With days of baking sunshine and blue skies, the lure of the beach is calling to many of the British public who would typically be enjoying their holidays at this time of year. Home school is finished for the summer and we’re free to enjoy travel within our social bubbles. So how do the general public feel about visiting tourist attractions and booking their holidays now?

London based market research firm BVA BDRC and Alligator Digital have teamed up to provide tourism marketers with a weekly snapshot. Their report looks at how consumers feel about a range of different things, including what their attitudes are to tourism and hospitality - and how that changes week by week.

Here’s some of the key takeaways from this week’s report

Positive signs on a range of sentiment indicators this week

While we are unable to report an improvement in national mood this week, in general, the ‘mood music’ is significantly more upbeat, with indications that the UK government’s moves to bring about a return to normality are starting to have some effect on our attitudes towards the crisis, as well as our engagement with sectors such as travel, leisure and retail. We will need to wait another week or two before being able to call this a turning point.

Attractions record surge in visits (and planned visits)

In a very positive week for visitor attractions, we report a surge in Travel Activists who have now visited an attraction since the lifting of restrictions, coinciding with the start of school holidays. Encouragingly, future visit intentions also rise to their highest level yet for the summer holiday period, while the proportion who intend visiting before the end of 2020 also climbsto a new peak.

Positive early feedback from those who have ventured into restaurants and pubs

There is a significant week-on-week increase in the proportion of Travel Activists who have ventured into a pub or restaurant. Their feedback is much more positive than negative, mirroring anecdotal reports of operators going to considerable lengths to make guests feel safe and confident. However, on the ‘experience’ side of the equation, many customers remain in the ‘neutral’ rather than ‘positive’ camp, suggesting that the industry must work hard to avoid diluting the customer experience while enforcing the necessary restrictions

Visiting a tourist attraction - to what extent is consumer participation in each activity sector recovering to ‘normal’ levels?

With more visitor attractions continuing to re open throughout July, last week saw a steep rise in the proportion that had done so. As people get used to the precautions put in place by attractions and initial visits receive good reviews, we see confidence build. The intention to visit by the end of August has increased to the highest levels seen since May, with people wanting to make the most of what’s left of the summer. Combined with previous visits, this represents a big net increase in engagement.

Among those intending to go to a visitor attraction (who have a definite view as to when they will do so) average lead times drop this week to the lowest levels since April.

The lead time for visiting museums, galleries and historic houses continues to shorten, with the exception of aquariums and indoor play centres who see an increase for the first time since June.

The intention to visit a zoo by the end of year continues to rebound, with 21% likely to do so by the end of September. Following calls from celebrities to support local zoos, there has been growing interest in visiting. However, in keeping with government guidelines the capacity in zoos has been reduced and zoos have themselves been encouraging visits outside of peak times. Possibly due to this, and initial demand being met in July (5% have already visited) the intention to visit before the end of August has seen a slight drop on last week

With aquariums re opening later than zoos, there may have been slightly more uncertainty around visiting. This week we see intentions to visit before the end of this year remain quite flat, with a small proportion having already visited.

Likelihood to visit a theme park continues to increase this week, with those looking to visit by end of September up 3 points to 15%. The growth appears to be in September with intention visit by the end of July and August relatively consistent with previous weeks. A small proportion have already visited.
This week we see net activity increase to 4% for visiting a museum or gallery. As some major museums such as Somerset house and the National Gallery re-opened to great reviews and
with more looking to reopen end of July / early August, intention to visit by end of September sees a slight uplift which may continue to increase if positive reviews of experiences and precautions reassure potential visitors.
The proportion of people who intend to visit a small historic house by the end of 2020 continues to increase slightly from 27% to 30%. With the National Trust having reopened a sample of their historic houses on 13th July and English Heritage looking to re-open some houses in early August, we see a gradual increase in the intention to visit by end of August from 12% to 14%.
Intention to visit an outdoor space by end of July continues to increase as potential visitors look to make the most of the summer weather and 43% having already visited since permitted. With school summer holidays officially starting in most places on 22nd July, intention to visit an outdoor space by the end of August rises to 70% - the highest level seen since early May. The strong increases in intentions compared to modest rises for indoor visitor attractions is perhaps a further reflection of the public’s cautious approach to leisure.

How are people feeling about domestic holidays?

For the first time since early June, the average lead time for taking next UK holiday has not decreased. This will partly be driven by some people having already taken their summer trip.
Over a third of our travel activists plan on taking their next UK holiday between now and September, a consistent rise on the previous two weeks. When combined with the 7% that have taken a trip in July, the proportion of ‘summer’ holiday-makers is at its highest to date. Ultimately, it may fall short of being a genuinely nationwide staycation boom, but with UK holidays targeted at rural areas, certain parts of the country seem set to experience a boom in local tourism activity.
After weeks of stagnation, ‘next trip’ intentions for overseas holidays have dropped. Only 18% intend to take their next overseas trip by the end of 2020, and with just 1% having taken a trip in July, this represents a clear drop in holiday demand. The research was conducted before the Spain quarantine was introduced, so it’s likely that this percentage will drop even further in the coming weeks.

If you would like more insights into consumer behaviour around tourism, you can download the full report below. We’re happy to discuss how you can use these insights more fully in your marketing strategy and campaign planning moving forward - get in touch with us to continue this conversation

Download the report

How do people feel about tourism now summer is here?