The most recent survey by the
Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) of its American and Canadian media and communications members highlights top travel destinations and motivations for travel this year.
Hot destinations for the media in 2022 are the U.S., including Hawaii, the South Pacific, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe. These results dovetail with the tally that while American (80%) and Canadian media (60%) are comfortable traveling overseas this year, the appeal of domestic travel was more popular with the Americans (91%) and Canadians (94%).
Elizabeth Harryman Lasley, President of SATW, said “Because travel is part of what we do, it’s not surprising that SATW members are planning to take trips this year. But the fact that more than 90 percent of respondents feel comfortable traveling domestically and up to 80 percent feel comfortable traveling internationally illustrates how eager we are to get out there. We, and perhaps the public at large, have learned not to postpone things that are important to us, like travel.”
Industry executives in the U.S. and Canada said the industry sectors that would recover most quickly or gain in importance in 2022 are
· Nature travel
· Family travel
· Adventure travel
· Intergenerational travel
Top trending stories and pitches for both the Canadian and American members are
· Rebounding from the pandemic (U.S.)
· Nature travel (U.S. and Canada)
· Bucket list travel (U.S. and Canada)
· Green and sustainable travel (Canada)
Hapuna Beach on Hawaii Big Island. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Some of the results revealed continuing uncertainty: For example, 46 percent of PR pros said they expect their clients’ bookings to pick up in the second and third quarters. However, 58 percent of travel executives were not sure if their travel clients will be able to maintain flexible booking or cancellation policies. And there was a small but distinct group (20-24%) of media and travel executives who are not yet ready to travel abroad for pleasure at this time.
According to the survey, of all the frustrations during Covid travel, one of the ones that has been the most wearing is the constantly changing protocols. Lasley also pointed out that it is a good idea to follow some of the top travel tips that media and PR execs shared in the survey: Stay flexible, expect the unexpected, buy travel insurance, check mandates of your destinations before you go, be compliant (wear mask when required) and get vaccinated if you can.
