How Will Trump Affect Travel And Tourism?

Since Donald Trump won the presidential election, there has been a lot of speculation as to how his policies will affect our country. Earlier this month, I started a series of blog posts on travel trends for 2017. Let’s review how this election could affect travel. Here are just four examples:

• Travel boycotts to the U.S.: There could be boycotts of travelers to not come to the U.S. because of Trump winning the election. In a Travelzoo survey conducted in the U.K. before the election, one in five respondents said they would “definitely” not consider America as a travel destination if Mr. Trump was elected. If those respondents are typical of the nearly four million Brits that visit the U.S. each year, the numbers of visitors could drop by more than one million. This would be unfortunate as our country is truly worth visiting.

• Americans traveling abroad. Americans will continue to travel. Travel Zoo also reports that of their U.S. members surveyed prior to the election, 61 percent stated they will travel just as much as they did in 2017 and 16 percent will travel even more if Donald Trump were elected. They are concerned though of how they will be treated. According to that survey, sixty-nine percent of those polled are worried that the election negatively impacts how U.S. citizens are perceived overseas. One in five consider safety and security a top concern when abroad. When I went to Australia last April, I was bombarded with questions about Mr. Trump and concerns about him being president. I can only imagine what Americans are dealing with now as they travel abroad. But it’s an opportunity for Americans to have thoughtful discussions with people they meet overseas on American politics and culture.

• Trade: Trump wants to renegotiate trade agreements and limit travel of certain foreign nationals to increase homeland security. But as president he will have to work with congress on his policies. Even with a Republican controlled legislative branch, I believe the election rhetoric in a number of areas will be tempered. There is concern that the popular visa waiver program our industry has fought hard to implement and sustain will be weakened. I am hopeful that will not be the case. Trump is pro-business, so as a tourism industry we have to demonstrate how travel to the U.S. is vital to our economy.

• Travel related infrastructure: According to U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow, “Mr. Trump demonstrated throughout his campaign that travel and infrastructure issues have his attention…. Trump has explicitly highlighted the challenges facing our nation’s airports and our aviation security system. He has voiced great enthusiasm for modernizing our roads, rails and airports with his promise to invest $500 billion in infrastructure reform.” Let’s not forget that the president elect is invested in the tourism and hospitality business, being a partner in numerous ventures including hotels, attractions, golf courses and even a winery.

So where does it leave the travel industry with a Trump Presidency? It’s too soon to tell. There could be challenges and there could be opportunities. I strive to be an optimist. Overall, I think travel and tourism will continue to be an economic and job creating engine on the local, national and international stage, regardless of who is president.

And for those international travelers who are thinking of boycotting a visit to the U.S. because of the future president, I close this with these thoughts penned by travel writer Chris Leadbeater this week:

“…the USA is no worse a travel destination today than it was yesterday, or than it will be in November 2020 or January 2025.

The Grand Canyon is as wide and magnificent as ever, the San Francisco skyline still an architectural wonder, the bars of Brooklyn unwaveringly chic, Route 66 still a meandering road-trip ribbon across the landscape, Colorado still a snowy oasis for skiers.

Travel really does broaden the mind – and the world could use some broadening today.”

Photo: Evan Vucci, Associated Press

Travel Trends for 2017 Part One

As 2016 comes to a close, organizations, professionals and scholars will offer their research, projections and sometimes plain guesses as to what 2017 will bring in travel and tourism. In the coming months I’ll share what I learn and gather. So let’s jump in!

Just this week AARP released boomer travel trends for 2017. In September they conducted a  15-minute online survey among males and females age 18-plus who have taken at least one leisure trip in the past two years.  AARP stated that the final data was weighted to the U.S. Census for analysis. Their results:

General Travel Insights

• Travel in 2017 looks very similar to what was anticipated in 2016
• Most Boomers (99%) will take at least one leisure trip in 2017, with an average of five or more trips expected throughout the year.
• Most (51%) expect to only travel domestically, but a significant portion are hoping to travel both domestically and internationally (43%).
• The majority of travel is anticipated in the Spring and Summer of 2017, and to a lesser degree in the Fall, regardless of destination.
• For Boomers, Bucket List trips are the most popular motivation for an international trip, while domestic trips are a combination of Summer vacations, Multi-generational trips, Weekend Getaways, and Holiday travel.
• With all the trips anticipated for 2017, it is important to note that most (~85%) have yet to be booked, meaning Boomers are still in the planning or idea phase.
• Boomers appear confident about making travel arrangements, as 49% report not finding anything particularly difficult to take care of in regards to their travel plans.
• Among those who noted an issue, budgeting challenges top the list.
• Boomers are not avid users of online resources for travel planning and booking, especially compared to younger generations.  Among those using online resources, the most popular sites include Trip Advisor, Expedia, Travelocity, Yelp, and Google Maps.
• That said, 41% will book online at the airline/hotel/car website.  This is most likely driven by the fact that most Boomers are members of at least one loyalty program.  In fact, 82% are currently members of an airline loyalty program.
• More often than not (~70% Always/Mostly), Boomers will book their travel (flight, hotel, car) with their loyalty program provider.
• And although many continue to indicate a desire to travel more in 2017 than they did in 2016, a handful of barriers remain in the way; cost (43%), health (34%), and security concerns (28%) top the list.

Trip Specifics

• Most Boomers are looking for a laid back and relaxing trip to give them the opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family.
• To do so, Boomers are planning to escape to Mexico, the Caribbean, and/or the British Isles (UK, Ireland) for their upcoming international trips. Their domestic trips, although covering a variety of cities, are most often being planned for a Florida or California destination.
• Regarding authentic experiences, although Boomers would like to eat a meal with locals (50%), or tour with locals (40% among international travelers), they are not as open to staying with locals, domestically or abroad (18%).
• As seen in past research, among Boomers who are still working, approximately 40% do not anticipate taking all of their vacation days.  And when they do vacation, 40% feel it is at least somewhat important to stay connected to work while away, which is why many anticipate spending at least 10% of their vacation time working.

Source: AARP Online

 

Global Travel Intentions: Where, What and Why of Future Travel

Since 2006, Visa has released a Global Travel Intentions Study providing insights in to the travel plans of international travelers. The newest edition shows that due to greater options, travel opportunities are reaching more people. Regardless of political or economic situations, people are optimistic about their future travel plans.

Here is a sampling of their findings:

• Travelers from Asia aspire to travel further to the West while travelers from the Americas intend to stay within the region.
• While the USA remains the number one place to visit, some European mainstays such as France and the UK are giving way to Asian countries like Japan.
• Though budget is one of the key factors in selecting destinations, travelers are increasingly prioritizing good scenery and attractions when making their decisions.
• Travelers continue to combine business and pleasure travel (about 20%).
• Millennials and affluent travelers are showing a growing interest in personal guided tours with nearly one in five opting for this arrangement – compared with one in 10 in 2013.
• Travelers surveyed are more spontaneous. One in two planned their last trip in a month or less.
• Being online is important for travelers, not for work but for their social networks to share information and images of their vacation.
• Going alone: One in five travelers have traveled on their own on their most recent leisure trip. Interestingly, there are more women who intending to travel alone in 2015.
• Rise of the mobile: Mobile devices are the most important gadget for travelers surveyed. Most travelers use their device to access information sites about the destination throughout their journey.
• Most travel spending at the destination is on retail, dining and tourist activities. This is largely consistent with the 2013 survey.

Want more? Take a look at the Visa study.

Let’s Build Tourism for Washington State

Here are a few facts about Washington that not everyone knows:

• Tourism is the fourth-largest industry in our state.

• Washington is the only state in the U.S. that does not have a robust tourism promotion program.

• Washington’s share of tourism growth has been below the national average for the past four years. We’ve been losing share of the tourism pie to other states since our Legislature closed the state tourism office in 2011.

Today, we are poised to fire up this economic engine again. A bill co-sponsored by Rep. Norm Johnson of Yakima (House Bill 1938) plus companion Senate Bill 5916 are working their way through the State Legislature. These bills would allow our state to begin telling its story to travelers across the U.S., Canada and overseas.

When a visitor comes to Washington, we’re hosting a very special guest. Why? Because when out-of-state travelers spend money on a hotel room, in a restaurant, a shop, gas station or other businesses, they not only help that business, they pay taxes that benefit Washingtonians. In fact, visitor spending in Washington generates $400 in tax revenue for each Washington household: That’s a $400 reduction in annual household taxes for each of our families.

This is why every state — except Washington — has a sustainable funding mechanism to support a statewide tourism effort. Visitor spending and the taxes they pay while visiting are revenues we depend upon. Without visitors, our community would have less retail, fewer restaurants, fewer events and less money to support important community projects. Visitors expand our economy and improve our quality of life.

In 2013 (the latest year with economic data available), tourists spent $17.6 billion in Washington. They contributed $1.1 billion in state and local taxes. Those are big numbers, but a closer look shows they aren’t where they should be. Statewide tourism spending — and, therefore, tax revenue and job growth — slowed in 2013. This slower pace has been happening since 2011 when the state tourism office was eliminated. Meanwhile our surrounding states are seeing growth in visitor spending at far higher levels than we are.

Here in Yakima County, visitors spend $359 million annually. They support 3,560 jobs in locally owned small businesses. Tourists provide our community with more than $24 million in sales taxes that support services we all enjoy. While the Yakima Valley tourism industry has done well the last few years, imagine how much stronger our economy would be if more visitors came to Washington to spend their money. With a solid state effort, we can reach new markets and attract those visitors.

But change is coming. The Washington Tourism Alliance is pushing to re-establishing a statewide tourism marketing program through the legislation. This time it will be different from past state tourism efforts by not being part of state government. Washington tourism industry businesses will support the new nonprofit, private tourism organization. The funding will be generated by the tourism industry itself through assessments plus voluntary contributions.

If we want a robust tourism industry and the tax revenues visitors create for state and local services we need to pass this legislation. I am confident that by telling our story again, we’ll be able to increase travel to our state. As a result, visitor spending will increase, jobs will grow and tax revenues will expand. We’ll gain greater attention from businesses considering relocation and we’ll build our quality of life. It makes business sense to promote the great state of Washington to the world.