The great travel recovery is here. Now what?

As we all flipped the calendar to 2021, industry pundits were already forecasting when travel would return to pre-2020 levels. Despite current global economic uncertainties and continued geopolitical instability throughout some regions of the world, all indicators ­– including our clients’ own experiences – show the great travel recovery is already here, well ahead of the prognosticators’ predictions.

Travel Takes Flight

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger volumes, measured by checkpoint travel numbers, report August 2023 figures often exceeding those from the same dates in August 2019.

Domestic Domination

Throughout 2020 and 2021, the industry had been completely reliant on local and regional travelers to keep visitation and occupancy afloat. The good news from the U.S. Travel Association’s Summer 2023 Forecast is that it shows strong performance for travel volumes and spending in domestic person-trips with recovery of international arrivals not far behind.

What Does This All Mean For You?

Right from the beginning, we advised our tourism and hospitality clients to maintain a marketing presence – which can directly be tied to their strong and accelerated recovery. As one example, the New Jersey Visitor Economy 2022 Study revealed statewide visitor volume and spending at near-2019 levels with 2023 growing from there.

And now? We recommend fully leaning into the travel upswing. If you’ve still been restricting your reach to local markets only, it’s past time to expand your geographic horizons – even including international targets – with a strategic integrated marketing plan. At this point, there’s really nowhere to go but up.

 

If your business hasn’t yet seen a full recovery, it’s probably time to change your agency. Dana has over 40 years of expertise in developing data-driven, bottom-line boosting marketing efforts. Contact Lynn Kaniper at 609.466.9187 ext. 117 or lkaniper@danacommunications.com to partner with an industry leader.