• On April 30, according to TravelWeekly , 

o People ages 18 to 35, who appear less vulnerable to Covid-19, will be among the first to begin traveling again. 

o A quick and effective restart of travel will only happen if governments around the world agree to a common set of health protocols developed by the private sector.

• According “Tour operators seeing uptick in booking” published on TravelWeekly on April 30, 

o Collette has a lot of domestic travel on the books for July and August. But interest remains high for international travel and the company still has a lot of Europe on the books for fall. Top destinations for new bookingsinclude Britain, Ireland, national parks, the Canadian Rockies, Finland and South Africa. 

o For G Adventure, most new bookings are for about nine months out and especially high for South and Central America.

• According to TravelAge West on April 29, 

o Tour operators remain positive about 2021 despite major 2020 losses. 

o A new survey of 592 small-to-medium-sized tour operators shows that almost 40% of small operators have postponed trips to OctoberDecember 2020, while 30% plan to postpone trips to 2021. 

o More than half of operators have a negative outlook for the second half of 2020, but only 22% view 2021 negatively — with almost a third of respondents saying they have a positive outlook for 2021.

April 28,2020

• According “Stats: Half of Americans Plan to Rebook Travel” published on TravelAgentCentral on April 29, 

o While almost 80 percent of U.S. consumer surveyed by the University of Florida Crisis Management Initiative, 78 percent had cancelled a trip as a result of COVID-19, 46 percent planned to rebook those plans. 

o In the short-term, domestic travel will likely recover sooner than international travel. In four survey taken weekly between March 16 and April 13, about half of the U.S. consumers said they would travel anywhere in the U.S. in the next three months. About 15 percent of respondents pick they would travel anywhere in the world in the next three months.

• According statistics share by TripAdvisor below, 

o Americans remain among the most optimistic about traveling.

o Travelers across the world are hoping to travel sometime from July through October. American consumers are focused on October.

• April 27, Texas Governor Greg Abbot (R) plans to allow the state's stay-at home order to expire. The original order expires April 30th. All retail stores, restaurants, movie theatres, and malls are permitted to open on May 1st as a part of phase 1 with occupancy up to 25%. Iowa is also expected to lift business restrictions on May 1st. 

o Phase 2, which Texas could progress to on May 18th if key metrics continue to trend down, will expand occupancy to 50%. Beauty parlors, gyms, and bars remain closed but could be a part of phase 2. 

• Colorado and Nevada have joined the Western state pact to gradually reopen state economies in conjunction with one another. 

• Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced Monday that outdoor recreation would be allowed to resume in Washington state on May 5th if current COVID-19 trends continue.

• According to TravelPulse on April 27, 

o Many tour operators are upbeat that a recovery will begin in the fall of this year, but some have postponed all trips to 2021. 

o One-third of trips were rescheduled for sometime between June and September due to the coronavirus outbreak. Forty percent said that they are putting tours off until the last quarter of this year. 

o One-third of tour operators are positive about 2021, 26 percent have a fair outlook and 21 percent remain unsure. Forty-four percent say that they see a recovery in the industry in six to 12 months.

• According ADWeek“Hilton, Marriott and Airbnb Roll Out New Cleaning Initiatives to Reassure Consumers”on April 27: 

o Hilton announced a partnership with Reckitt Benckiser, manufacturer of Lysol, for a new initiative called Hilton CleanStaywith Lysol Protection. 

o Last week, Marriott announced that it would be launching the Global Cleanliness Council, a platform it hopes will elevate its own hygiene standards. 

o Airbnb announced today that it was bringing on former U.S. surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy to help develop new cleaning protocols for its hosts, including a learning certification program. 

o Currently, only 42% of consumers trust hotels to take the necessary steps to ensure their health and safety.

• The post "What do Post-Coronavirus Events Look Like?" published on Event Manager Blog on April 21 predicts that: 

o Large events (over 50 people) will suffer more than smaller events. Size will matter through 2020 and potentially into 2021. 

o Relaxing nonessential travel restrictions could free up domestic long range travel to meetings across the country, but almost inevitably virtual events will prevail over the risk of exposing attendees to travel with the virus still circulating in some capacity. 

o International travel will still suffer for a while with countries implementing different quarantine strategies. It is unlikely that attendees will be willing to potentially undergo 14 days of selfquarantine to attend a one- or two-day event.

• Skift reported that The New York Times travel section will temporarily stop appearing in the Sunday print edition, with the section being replaced by a new quarantine-focused lifestyle section called “At Home.”The Travel section will continue to publish content online, in the form of “news, service, and more essayistic or creative pieces, rather than destination coverage.”

• According toAFAR: 

o Road trips and closer-to-home travel will start to return as states begin to scale back their stay-at-home guidelines and social distancing measures. 

o Experts expect to see recovery in travel to begin in mid– summer 2020. 

o The graphic to the right illustrates the expected trend for how travelers will return to the market, based upon distance from home.

• According “State of Tourism in Canada during COVID-19” on the week of April 20 by Twenty 31, 

o Tourism continues to be heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, though initial glimmers of hope in the industry, particularly in the Asia are beginning to emerge. 

o The return to tourism (starting with domestic travel) is expected to return close to the end of June / beginning of July timeframe for some destinations around the world. Some destinations (Spain, Australia) are hinting that tourism may not return this year. 

o Consumers are starting to think about travelling again, but are still generally weary about what travel will look like and the impact it may have in a post-COVID-19 environment. 

o For Canada, Leading indicators continue to point to an easing of travel restrictions occurring gradually starting with inter- and intra-provincial travel (around mid / end of June / beginning of July), followed by regional travel (mid-July), and eventually international short-haul (mid- to late-August) and long-haul travel (into the fall). 

o A majority of travelers in Canada may look to make the switch from short-haul air to longer train rides and auto trips to travel across the country. 

o As the events sector recovers, size and travel will be the two major risk factors both countries and attendees will look at when evaluating the risk of attendance.

• According to Bloomberg: April 28,2020

• A Phocuswright surveyof travelers in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany released on April 23 showed that: o In the U.S., 33% postponed upcoming trips, while 29% canceled. Of those who chose to postpone, 61% said they hoped to take their vacation within the next six months. o Travelers are optimistic and watching for infection rates, lowered government restrictions, and the reopening of hotels, restaurants, bars, and activities before they resume travel.

• According to results from the second wave of the Travel Intentions PulseSurvey (TIPS) commissioned by the U.S. Travel Association: o Americans’ willingness to travel both domestically and internationally remains dependent on the slowing of the spread of COVID-19 and the reduction of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisories. o Travel intent during the upcoming six months has declined, with intent to travel for leisure vacations falling to 31% (from 39%) and intent to travel for business down to 21% (from 26%).

• This month, Preferred Hotels & Resortsconducted a survey on global future travel among members of the brand's loyalty program, I PreferHotel Rewards. Results showed that: 

o More than half (54%) of respondents said they will book a trip in 2020— and most will do so as soon as travel restrictions are lifted. 

o 17% of respondents are currently booking travel for 2020 o 51% say the plan to book a city hotel, and 30% plan to book a beach resort. 

o 43% hope to travel internationally

• “Will Travel Change After Coronavirus? Here's What Experts Have to Say,” via Travel + Leisure: o Air travel will restart slowly, domestically, and with social distancing. o Chip Rogers, President and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, expects the recovery to come in stages, starting with leisure travelers, followed by businessand then group bookings. If all goes well, the AHLA projects the U.S. hotel industry will be back at 70 to 80% of what it was before coronavirus by this time next year. o Travel agents will make a comeback because consumers want to have advisors for help.

• NBC News says COVID-19 will change hotel stays in ways including: o Hotels will focus less on hands-on experience which they used to all about. o Hotels have to take cleanliness seriously enough. The cleanliness and health will be vital.

• According toAFAR: o Road trips and closer-to-home travel will start to return as states begin to scale back their stay-at-home guidelines and social distancing measures. o Experts expect to see recovery in travel to begin in mid–summer 2020. o The graphic below illustrates the expected trend for how travelers will return to the market, based upon distance from home.