Get Ready for the Spending Spree
From wallets to handbags, visitors are opening up and ready to spend!
Visitors are excited to return to attractions, and when they do, they are spending money. This fact comes through loud and clear, both in 2021 attraction per caps and in PGAV’s Voice of the Visitor 2022 (VOV 2022) survey results. It’s a much-needed one-two combination of good news for our resilient industry. Yet, it does lead us to wonder if this trend will be a flash in the pan, or something with staying power.
Visitors Have No Intention of Skimping on the Fun
Respondents reported spending an average of $72 per person and $187 per party in 2021. When asked how this compared to spending at attractions in previous years, 30% of visitors reported that they spent more on attraction visits last year, compared with only 11% who said they spent less. This leaves a substantial net of 19% spending more in 2021, signaling that attraction visitors are ready and willing to spend more on those memorable experiences. Theme parks, museums, and zoos and aquariums fared the best among those bigger-spenders, but net spending was up across all types of attractions.
When asked what they believe were motivators for increased spending, visitors suggested that it was driven primarily by people wanting to get out again after extended periods of quarantine (81%), a desire to treat themselves and their families (77%), a heightened sense of wanting to savor family time (72%), and increased savings (64%). And it doesn’t stop there.
Almost two-thirds of VOV 2022 respondents (64%) indicated that they were likely to continue spending more in 2022.
This spending data, combined with the extraordinary pent-up demand that we examined last week, paints a rosy picture for the industry in the near-term.
A Sustainable Visitor Spending Surge?
VOV 2022 data gives us a mixed bag when trying to predict longer-term spending implications. Visitors reported household income in 2021 that was 9% higher than historical averages, and net expectations for the economy to improve in 2022 is at 30%, the highest ever recorded for VOV. On the other hand, federal stimulus money was cited as a significant source of increased spending, with 62% of respondents saying it was a factor.
Economic experts offer similar mixed assessments when trying to gauge overall consumer spending trends. Fidelity notes record-high net worth, strong savings, and a healthy employment market as positives, but also cautions that inflation and the conclusion of major stimulus programs could dampen spending. Other experts, including Wells Fargo and McKinsey & Company, predict short-term spending increases, but cite inflation and continued uncertainty around COVID-19 as reasons for caution.
While variables remain, VOV 2022 data indicates that attraction visitation is likely to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Other studies, such as the one done by the World Travel & Tourism Council, predict a similar 30% increase in travel and tourism industry spending. The combination of pent-up demand and extra savings could very well result in a short-term boost beyond 2022. Whether a visitor surge extends that far boils down to two key factors: will consumers maintain their renewed focus on their bucket lists? And will their wallets allow them to continue to pursue those lists?
Next week, we’ll dive deeper into how visitor motivators have evolved, looking at both pandemic-influenced shifts as well as other changes that are more likely to stick around for the long-haul.
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