In March 2021, CM Communications, a leading travel & hospitality PR agency in the Northeast, conducted a travel media survey designed as a follow-up to findings gathered in a May 2020 survey. Both surveys included responses from over 400 editors, freelance journalists, bloggers, and Instagrammers from major markets nationwide. The main purpose of this research was to monitor media sentiment during the pandemic and gauge their willingness to travel for the purpose of writing stories and sharing their experiences with consumers.
According to our survey, travel journalists and social influencers are more willing to travel on assignment today than they were 10 months ago, increasing from 25% to 56%.
Other key findings include:
- 41% have been actively traveling and writing since lockdowns were lifted last spring
- 52% are willing to eat inside at a restaurant
- 56% will accept a press invitation to stay at a hotel
- 75% will agree to be COVID tested prior to visiting a destination, if required
- 60% have been fully vaccinated
Also, 74% of respondents cited hotel and restaurant CDC guideline adherence as “extremely important.”
Since the start of the pandemic, CM Communications has been in daily contact with travel media and uses proprietary polling data to inform revenue-generating media strategies for our clients. Based on our most recent findings, the media has given hotels and travel destinations a green light on resuming their public relations efforts. Those that do, will enjoy a competitive advantage gained by generating valuable earned media coverage – the most effective way to build consumer confidence and communicate a sincere message of security and safety to the traveling public.
