Trying to keep up to date with travel industry news during COVID-19? We give you a rundown of what’s going on and offer our insight.
TYPES OF TRAVELLERS SET TO VENTURE ABROAD FIRST REVEALED
A recent report by Sentimantle has identified key groups who will be the first to travel internationally once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Published on May 18, the report — “Recovery Plan: How hotels and tourism facilities can recover from Covid-19” — analysed 40 tourism recovery cases from prior epidemics as well as customer behaviours and risk perceptions.
The findings suggested that young professionals aged between 20-40 were one of the three groups that were expected to travel first as their age range means they are “not as affected” by COVID-19. Hotels are expected to reap significant revenue from this group as businesses will spare no expense to make travel safe and convenient for their staff members.
Backpackers aged between 18-28 are also expected to travel internationally sooner rather than later as they are much less risk-averse which is promising news for hostels.
However, it isn’t just young people who are looking to travel as soon as possible. The report found that families are more likely to book international travel as well as short weekend getaways to close destinations that are familiar to them after being cooped up for such a long period of time. Families – particularly those with young children – will be seeking accommodation close to ‘open-air parks and nature’.
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SAFESTAY REVEAL LAST YEAR’S REVENUE AND RE-OPENING PLANS
Safestay has revealed that they boosted revenue in 2019 and are now laying out plans to reopen properties as coronavirus restrictions ease.
The hostel brand reported their revenue increased 26% to £18.4m for the year to 31 December, with like-for-like sales up 7%. They posted a loss before tax of £0.6m.
Safestay has now put a staggered reopening plan following the closure of all their hostels back on 1 April.
Safestay chair Larry Lipman said: “We secured the financial stability of the business and we are now working on our plans to re-open our hostels on a staggered basis, over the course of 2020, as and when we believe they can be profitable.”
This reopening plan will initially target the domestic market in each country Safestay operates in. They will no longer offer shared rooms and will only sell dorm rooms to an individual or “groups known to each other”.
Lipman continued: “Navigating the re-engagement of the business will require us to be highly flexible as we test and match demand in individual markets, however, we are confident of being able to do this and making sure that we balance increased operational cost with increased income.”
A&O PREPARE FOR POST-PANDEMIC
“We pride ourselves in providing communal environments for travellers to meet and connect with each other, however we understand we must adapt to the ‘new normal’, which is why we are introducing social distancing measures that will enable maximum health and safety without impeding their travel experience.”
MILLENNIALS READING MORE ONLINE REVIEWS AND BLOGS THAN EVER
Travellers are paying more attention to online reviews and blogs now than before the pandemic, a study from GlobalData has found.
According to their latest Coronavirus (COVID-19) Consumer Survey, 52% of millennials from the USA are spending more time reading online reviews and blogs than before the pandemic.
This signifies once again how important positive feedback is for tourism companies. It also shows how valuable creating optimised blog content for your website is in terms of reaching potential guests and inspiring them to book a stay directly.
Ben Cordwell, Travel & Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Reviews can be the lifeblood of tourism businesses such as hotels and restaurants, with negative reviews drastically impacting the interest and footfall that some will receive.
“For the American tourism industry, the increase in online traffic is especially important at a time when travel restrictions and quarantine requirements will lead many people to consider staycations in 2020.”
If you are looking for high-quality content creation for your website, drop us a message – we’d love to help you.
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