. 1891, will return this October. Three of the four trolleys have been restored and have received the testing needed for state and federal certification.

The trolley car system has been out of commission since Hurricane Ike descended in 2008. The storm severely damaged the trolley cars and 6.8 miles of tracks. After more than 13 years offline and six months of testing, three of the four trolleys are ready to roll.

image: Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

Beach wheelchairs are available for use at any of eight state beaches in Santa Cruz County, California. Free to use, 10 day-use beach wheelchairs can be reserved in advance.

Photo by Robert Anasch on Unsplash

Pizza + Potties: In addition to setting minimum pay, protecting tips, and putting limits on delivery distance requirements, the New York City Council passed bills to improve working conditions for some 80,000 gig delivery workers. 

Specifically, the legislation allows them to use restaurant bathrooms. This legislation is the first of its kind in any major U.S. city. Source: Tech Crunch

Hotels on the Hook: A new NYC local law was passed on Sept. 23 requiring hotels to pay severance to employees. Unless the property brings back 25% of employees and reopens, the closed hotels—including those that laid off 75% of employees—will have to pay up to $15,000 in severance pay to each worker affected.

Vendor & Partner News

See Source is now Datafy, announced last week at eTourism Summit 2021.

Enabling customers to gain valuable insights into what drives their local economy, Datafy helps DMOs (as well as cities, towns, counties, chambers) to allocate financial resources to maximize economic activity by analyzing spending and other behavioral patterns. Datafy uses big data analytics tools to enable data-driven decision making. Thanks to Datafy for the presentation at #eTS21, “Prove Your Value to Stakeholders.”

CrowdRiff, based in Toronto, appears on the annual list of Canada’s Top Growing Companies published by The Globe and Mail. The company of 76 employees operates a visual content marketing platform for the tourism industry.

CrowdRiff was introduced as a “Bright, Shiny, New Object” at eTourism Summit 2015, and now comes in at an impressive #143 on this list (out of 448 trendsetters), showing 3-year growth at 310%.

Arival 360 is headed to sunny San Diego for an in-person (and optional online) conference at the Town & Country Resort. New place, new dates. Arival advances the business of creating awesome in-destination experiences through events, insights, and community for tour, activity and attraction providers.

Four agency partners have been selected through a competitive RFP process to help Michigan become the top four-season business and travel destination in North America. The objective is to continue that momentum and elevate key marketing campaigns supporting economic growth across the state – including Pure Michigan, Pure Opportunity and Pure Partnership.

  • MMGY for Travel Marketing and Advertising
  • FINN Partners for Business and Tourism Public Relations and Social Media
  • Meredith Travel Marketing for State of Michigan Travel Guide Production Services
  • Lambert/9thWonder for Business Marketing and Advertising

Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau has selected MMGY NextFactor to prepare its long-term strategic plan. The selection of an external consultant for developing a future destination vision is the culmination of discussions by local authorities and the DMO. The topic emerged following an avalanche of complaints and bad publicity following the disruptive Daytona Truck Meet in June. MMGY NextFactor has completed strategic and destination master plans for various Florida markets including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Naples, and New Smyrna Beach.

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Breaking News: You Didn’t Read It Here First, But…YAY!!!

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U.S. Will Lift Travel Ban for Fully Vaccinated International Travelers

Such good news. Starting in early November, foreign nationals will be allowed to fly into the U.S. if they are fully vaccinated and able to show proof of vaccination prior to boarding a U.S.-bound flight. The requirement eases travel restrictions for non-citizens including many European nations and the United Kingdom, regardless of vaccination status. 

The travel industry reaction was a sense of optimism and relief to the news that came on the opening morning of eTourism Summit and IPW convening in Las Vegas. For months, the industry had been lobbying the federal government to ease rules that prevented international tourism.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has 290 member airlines accounting for 82% of global air travel, described it as “a major step forward.”

Quick Reactions

“The key thing for the travel industry is vaccinations and we should globally agree that’s the way forward.” — Oliver P. Mueller, cruise industry editor from Germany

“A huge thanks to U.S. Travel Administration for all their hard work in achieving this milestone. This is the best news for the travel industry for a long time.” — Will Seccombe, President, Connect Travel.

“It’s wonderful news that international travelers will be able to start planning now for visits to the U.S.” — Derek Price, Director, Business Development – North America, Expedia Group Media Solutions.

“The new announcement puts us on a path to recovering the positive economic impact in our communities that we had prior to the pandemic.” — Ed Harris, President & CEO, Discover Lancaster (PA)

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Laurie Jo Miller Farr, Editor
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