Travel Takeaway Tuesday Part VIII

Now that we’ve settled into the second half of the year, has your destination considered next steps for the rest of 2020, and beyond?

Thanks to Connect Travel for keeping us up-to-date on the latest trends in the travel industry, we have insight on what to consider in your 2021 planning -- and how to wrap-up the rest of this year.

Here are our latest takeaways: 

How to Navigate Summer Road Travel

Right now is a tricky time for destination marketers as they balance understanding what multi-day travelers want versus what short-term visitors want. According to recent studies, 61% of travelers are going to be taking road trips this year. Especially as recent events have unfolded in states with higher numbers of coronavirus cases, visitors will more likely be going to their bordering states. If your destination is located in a safe area, what can you be doing to make bordering state visitors feel welcome to vacation in your destination? This is just one of many questions to consider as you curate website and informational content for your summer visitors. 

Appealing to Your Local Visitors 

As we’ve mentioned several times in the past couple of months, local visitors will naturally be your destination’s market for a while. Keep in mind that visitors don’t think in terms of country/state lines, which makes forming interstate partnerships more critical at this time. Work with neighboring destinations to make your attractions appealing to local and regional visitors. 

Invest in Short-Term Goals

While planning for 2021, your destination needs to consider what’s going to be the destination’s new target audience. It’s important to start to ask questions such as: What do your visitors look like now - families, younger generations, solo travelers? What’s the radius of travelers for your destination? In addition to altering audience strategies, it’s important to consider the messaging for these audiences. Take a second look over your destination’s ad messaging and make sure that it still applies -- or if it needs to be changed to appeal to new audiences. 

Invest in Long-Term Goals 

Of course, it’s important to consider short-term needs at this time to increase visitation, but a wise destination should also take into consideration its long-term goals. Now’s the time to start thinking about what will need to occur in 2021, and how to better market to a wider range of visitors when travel can resume at a larger capacity. Begin to strategize how your destination can appeal to these different audiences, and what driving factors your destination has to offer. 

2021 will be here in the blink of an eye. Take this time as an opportunity to plan for the present and the future. Stay tuned for our latest travel takeaways, and stay connected as we navigate these times together.

By Bethany, Social Media & Public Relations Strategist | July 14, 2020