Intentions to travel continued to rise in November, but consumers still predict COVID (or now even omicron) related barriers may interrupt their plans – will this limit potential bookings of flights, accommodation and other tourism sector spending despite increasing interest?

Forethought’s November Mind and Mood Pulse showed a continued increase in Australian’s intentions to travel, which was also reported on in our October edition. More consumers are now looking to travel both interstate (43%) and overseas (11%), given the general easing of restrictions nationwide.

There has however been a jittery consumer reaction to the news of the omicron variant, which was relatively predictable according to Forethought’s latest Mind and Mood data.

Consumers planning overseas travel are concerned about restrictions, quarantine requirements and inflexible booking policies (primarily) ruining their upcoming travel plans.

The new omicron variant may have heightened these fears – according to the Australian Federation of Travel Agents in the Financial Review last week: ‘inquiries for overseas trips (have fallen) “off a cliff”

Forethought GM Rachel Edwardes says when it comes to overseas travel in particular, consumers need certainty.

“An overseas trip is a big-ticket item for the everyday Australian. The potential loss of not only money (due to inflexible bookings or restrictions) – but also time inadvertently spent in quarantine when you may only have two weeks of leave from your job for the year, continue to be significant barriers”.

“This new variant has arrived at a complex time for the travel sector in Australia – just when there was some relative light at the end of the COVID tunnel. Forethought’s November Mind and Mood results have shown consumers were already concerned about travel plans being interrupted even prior to omicron. We would hypothesise that these fears may now have been heightened.”

“Our research is suggesting that travel, accommodation and entertainment brands that benefit from tourism should be considering their product and advertising strategies carefully following this news. Managing consumer anxiety and ensuring customers feel as confident as possible when booking their trip is key”.

Download the full report above.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

In our Mind & Mood study, Forethought has been tracking Australia’s sense of Normality since 27 March 2020 when our world was first shocked by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been taking a regular pulse of national mind and mood and have now surveyed over 22,000 Australians

ABOUT FORETHOUGHT

Forethought is a leading customer and marketing analytics and strategy advisory firm.

Forethought, with the largest marketing science team in Australia, partners 80 clients in Australia to drive customer and market share growth via providing the evidence and CMO advisory support focused on customer acquisition and retention strategy and market share growth. In North America, Forethought partners with the fastest growing airline, JetBlue as well as several category leading brands.