Americans, apparently, are not happy people. Go figure. Mired in an out-of-control pandemic, unabated civil unrest, and a bitter, cartoonish federal election that illustrates deep divisions in the country, studies south of the border report that US citizens are experiencing their lowest levels of happiness in 50 years. Enter the US travel industry, which is ready to help.
Citing new polling reporting that 97% of respondents to a recent consumer attitudes survey said that having a trip planned makes them happier, the US Travel Association launched a marketing campaign designed to take advantage of the personal benefits of travel planning – even by just thinking about a future trip – to communicate that “whenever travellers are ready to actually take it, the industry will be ready to safely welcome them back.”
The “Let’s Go There” campaign, which will extend into 2021, is the result of an industry-wide collaboration of more than 75 businesses and organizations examining the question: What is the right message to potential travellers while the nation navigates the realities of a pandemic?
It aims to tell travellers: “When it’s time for you, we’ll be ready,” says USTA President and CEO Roger Dow, whose organization is supporting the activities of the coalition. “There is pleasure in planning travel, and when the moment is right, the industry is committed to being well-prepared for the safe return of travellers. Our industry recognizes the need to pull together in this moment – as colleagues, not competitors – in a united message of welcome, preparedness, and desire to serve travellers’ needs.”
“Booking a trip – even just getting it on the calendar – might be the very thing we need to restore our emotional immune system after months of mounting uncertainty and stress,” says happiness researcher Michelle Gielan, founder of the Institute for Applied Positive Research, which conducted the poll.
“In our study on the connection between travel and happiness, 82% of people say simply planning a trip makes them ‘moderately’ or ‘significantly’ happier,” she said, adding, “Historically we have known that travel can create a bump in our happiness, but the question was what about during the pandemic.”
Among the survey findings:
• 96% said “Getting to travel and feeling safe while doing it would bring me peace of mind”
• 95% believe “Simply knowing there was something to look forward to would bring me joy”
• 80% agreed that “Planning travel for some time in the next six months would bring me happiness”
• 74% stated: “Planning something would make me feel more in control amidst so much uncertainty”
• 71% reported feeling greater levels of energy when they had a trip planned in the next six months
“The headline is, travel can have a significant effect on our happiness,” concludes Gielan, who admits that even she was surprised by the “robust” results, though she says that researchers have long known that “anticipatory savouring” is a driver of happiness and that “travel taps into that.”
Through all the planning and excitement generated by a “trip on the calendar,” people are already reaping happiness benefits before they even leave home, she adds.
“Travel ignites a sense of self-care and self-discovery when we all need it the most, so we hope that our collective message can inspire that notion and encourage people to start planning again,” says Santiago C. Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, a member of the campaign coalition.
Marriott International Global Office Brian King adds, “The yearning for togetherness and a change of scenery highlight just how much we miss the opportunity to escape and experience something new. The messaging strategy (of the campaign) carefully balances the need to emotionally inspire our wanderlust and rationally make sure it is safe to do so.”
Roger Dow says the association has been working on the campaign for months but was cautious about its launch date. “We didn’t want to appear tone deaf,” he says.
But with travel on the rise in the US in recent weeks – the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recorded four straight Sundays of 800,000-plus passengers travelling through US airport security checkpoints and 968,673 passengers last Friday (the highest number since COVID-19 began to impact the travel industry in March) – that now was the right time to launch the campaign.
While the campaign is domestic in nature, the US travel chief says international travellers are critically important and have not been forgotten; however, he adds that lingering international travel restrictions mean the time has not yet come to market out of country.