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The Harris Poll: ‘Six Months That Changed America’

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Yikes. Six months.

The authors of this report write, “The Harris Poll COVID-19 Tracker (Week 26) fielded Aug. 21-23, 2020
marks six months since we began tracking public sentiment on the pandemic.

At this milestone, we are taking a look back to examine the following:

1.) How the American lifestyle has adapted;

2.) How opinion and attitudes have shifted;

3.) How this might impact the way we live, moving forward.


This report, Six Months That Changed America, is also a special new presentation that can be shared or presented as requested.

As a public service, our team has curated key insights to help leaders navigate COVID-19. Full survey results, tables, and weekly summaries can be accessed for free at The Harris Poll COVID-19 Portal. We will continue to actively field on a regular cadence to track the shifts in sentiment and behaviors as the news and guidelines evolve.”

There are charts such as this one in the report.

Here’s a map with the latest COVID-19 figures nationwide.

Access highlights of the free 25-page special report here.

Recovery Roundup: What Do People Say, What Do the Numbers Say?

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What are Americans currently thinking about travel, flying and Covid-19?

These two intrepid travelers were spotted at the departure gate at SFO last week, waiting to board a transcontinental flight bound for EWR.

Key findings from the weekly survey ending August 24 of American travelers and would-be travelers conducted by Destination Analysts will tell us more about what people are thinking and feeling:

A complimentary report of key findings is available to download.

  • Nearly one in five feel the pandemic will be resolved before the conclusion of 2020 (19.2%).
  • Two in five continue to feel comfortable undertaking leisure activities within their own communities.
  • About one-third have tentative trip plans during the remainder of 2020.
    • 70.4% of these travelers are likely to go to a previously visited destination
    • 42.0% still plan to visit a beach this year
    • 37.8% say they will visit a city
    • 34.8% name small towns and rural areas for an upcoming trip.
  • Three-quarters report they have tentative leisure trip plans in the coming 16 months.
  • Half report having dined out at a restaurant in the past two months
  • One in five say they have visited an outdoor attraction. 

Looking beyond the US, global travel demand will fall 57% in 2020 and international tourism won’t reach 2019 levels again until 2024, according to the latest forecast from Oxford Economics, as reported by Travel Weekly.

The report released last week indicate that North America will have the biggest drop in international tourism, a decline of 70%.

Worldwide, the top 10 cities forecast to see the largest percentage decline in international visitors are all in the United States. New York City is expected to see the greatest decline at 79%, closely followed by Orlando, Miami and San Francisco with anticipated drops of 78%, while Los Angeles, Honolulu and Boston will see drops of 77%.

MMGY Travel Intelligence “Travel Intentions Pulse Survey” identifies a trend that’s being called the “The Stretch Season,” an extension of the summer travel season into the fall months. The trend will be driven by pent-up travel demand and the flexibility that work-from-home gives us to travel while working and learning remotely.

Clayton Reid, CEO, says, “The season following Labor Day provides travelers an opportunity to extend their travel budgets during a more value-oriented period, especially in their own cities, regionally and in destinations that feature outdoor activities like beaches and parks. This new reality creates an opportunity to boost the travel industry and help stimulate economic recovery.”

Research from MMGY shows that 64% of travelers expect to take a leisure trip within the next six months, and 54 percent of travelers say they are more likely this year to travel in the autumn. Road trips resonate with 73%.

Fewer than one in four expect to take a business trip in the next three months. This, in turn, creates more leisure time for family trips.

What else do we know about business travel?

McKinsey & Company writes, “For corporate travel, a long recovery ahead.”

Source: UNWTO

“Historically, business travel has been more volatile and slower to recover than leisure travel after economic downturns and other disruptions to travel patterns.”

Read the full report from McKinsey here.

Expedia: 9 in 10 Travelers Want Details on Health and Cleanliness Before Booking

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“As travel shoppers evaluate their destination, accommodation, and transportation options, around 9 in 10 of them want to see information on health and cleanliness before booking. Above all else, travelers want to be reassured that it is safe for them to travel and they want to see relevant information and messaging from travel brands.”

We recommend that destinations, lodging and transportation advertising partners use marketing messages and content to explicitly outline the health measures they are taking.”

Expedia Group Media Solutions ran a sentiment study in July with research experts dscout, asking travelers in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Europe, and the U.K. about upcoming travel plans and what is driving their booking decisions. Respondents to the online survey were qualified as already having had a leisure trip planned and/or booked for June-December 2020.

Get the free research report and full infographic here.

Latest Harris Poll: A Snapshot of Americans’ Views

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Risky Business
Look, we get it. People are sick of life interrupted. Almost three-quarters (74%) of Americans miss gathering with friends and family, and (70%) miss dining in bars and restaurants. And this is true especially of young people.

1. Americans are growing more wary of gatherings. Over the past weekend, (82%) of Americans are fearful of leaving the house (up 5 pts from July 19), while (69%) are not willing to attend a large public event given the current outbreak of COVID-19.

2. Anything big and indoors is verboten: (58%) say they won’t go to the movies for at least another six months, the same as sporting events (49%), gyms (59%), hotels (55%), public transportation (54%), and airplanes (46%). And (13%) say there are no actions that will make them comfortable to do certain activities, so it’s a lot of Netflix. 

3. Older Americans are taking the pandemic more seriously: Adults 65+ (83%) think the amount of fear is sensible given how serious the pandemic has become vs (73%) of the nation or (68%) of Gen Z and Millennials. 

4. And seniors are more fearful of the virus spreading when we return to normal public activity: (80%) of 65+ are very/somewhat concerned about possible COVID-19 exposure when returning to normal activity vs (68%) Gen Z/Millennials.

5. But younger people are nearly twice as likely to say people are overreacting: (32%) of 18-34 year olds say the amount of fear around COVID-19 is irrational and people are overreacting vs only (17%) of adults 65+.

6. Alas, a nation gets COVID-woke: Less than four weeks ago, under one-third (31%) of Americans said the resurgence of cases was driven by people in their state who lack concern for the pandemic and (29%) said there was no incentive for people to follow state recommended safety protocols as they were not enforced requirements. 

7. But now, (84%) of Americans support social distancing and wearing face masks. And mask wearing rose (14 pts) from March 28 to June 15 (54% to 68%) which was attributed to those who were indifferent to masks: (33% said ‘neither positive or negative’ on March 28, which has decreased to 19% on June 15).

8. But the generational blame game is starting in earnest: Older people blaming younger people: On May 17th we found that more than three quarters of adults 50+ (77%) said younger Americans are being ignorant by thinking they are less likely to spread COVID-19 than others and (72%) say they are acting reckless and putting the rest of the nation’s health at risk. At the same time, more than half of younger Americans ages 18-49 (56%) say the over-fifties crowd are stubbornly sticking to their routines even though they are more at risk.

Takeaway: This slow pulling off of the nation’s band-aid is having devastating health and economic consequences. The lack of a Federal plan for battling COVID is obvious, but also is a growing clamor for the nation’s young people to live up to their purported ‘we’ values of climate change, universal income, and gender/racial equality. Why isn’t COVID equality one of these generational values, Boomers and seniors ask? 
From responses fielded July 31- Aug. 2, 2020

June 2020: What Travelers Want to Know Before They’ll Go

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With the pause button pressed on reopenings and the rising number of Covid cases, there’s a noticeable shift in this week’s traveler sentiment. The latest research indicates that now nearly 4-in-10 say they do not have plans to travel for the remainder of 2020, reports Destination Analysts, in findings from the latest survey of 1,200+ American adult travelers.

Still, about one-third say they could be convinced to take a trip if the conditions are right, so “travel advertising could still inspire joy, particularly if it communicates many affordable, fun things to do in a safe, uncrowded destination,” suggests Destination Analysts.

As of 29 June, here’s what travelers most want to see online and to know.

More Key Findings:

  • 60% of American travelers feel the pandemic is going to get worse in the US—an increase of 10 percentage points in one week.
  • Trip cancellations for July and August jumped up, and now a high of 37.4% of American travelers say they have no trip plans for the remainder of 2020.
  • Three-quarters of American travelers are supportive of 14-day quarantine policies for travelers from states with high incidences of coronavirus.
  • The most commonly important trip destination attributes are uncrowded, not-too-expensive, relaxing, and fun.
  • Over half of American travelers say that seeing a travel ad would make them feel happy.

Visit Destination Analysts for more insights and updates.

Related: Information Please, 10 Excellent Traveler Surveys, Forecasts & Data Sources

Sojern’s access to real-time traveler audiences provides insights into flight search trends.

On June 22, 2020, the TSA saw over 607K passengers in a day, down from 2.7 million on the same weekday one year ago. 

Sojern data indicates that flight searches to several big metro areas have recently improved, showing the most growth through early June for: Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and San Diego.

For more details on this report and 50 blog posts since March 12, 2020 with Coronovirus insights of impact on travel, visit Sojern’s Covid-19 site.

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Laurie Jo Miller Farr, Editor
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