Travel Takeaway Tuesday Part VII

The domestic travel industry has been on a rollercoaster for the past few months. Some states are having success with reopening, while others are facing new setbacks. Regardless, it’s important for DMOs to take a look at their metrics for the first half of the year, and determine what measurements will be helpful for tracking for the rest of 2020.

Thanks to Connect Travel and U.S. Travel Association during the past few weeks for providing helpful return on investment (ROI) metrics to track for the rest of 2020. 

Here are our latest takeaways: 

Looking at Community Engagement vs. Visitor Revenue

Before COVID-19, a lot of destinations focused their marketing efforts on visitor revenue. Now we’ve seen a shift to DMOs interacting with and supporting their communities through the recovery process. It’ll be important to analyze how your destination engages with the community for a while, rather than track visitor revenue. 

Tracking New Drive Market Metrics

We’ve all heard that the drive market will be important now that travelers are focusing on nearby destinations. You can use new metrics such as CDL (common daytime location) and CEL (common evening location) by analyzing mobile tracking. These metrics will indicate who are your residents versus potential visitors who travel for work. 

Evaluating Points of Interest (POI)

Looking at a point of interest (POI) was important when 2020 began, but it’s especially important to pay attention to now that the pandemic has shifted visitor interests. For example, outdoor exploration became a higher interest for people while we were in the thick of quarantine. It will continue to be a popular POI for the remainder of the year, likely.

Assessing Visitor Spending Now

The common metric that DMOs liked to assess at the end of the fiscal year was “heads in beds,” but likely that is not going to be comparable to recent years. Instead, ask your local partners for feedback on visitor spending habits in stores and restaurants. 

Even though the industry has changed drastically during these times, your destination should still be tracking important statistics for future comparison. Stay tuned for our latest travel takeaways, and stay connected as we navigate these times together.

By Bethany, Social Media & Public Relations Strategist | June 30, 2020