Survey Uncovers Optimism for COVID-19 Destination Recovery

In some heartening news, the fourth wave of a survey conducted by MMGY Travel Intelligence and Destinations International Foundation found that increasing numbers of destination organizations are expressing optimism for economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.

The survey, which assesses how destination organizations are affected and dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, noted the percentage of destination professionals who predicted their local economics would worsen fell from 72 percent in the third wave of the study to 41 percent in the fourth wave.

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Fourteen percent of respondents said they expected their local economies to improve within the next two months, up from 2 percent increases from third-wave responses.

“Many organizations are now starting to proactively plan their shift from informational communications campaigns to promotional ones in the next 60 days,” said MMGY Global’s Chris Davidson, executive vice president, insights & strategies. “But, there won’t be one moment where it all turns back on for everyone. Cities, even within the same state, may be on totally different time tables and with differing restrictions and protocols.”

While 76 percent of respondents said they would continue to invest in crisis communications, the survey found that percentage is expected to drop to 46 percent in the next 60 days.

Seventy-three percent of respondents said their promotional efforts will likely be email-based, up from 62 percent in the third wave of the survey.

“We believe this data represents the differing positions destinations find themselves in at this stage of the crisis and the uncertainty of how the coronavirus will affect destinations in the future,” said Jack Johnson, chief advocacy officer for Destinations International. “The responses also show the importance of crisis communications and having a strategy that supports various challenging events.”