COVID-19 Recovery

There are many factors to consider before rebooting your domestic and international marketing, but the good news is there is enough intelligence to guide you through the process. Overall, there seems to be a realistic understanding of what the world is dealing with during this pandemic. Travelers know that nonessential, long-haul travel is not currently advisable, but most seem optimistic that we will get through this and are eager to engage with inspirational content from destinations that want to “stay in touch”. This gives us great hope for tourism’s COVID-19 recovery in 2021.

The easy answer is to start small with your marketing efforts, and scale over time with messaging that is shown to resonate positively with your core audiences. Be honest. Let these travelers know that you miss them and are looking forward to welcoming them back to your communities when the time is right.

Herrmann Global Insights can help you determine the right time by watching global online sentiment about travel, particularly to your region and specific destination.

As you continually adjust to the effects of COVID-19 on your destination, your decisions can be guided by answering these questions:

1. Where do we see travel-related conversations occurring?
   Your data focuses on real-time travel-related mentions of your destination in domestic and international source markets.
2. Is my destination perceived positively or negatively as a travel option?
   Your Net Sentiment Score evaluates your destination brand trend and compares it to the previous 30 days during COVID-19. Understanding contributing external forces to sentiment in your source markets is critical to deploying effective marketing tactics.
3. What topics are consumers discussing, and can we join the conversation as a trusted source?
   It is important to understand what captures the attention of potential visitors from a source market, and what is influencing positive conversations about your brand. By analyzing consumer mentions of your brand, we can begin to understand which platforms are most effective in encouraging potential customers to discuss and engage with your brand. This helps to guide your media placement and also serves as a tracking mechanism for media partnerships.
   
4. When is the best time to re-engage with my core audience?
   By assessing and applying these data points, we can help you develop a hybrid tourism strategy to nimbly restart—and adjust as necessary—domestic and international travel that is both economically beneficial and respectful of your community.

We utilize our Herrmann Global Insights tools to find answers and direction for you. Your custom online listening dashboard provides you with insights into sentiment, conversations, coverage, and conversation drivers. We aggregate and asses data from all major platforms in your key markets, equipping you to tailor your messaging to the moment and to the market.

These dashboards also include a two-year, historical data pull to give you perspective on which to base your plan and response for COVID-19 recovery. This will equip you to move forward into the new world of travel mid- and post-pandemic.

For more information about using online listening, expert analysis, and customized direction for your COVID-19 recovery, please contact Adam Bridgeford at adam@herrmannglobal.com.