COVID-19 Travel Industry Research » Consumer Insights Tracker Infographics

COVID-19 Travel Industry Research from Magid reveals low brand trust

Wave 2: insights fielded June 2020

For the travel, hospitality and leisure sector, brand trust continues to deteriorate while consumers look to pay less for reduced amenities. There is a bright spot, however. In some cases, consumers are willing to pay more. Magid has developed more than 80 specific actions and determined consumers’ “willingness to pay” across five major sectors: airlines, lodging, fitness centers, restaurants, and cruise lines.

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Wave 1: insights fielded April 7-10, 2020

There are significant deficits throughout the travel, hospitality and leisure sectors, as fewer than half of consumers trust the industry to take the necessary steps to ensure their health and safety in the future.

That’s one of the key findings from Magid’s newly released Travel, Hospitality, Fitness, and Leisure Consumer Insights Tracker, which looked at the evolving consumer behaviors, attitudes and future views of these industries in relation to the coronavirus.

Just 14% completely trust bars and restaurants to ensure the health and safety of consumers. Even so, restaurants and bars fare best in Magid’s ranking, followed by airports, airlines, hotels and resorts and other travel, hospitality and leisure sectors.

For companies looking to regain consumer’s trust, Magid has identified nearly 70 specific actions that consumers have indicated will re-ignite engagement faster by increasing comfort and confidence, including visible hand washing stations, automatic doors, and personal cleaning kits.

However, even with these changes, one in five consumers do not plan to return to their normal routines after the coronavirus crisis has passed specific to the usage of airlines, hotels and restaurants. Magid found that:

• Half of those who have cancelled/postponed trips will change the way they allocate their travel funds
• 32% have stopped thinking about leisure travel for the foreseeable future
• 29% expect to be spending less on travel-related activities a year from now
• 36% of those using traditional gyms prior to the pandemic do not see themselves returning
• 13% of business travelers do not intend to travel at the same rate ever again

Additionally, the research found that consumers will be hesitant to reengage with certain activities within six months. For example, 82% of consumers do not expect take a cruise within the next six months, while 72% do not plan to stay overnight at a private vacation rental. Restaurants did not fare much better, as only 43% of consumers do not expect to dine at a restaurant or bar within the next six months.

There will definitely be a race among THL brands to claim “recovery victory” with some even displacing long entrenched leaders by delivering comparatively better experiences in our COVID-19 altered world.

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