Coronavirus: Hospitality Industry Update

Over the last several days, members of the Destination Niagara USA team participated in industry update calls with the U.S. Travel Association and Destinations International related to COVID-19 (Coronavirus).  We are aware of and share the concerns of our hospitality partners that this virus is going to have an impact on our industry as we look towards the upcoming season.  Because this situation is changing almost daily, it is difficult to predict the true impact that this will have on Niagara Falls USA in the next two to three months.  What we can do is look at historical data from previous health epidemics and have a plan that allows us to shift our marketing and sales efforts quickly as we see how these changes evolve.   

During the call with the U.S. Travel Association yesterday, they acknowledged that Chinese visitation will decrease nationwide for the remainder of 2020. However, they also referenced Tourism Economics data from the SARS epidemic in 2003 which showed a significant drop in international (especially China) visitation but an increase in domestic visitation because Americans too were not travelling internationally.   With that in mind, our spring digital campaign launched this week and is heavily targeting our top drive markets including NY, OH, PA, MA and Washington DC. We are able to monitor performance daily and can shift from areas where engagement is low and increase where engagement is high.  We are also prepared to increase our digital marketing spend in our top performing markets.

Below are links to the COVID-19 info pages on both the U.S. Travel Association and Destinations International websites for further information.  We can assure you that we are closely monitoring this situation as it relates to our industry and we will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.

If you have any questions or concerns at any time, please don’t hesitate to contact John PercyJulie Gilbert or Andrea Czopp via email or at 282-8992.

 

U.S. TRAVEL ASSOCIATION

 

DESTINATIONS INTERNATIONAL