Longwoods International

NEW RESEARCH UPDATE!!! The latest look at American Traveler Sentiment shows that despite better news on inflation recently, the percentage of American travelers who say that inflation will greatly impact their decision to travel in the next six months jumped from 24% in July to 30% in August, its highest level in 2024! Key Findings: “Despite Recent Good News, Lower Airfares and Gas Prices Going Down, Inflation Remains a Factor in Travel Planning!”   Despite a significant decline in the rate of inflation in the U.S. over the past year or two, according to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, 57% of them report that inflation is still impacting their decision to travel in the next six months.  And the percentage of travelers who say that inflation will greatly impact their travel decisions in the next six months jumped from 24% in July to 30% in August, the highest level in 2024.  The fact that inflation is a political issue this election year may be as much a factor in traveler perceptions on this topic as the actual inflation data itself. Despite ongoing economic concerns, demand for travel through the end of summer and into fall remains near record post-pandemic levels with 91% of American travelers saying they have plans to go somewhere in the next six months! (A slight decline of only 3 points since June’s peak of 94%). The high volume of summer leisure travel coupled with ongoing workforce issues has had a negative impact on customer service sentiment among travelers as 22% of American travelers report receiving a lower level of service on their most recent trip in the past three months than in 2019 (+9 points since June).  This is even more problematic when 23% of travelers report having expectations of receiving higher levels of service than in 2019 on their next trip this fall!  The use of Chat GTP and similar AI applications for travel planning continues to grow.  19% of travelers used these AI travel planning tools in the last six months, up from 14% in February.  And 34% of travelers say it’s likely they will use these tools to plan their next trip. 39% of American travelers indicate having changed their leisure travel plans over the past year due to extreme weather events, such as extreme heat, drought, flooding, hurricanes, etc.  Those travelers indicate they have postponed (17%), altered the itinerary (13%), shortened (11%), changed the destination (11%), or canceled (8%) their trip as a result.  Looking ahead to the next twelve months, 40% of those say the likelihood of an extreme weather event happening in a destination will likely impact their decision to travel there.     Check out these and other key insights from Longwoods International and Miles Partnership in our August update of the ongoing American Travel Sentiment Study via the link below... #travel https://lnkd.in/ed5768tj

I am honored to be speaking at the U.S. Travel Association’s ESTO in Experience Columbus in just a few days! I will be taking the stage alongside U.S. Travel’s own Joshua Friedlander to discuss the impact of politics on Travel Sentiment and travel decisions. We will be including some of the latest research on the subject from Longwoods International and Morning Consult. Be sure to catch our conversation on this relevant topic! #ESTO24 #travel https://lnkd.in/dHKafUmn

This week’s broadcast of Eye on Travel is from Napa Valley, California, one of the world's legendary wine capitals. I have all the updates as the fallout from the software meltdown continues. An appeals court reverses an important passenger protection rule from the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the fallout from the exodus of travelers to France as the Olympics continues. Of course, it's a crazy election year, Amir Eylon, President of Longwoods International, reports new research on how much political reputation can impact a destination's tourism revenues. And then, it's all things Napa -- who is the only American to win every major wine award given in the English language? If you guessed Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible, you'd be right. She talks about what separates Napa from other premiere winemaking regions. TOR Wines, Iconic Vintner and author, on the very special culture of Napa Valley. And historian Dianne Dillon with a mini tour of the 500 wineries of Napa. And a little known fact -- which fire department has one of the highest CPR save rates in the country? Napa Fire Chief Zach Curren, MPA has the answer and knows why. There's all this and more on this week's Eye on Travel. Check your local CBS News Radio listings for times and stations in your area. You can also listen to the stream on PeterGreenberg.com at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, August 3rd. #cbsnews #cbsnewsradio #eyeontravelwithpetergreenberg #radioshow #podcast #broadcast #napa #napavalley #california #travel #travelindustry #travelnews #travelandtourism #wine #wineindustry

🌟 Exciting news! 🌟 Tomorrow, we will be unveiling a new industry report! This report will explore how residents perceive sporting events, offering national benchmarks, regional insights, and trend analyses. It covers important factors such as support for sport tourism, the impact of events on community quality of life and the local economy, and views on different types of sporting events. Can you guess what important industry topic this report is about? 🤔 Hint: It involves our friends at Longwoods International. We can’t wait to share with you what we’ve been working on!  A big shout out to the Greater Columbus Sports Commission for their support in making this new industry report possible.  #SportTourism #Sportbiz #ComingSoon 

NEW TRAVEL SENTIMENT UPDATE!!! Highlights from Wave 87 of the ongoing American Travel Sentiment Tracking Study from Longwoods International and Miles Partnership have just been released! Besides some of the usual indicators, this month also looks at the impact of both political reputation and perceptions of welcomeness and inclusivity on destination selection!      Key Findings: “Politics and Reputation for Welcoming and Inclusivity are Both Factors in Destination Selection!”   As the news on demand to travel, despite the headwinds, is still looking strong midway through the summer, there are some other interesting factors impacting travel decisions:   37% of American travelers report that the political reputation of potential destinations is a factor in their travel selections.  It may not be the predominant factor in their ultimate destination choice, but it is there.  In fact, 14% of travelers tell us that they outright avoid some destinations because of their political reputations/policies.  This is significant and poses a challenge to destination marketers as it is an image factor they cannot control. (Slide 12) While 72% of American travelers indicate that they have not changed their travel plans over the past year due to a city/state’s political reputation, the other 28% report ways in which they have altered their travel plans as a result including:  Postponing travel (10%); changing the destination to avoid a specific city or state (9%); altered the itinerary to avoid certain areas (7%); and actual cancellation of the trip (6%).  Obviously, the loss of this visitation means less realized economic impact and benefit for the destinations avoided. (Slide 13) Turning our attention to the relationship between visitation and a destination’s reputation for being welcome and inclusive:   32% percent of travelers say that a destination’s reputation for being welcoming and inclusive to diverse groups impacts their decision to travel to specific destinations, with 14% saying it greatly impacts their destination selection. (Slide 17) In fact, 18% of travelers indicate they have changed (10%) or canceled (8%) their plans to visit some destinations in the past year due to concerns about the welcomeness or inclusiveness of those destinations. (Slide 16) Despite ongoing economic concerns, demand for travel through the summer and into fall remains at near record post-pandemic levels with 92% of American travelers saying they have plans to go somewhere in the next six months! As shown in prior waves of this survey, the travelers who are greatly concerned are simply reallocating their spend to ensure a trip happens within their budget vs. cancelling as their travels are now perceived as a “need” vs. a “want” in this post-pandemic era. (Slide 3) Read more and view the slides via this link: https://lnkd.in/ddaZptSA #travel