With only a month left in the high summer season, Atlantic Canada is showing no great desire to let Canadians in from other provinces Meanwhile, a Florida marketing group is launching a new campaign to lure more visitors to the state. I also have news about a study that finds young people are dying to travel IMMEDIATELY, while older folks are quite timid about the idea. My Future of Travel blog for August 12.
Atlantic Canada: We Quite Like Our Bubble, Thank You
The Toronto Star, my former employer of 32 years, has a story this morning that suggests the Atlantic Canada bubble is not about to pop open any time soon.
The story talks about now Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil was quoted a few weeks ago as saying the province needs to open for tourism for many businesses to stay afloat. But parents of school kids are reluctant to expose children to potential germs from visitors and have lobbied to stay inside the Atlantic bubble, which allows visitors from other Atlantic Canada provinces to come and go as they please but requires travellers from other Canadian provinces to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
“Quite honestly, the … idea of the Atlantic bubble being open and me sending her to school is really terrifying,” one parent told The Star.
Nova Scotia tourism officials say about one-half their annual tourism revenue comes from Canadian provinces outside the Atlantic bubble.
I don’t see the borders being opened any time soon, although a September season would at least give merchants something positive to think about over the winter.
South Beach, Miami. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Florida Seeks Tourism Rebound
My friends at TravelPulse in the U.S. say the Sunshine State has launched a campaign called ‘Keep Florida Open’, “aimed at supporting the state’s tourism businesses even as COVID-19 new infection rates remain high.”
“Designed and donated by creative agency LOMBARDO of West Palm Beach, the campaign leverages a striking set of stylish visuals, cleverly combined with key safety messages, that remind residents and visitors of the steps that they can take toward supporting health and safety in their communities. That, in turn, will work to help keep businesses viable, speed economic recovery, and local recreational, tourism and hospitality offerings open for everyone to enjoy responsibly.”
A contact of mine with VISIT FLORIDA wrote to me to say her organization IS NOT behind this, so I apologize if my original post implied that.
Still, it’s quite the contrast with the Atlantic Canada provinces. As are the decisions made yesterday regarding college football in the U.S. Note that the Pac-12 conference, which has schools in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, said they were cancelling fall football and hope to play in the spring. The Big-10 Conference, which has schools in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and other north/midwest states, said the same thing. But the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which includes powerhouses such as Alabama and Georgia, seem intent to play.
The U.S. is so divided that even their college football programs are at odds over COVID-19. And that’s pretty sad.
Young people are eager to travel right now, a Virtuoso study says.
A Tale of Two Travellers: A Wide Gap Between Young and Old
This isn’t surprising. But it’s an interesting trend for folks in the tourism and travel business to keep in mind.
A recent survey by the Virtuoso travel group, which has more than 20,000 travel agents and advisors around the world and specializing in luxury travel, found that a full 100 % of travellers aged 18-25 want to get out and travel RIGHT NOW.
Older travellers? Not so much. A little over one-half of those in the 41-55 age group said they’re willing to hit the road immediately, but that figure fell to just under one-quarter for those aged 56-76 and only about one-in-five for those 77 years of age or older.
The 56-76-year category is probably the most concerning for those in the tourism and travel business, as older travellers tend to spend a good deal more money at a destination than younger folks. If I run a hostel in Thailand, I’m probably pretty happy about the eagerness of young people to travel. But if I run a five-star hotel in Manhattan, I’m definitely worried.
There were some other interesting bits in the Virtuoso study, including the fact that 76% of travellers want to take a beach vacation and that villas with private pools are extremely popular right now, as it’s easy to practice social distancing and you can travel with your family or special pod of friends.
Another interesting item is that 66% of travellers said they’re willing to fly, ,but they want the middle seat open.
Rather than fares or rewards program, Virtuoso says the “middle seat now determines airline loyalty.”
U.S. Travel: Disturbing Employment Numbers for Tourism Industry
Wow. A report today from U.S. Travel finds that 40% of excess U.S. unemployment is in Leisure and Hospitality sector, despite that sector accounting for only 11% of pre-pandemic employment in the U.S.
The report also finds that, while jobs are slowly being restored, Leisure and Hospitality workers have an unemployment rate that’s double the next hardest-hit industry.
