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Tourism outlook bleak for Sonoma County

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Sonoma Valley Sun

While the still-bad occupancy rate for Sonoma County has ticked up slightly over the last month, the longer-term outlook for Sonoma County tourism is grim, according to stats released by the Sonoma County Tourism board.

Among key findings from a survey by the firm Destination Analysts:

  • Concerns about personally contracting the virus have been elevated among Millennial travelers over the past month.
  • Right now it appears the regional effects and response to the pandemic will have a lingering impact on destination brands. Nearly one-third of American travelers say they are less likely to visit the American destinations that they most associate with Coronavirus-related issues, even after the pandemic ends.
  • American travelers are also more polarized in their travel readiness state of mind. While 48.5% report having leisure trip plans during one or more months in the remainder of the year, sadly, 51.5% do not currently have any leisure trip plans in 2020.
  • Those who do not have trip plans this year are, unsurprisingly, more concerned about the virus, but interestingly less likely to be travelers that typically visited National Parks and other types of public lands prior to the pandemic.
  • Among those that will be traveling in 2020, plans for their next trip are largely well-formed, with beaches, National Parks and other rural areas most cited as the destinations.
  • Over one third of American travelers with school-age kids say they are more likely to take family trips this fall if their children do not have in-person education; 21% feel less likely.

The occupancy rate for Sonoma County is higher relative to other popular California destinations, but room rate and per-room revenue are lower:

 

 




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