The Attractions Industry Has Proven Its Resilience,
… But Will It Be Ready for the Recovery?
After a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad 2020, the attractions industry saw plenty of reasons for optimism in 2021. We proved our resilience and resourcefulness as we positioned ourselves for a rebound that was bound to happen eventually … right?
Right. Last year showed us that we’re more relevant than ever for visitors, who are craving rest and relaxation amid the continuing challenges of COVID-19. But PGAV’s Voice of the Visitor 2022 (VOV 2022) results reveal that the second act of this recovery could be much more than just getting back to business as usual. In fact, we’re seeing massive pent-up demand that could result in a surge in attraction visitors in 2022 and beyond.
Pent-up Demand Is Still A Driving Force
Unconverted intent to visit an attraction hit an all-time high in 2020, with 65% percent of visitors wanting to visit an attraction but not actually doing so that year. Even with the solid rebound the industry saw in 2021, VOV 2022 revealed that unconverted intent remains extremely high at 62%, compared to the historical average of 46%.
And while science centers (73%), children’s museums (71%), and movie theaters (70%) experienced the greatest loss in potential visitors, every attraction category saw above average unconverted intent last year.
But it’s not just the attractions that people are missing. Intent to travel is up as 83% of visitors are saying they plan to travel for leisure in 2022, a return to pre-pandemic levels. Also good news –
Visitors are indicating they’re planning to visit 4.3 attractions on average in 2022, up from 3.5 in 2021.
These VOV 2022 results match up with other studies predicting travel and tourism trends for 2022. Signs are there that 2022 could provide more than a recovery; it could bring growth beyond pre-pandemic levels.
Controlling What We Can and Managing the Rest of It
While VOV 2022 results demonstrate that more people are looking forward to visiting attractions, and their intent to do so is strong, there are some big “ifs” that impact this shift from demand to action, including progress in the battle to mitigate the pandemic, as well as our own ability to accommodate growing waves of visitors.
We obviously can’t control the twists and turns of COVID-19 variants, but we can and should manage accordingly. VOV 2022 demonstrated that visitors still value safety measures like regular deep cleaning (51%), providing hand sanitizer (51%), requiring masks when not eating and drinking (47%), and limiting capacity to better enable social distancing (45%).
Staffing is another factor that attraction owners should consider as they contemplate accommodating visitor levels at or above pre-pandemic levels. We’re all well-aware of the labor shortages that have impacted many industries over the past few years, and hospitality is certainly no exception. It’s worth considering what can be done to fine-tune HR strategies, benefits packages, and employee training to help ensure that you’re ready to not only accommodate more visitors, but that they have great experiences once they arrive.
Supply chain issues are another consideration, with recent studies showing significant challenges for the broader hospitality industry in maintaining supplies of food and beverage items, cleaning products and other necessities. It’s a good idea to consider sourcing and potential problem areas as you anticipate a busier 2022 and beyond.
While COVID remains the biggest variable on how much visitor intent will turn into action in 2022, these other factors are also important in ensuring that attractions are ready to successfully accommodate larger volumes of visitors when they come. And while we would all love to peer into a crystal ball to better determine the “when,” in the meantime, we can take heart in the strong signs from VOV 2022 that those visitors will indeed eventually act on their pent-up demand.
Next week, we’ll turn our attention to the other key factor that will determine the strength of 2022’s recovery: visitor spending trends.
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