It has been difficult to try to get a handle on a word or phrase that adequately captures the nature of business for those who buy and sell Visit USA product abroad, since most international travelers in the key source country markets in the world were given permission only several days ago, on November 8th, to enter the United States.
But there sure has been a lot of noise. For the United Kingdom, the USA’s most prolific country market, the happy noise one found in the large and busy travel news outlets in the nation’s travel trade was loud, and it was intensified by the occasion of the re-start of the World Travel Market Nov. 1-3, which was preceded by Brand USA’s Travel Week 2021, which targeted European tour operators—especially British operators—and which took place less than a month ahead of WTM. And both events took place in London.
So, it’s been kind of a blur in the UK of late, trying to follow the crush of announcements in recent weeks that heralded unprecedented demand among travel trade professionals, with the loudest noise made by airlines who began increasing lift capacity in response to surveys, polls and booking activity that will serve as an overture for the main concert to take place in the form of Q1, Q2 and Q3 in 2022.
Following are key points found in the results from recently conducted surveys.
First is from a YouGov survey of 2,000 Britons for Virgin Atlantic Airlines. It found that:
—40 percent of respondents have missed being able to visit the United States
—27 percent said they wanted to revisit their favorite destinations.
—New York was the most popular destination among respondents. The city accounted for the most Virgin bookings of any U.S. city following the initial reopening news and 39 percent of those surveyed who wish to travel to the U.S. said the city was their top choice with visits to Times Square (16 percent), the Empire State Building (25 percent), Statue of Liberty (29 percent) and Central Park (33 percent) topping respondent’s lists of things to do.
—More than a quarter (26 percent) of respondents want to visit Walt Disney World Resort and/or Universal Studios in Orlando, which comes as Virgin’s Orlando flight bookings were up 120 percent on the night of the announcement.
—52 percent want to travel to places they’ve never seen before.
—Some 40 percent of respondents said they were keen to visit national parks such as Yosemite or Joshua Tree.
—27 percent said they wanted to revisit their favorite destinations.
—The largest inspiration for travel comes from locked-down “binge watching,” with U.S. TV shows and movies topping the list of travel inspirations at 13 percent.
The results of the survey’s top 10 things UK travelers would like to do in the USA, are as follows:
1. Exploring a national park such as Yosemite or Joshua Tree (40 percent)
2. Take a walk-through Central Park (33 percent)
3. See the Statue of Liberty (29 percent)
4. Visit Walt Disney World Resort and/or Universal Studios in Orlando (26 percent)
5. Visit the top of the Empire State Building (25 percent)
6. Eat a hotdog in Times Square (16 percent)
7. See a game at Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium or the Superbowl in Miami (15 percent)
8. See the famous names along the Walk of Fame in Hollywood (15 percent)
9. Try their luck at the casinos of Las Vegas (14 percent)
10. See friends and family (12 percent)
From the findings of a poll of 2,000 people conducted on behalf of American Express:
—Half of Brits are already planning a holiday abroad in 2022, with more than £40 billion ($54.1 billion) likely to be spent on overseas trips, according to a survey.
—They are expecting their holiday to cost £1,567 ($2,145) on average, with a fifth (21%) planning to spend £2,000 ($2,737) or more.
—In total, £41.2 billion ($56.4 billion) is earmarked for international holidays next year, according to the research.
—More than a quarter (27 percent) are planning to spend more this year than on their holiday last year.
—Two fifths (44 percent) of Brits are planning to go on holiday both in the UK and abroad.
—The main reason for wanting an overseas trip was because respondents miss travelling internationally (32 percent). A fifth (21 percent) want to celebrate occasions they missed amid the pandemic, and 16 percent want to take advantage of airline and accommodation offers.
—For those Brits who are delaying booking, the main reason given was to “wait and see how the pandemic progresses” (55 percent), while a third (33 percent) are waiting for restrictions to ease.
—The survey indicated that nearly a quarter (24 percent) of those surveyed have not left the UK at all during the pandemic.
—June and July are the most popular months for next year’s holidaymakers.
—And under the circumstances, it should be encouraging to those promoting and selling Visit USA product that, of those planning travel to long-haul destinations: Nine percent are planning to visit the U.S., six percent are looking to go to the Caribbean and five percent want to go Australia.
