What will the future bring for Carlsbad's tourism industry?
The short answer is no one knows. Considering the shaky economic climate, looking for answers is an exercise in frustration. In fact, a healthy dose of patience might be the best answer of all.
Ypartnership, one of the nation's leading marketing agencies specializing in serving travel, leisure and entertainment clients, just released its updated U. S. travel horizons survey. While the results don't look much worse than last year, they don't look much better either.
The good news is the surveyors were visibly encouraged by what they heard. In these uncertain times, that is better than nothing at all.
According to Ypartnership, the outlook for business travel remains mixed, with only 18 percent of adults planning at least one trip, including business meetings and conventions, between now and April, which is up slightly from 17 percent last July. Of those who will be traveling, the number of intended trips has been rising steadily throughout the year from an average of 3.3 trips in April to 4.8 trips in October. This average is being driven up by a relatively small percentage of business travelers.
On the leisure side, 53 percent of all U.S. households are planning at least one leisure trip between now and April, down slightly from the 56 percent who stated the same intention last year. Concerns about “the household budget” remain the primary deterrent to future leisure travel (cited by 39 percent of those not planning a trip).
However, the incidence of this concern is now at the lowest level since Ypartnership began to include the question in the survey.
Like business travelers, leisure travelers intend to take a few more trips during the next six months, as the average number of trips is up to 3 from 2.8 last year.
Southern California destinations, especially coastal destinations, seemingly fare better than most areas. Visit Carlsbad looks for every opportunity to hold our ground against the competition.
Visit Carlsbad is a member of the California Travel and Tourism Commission, the organization that markets California. While many destinations are losing funds or are trying to maintain their marketing programs, the commission's funding structure allows it to move forward, ensuring that when the recession ends, California will not have lost ground.
“Carlsbad has the assets and resources to recover more readily than some of our competitor destinations,” said Rob Sapp, regional director of marketing for Four Seasons Resort. “Carlsbad has a desirable portfolio for the leisure traveler, including dining, golf, LEGOLAND and great beaches. Along with a small town atmosphere and sophisticated amenities, this is very attractive to duel income travelers, as well as families.”
He added that the city also offers top conference facilities and business services.
A recent New York Times article stated, “The hotel industry needs to continue to offer good value in order to capture their fair share of business. The American consumer now really understands the quality-value price equation that is the new normal. The industry has had to cut so much labor that there is perhaps the question, 'do they really still have a customer service attitude?'”
Our Carlsbad hotel industry stands out among its competitors with great customer service. As Visit Carlsbad moves forward this year with the launch of its new Web site and marketing plan, we are aware of the economic uncertainty and plan to offer the best opportunities to showcase our destination to its key markets.
The short answer is no one knows. Considering the shaky economic climate, looking for answers is an exercise in frustration. In fact, a healthy dose of patience might be the best answer of all.
Ypartnership, one of the nation's leading marketing agencies specializing in serving travel, leisure and entertainment clients, just released its updated U. S. travel horizons survey. While the results don't look much worse than last year, they don't look much better either.
The good news is the surveyors were visibly encouraged by what they heard. In these uncertain times, that is better than nothing at all.
According to Ypartnership, the outlook for business travel remains mixed, with only 18 percent of adults planning at least one trip, including business meetings and conventions, between now and April, which is up slightly from 17 percent last July. Of those who will be traveling, the number of intended trips has been rising steadily throughout the year from an average of 3.3 trips in April to 4.8 trips in October. This average is being driven up by a relatively small percentage of business travelers.
On the leisure side, 53 percent of all U.S. households are planning at least one leisure trip between now and April, down slightly from the 56 percent who stated the same intention last year. Concerns about “the household budget” remain the primary deterrent to future leisure travel (cited by 39 percent of those not planning a trip).
However, the incidence of this concern is now at the lowest level since Ypartnership began to include the question in the survey.
Like business travelers, leisure travelers intend to take a few more trips during the next six months, as the average number of trips is up to 3 from 2.8 last year.
Southern California destinations, especially coastal destinations, seemingly fare better than most areas. Visit Carlsbad looks for every opportunity to hold our ground against the competition.
Visit Carlsbad is a member of the California Travel and Tourism Commission, the organization that markets California. While many destinations are losing funds or are trying to maintain their marketing programs, the commission's funding structure allows it to move forward, ensuring that when the recession ends, California will not have lost ground.
“Carlsbad has the assets and resources to recover more readily than some of our competitor destinations,” said Rob Sapp, regional director of marketing for Four Seasons Resort. “Carlsbad has a desirable portfolio for the leisure traveler, including dining, golf, LEGOLAND and great beaches. Along with a small town atmosphere and sophisticated amenities, this is very attractive to duel income travelers, as well as families.”
He added that the city also offers top conference facilities and business services.
A recent New York Times article stated, “The hotel industry needs to continue to offer good value in order to capture their fair share of business. The American consumer now really understands the quality-value price equation that is the new normal. The industry has had to cut so much labor that there is perhaps the question, 'do they really still have a customer service attitude?'”
Our Carlsbad hotel industry stands out among its competitors with great customer service. As Visit Carlsbad moves forward this year with the launch of its new Web site and marketing plan, we are aware of the economic uncertainty and plan to offer the best opportunities to showcase our destination to its key markets.