| The vacation rental industry is going through a difficult time, but we’re all hopeful that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. As countries begin to loosen their lockdown restrictions and the world turns back to normal, there will be a transition to venturing back into the wider world, albeit at a slow pace. In this article, we’ll walk you through what we expect post-confinement recovery phases to look like, how to market your properties to domestic travellers and suggest which bookings sites to get listed on. |
Post-confinement travel trends: domestic tourism
“Getaway destinations close to nature and niche luxury properties will increase and be much more desired after recovering from the lock-down in the cities,” CEO of AIRBNB BRIAN CHESKY
Expected Recovery Phase 1: Regional tourism picks up
| “2020 could well become the year of the car.” Clayton Reid, chief executive of travel industry analyst MMGY Global said in an article published in Los Angeles Times Recovery will begin with the exploration of the familiar. Shorter, closer drive-to destinations with a lower spend will be on the increase. First to our own backyards – to our local restaurants, attractions, parks and places that we took for granted before the pandemic. There will also be an increase of movement as people seek reconnection, be it family reunions, weddings, christenings or transformational travel. We expect a faster snapback straight after confinement because it’s the promise of happiness and connection with people you know and love. |
Expected Recovery Phase 2: Domestic tourism gets a big push
| As domestic restrictions ease up, we expect to see far more interest in domestic travel and staycations. According to internal travel experts, they have seen a 20 percentage points increase in guests travelling within the same country compared with the previous year. |
The use of cars and train travel will increase drastically as travellers explore corners of their own countries they never thought of visiting
Expected Recovery Phase 3: Business travel sees a comeback
| Business travel will be the next phase of recovery. It is expected to have a rapid snapback due to pent-up demand, but there are also suggestions that the level of business travel will settle at a structurally lower level. With the evolution of improved tools like Zoom and more distributed teams, business travel might not reach the level it was before the COVID-19 crisis. |
Expected Recovery Phase 4: International travel returns
| Lastly, we expect international and group travel to be the last to return as consumers regain confidence in flying again. It will take time for the memories of the risk of contagion and of being stranded far from home to fade. However, the trends that have made travel one of the world’s favourite leisure activities remain and will likely enable leisure travel levels to continue to grow. |