PGAV Destinations, a global leader in the planning and design of unique destinations, has revealed insights from its seventh annual attractions sector study, looking at performance from 2021 and forming predictions for the current season.
The company’s research piece Voice of the Visitor: Outlook on the Attractions Industry investigates how likely operators are to recover from an elongated period of legislation changes, uncertainty and decreased footfall. PGAV enlisted H2R Market Research to survey a sample of 1,500 American residents, with an oversample of 400 people of colour, self-identifying as any race other than non-Hispanic white.
PGAV CEO Mike Konzen says that the results are encouraging:
“By nearly all of our key metrics, 2021 performance for the overall attractions industry exceeded our Voice of the Visitor 2021 projections. In fact, we heard from so many of our clients that 2021 represented their best year ever on a financial basis.”
Sector recovery
With many attractions now reopened after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, attraction attendance has rebounded to 73% of its pre-pandemic norm, marginally outperforming consumers’ own forecast from last year’s questionnaire.
PGAV’s data presents good news for operators – as it reveals that 2022 performance is expected to further recover pre-pandemic levels, a result of pent-up demand and improved family finances.
The study shows that outdoor attractions are still dominating the list as the most-visited attraction type, with a proportion of visitors still trying to feel comfortable visiting certain indoor environments.
Typical destinations benefiting from this ongoing trend include historical places, natural parks and zoos, which topped the list of attractions visited.
Compared to 2020, the average visitor age for adults increased slightly, returning to the historical average, providing a signal that mature adults are becoming more comfortable with travel in their routine.
The aforementioned build-up of personal finances also resulted in a surprising increase in per capita spending in 2021. With nearly two-thirds of respondents indicating they intend to “splurge”, this trend is likely to continue, with visitors expected to visit an average of four attractions each this year.
Prospective growth
This year’s Voice of the Visitor has been expanded by PGAV to look closer at diversity. From the survey’s sample, a third of attraction visitors in 2021 identified as being of colour, the highest figure recorded by PGAV’s research to date.
This section of respondents also showed a strong desire to visit new attractions and locations they have not yet visited.
Compared with those identifying as non-Hispanic white, people of colour were 16% more likely to be first-time visitors.
Statistics also show that this demographic visited 6% more attractions in 2021 in comparison and for this year, 72% said they planned to visit even more attractions than before in 2022.
More insights can be found in the digital edition of PGAV Destination’s Voice of the Visitor report, available now on the company’s website.
PGAV Destinations recently added eight new members to its various teams, including experienced architectural and graphic designers.
