Welcome back to Philip James Travel!
I’m sure many of you will remember TV game show host Richard Dawson and his familiar “Survey Says!” line from Family Feud. Well, Richard doesn’t have anything to do with my newsletter this week, but as I thought about my title, “Survey Says”, it surely was his voice I was hearing in my head. Surveys and polls are ever-present in our lives, and though we might like to cheer or debunk the results, if you’re like me, you just do your best to avoid being caught on the phone with a pollster!
The reality in our culture is that we rely on surveys and polls to collect information about an audience's behaviors, needs, and opinions so that we can make informed decisions about a wide variety of topics. My relatively new business is no different, and in this current climate, I’d like to get a sense of what the short and long term effects will be in the wake of stay at home orders so that I can respond appropriately to travel-seekers’ needs when they once again wish to take to the skies.
So from both a forecasting perspective as well as general interest I am super curious as to when travel will resume. Will it be in a few weeks or months? Will Americans go near or far? Looking into the future there are so many unknowns, but a glance back in history shows us that in the aftermath of major disruptions there was a near-immediate and significant resumption due to “pent up demand” in both leisure and business travel. Will this be the response again? Survey Says!
Some recent polls have been released by various travel industry groups gauging likely travelers’ anticipated behaviors, but as you might expect, poll results change dramatically based on who was polled, what the questions were, and whether the pollster had a bias. So instead of presenting you with cherry-picked survey results, I’m much more interested in what you have to say. If you’d like to share your thoughts with me, please do so by answering 4 very quick questions by clicking on the link below and perhaps if there’s enough of a sampling, I’ll be able to share the results with you next week!
Lastly, I offer my thanks to all of you who voted for me as Northshore’s Best Travel Advisor. I’m humbled and grateful to have won!
Remember that we’re all in this together, and I am here for you. Keep your travel dreams alive. Stay well.
Destination Inspiration: Hawai’i
Philip -