Evidently there is a lot of trepidation, with 30% of respondents saying they wouldn’t feel safe doing any of the activities listed.

Restaurants have been hard hit by the pandemic, particularly independent ones entirely reliant on sit-in diners. As restaurants reopen, based on our survey results, those with outside seats are going to fare far better than their indoor-only counterparts. While 36% of people feel safe dining outside, it’s just 26% for doing so inside.

Bars are even worse hit, with only 22% of people saying they feel safe visiting them. Meanwhile, the holiday and tourism industry is facing, as expected, an uphill struggle. Just 21% of respondents feel safe going to a hotel, while only 15% said the same about getting on a plane.

One of the other big safety concerns has been around sending kids back to school. With many of them closed during lockdowns, people are now worried about their children getting sick by returning to the classroom and if schools will contribute to a second wave.

We asked our respondents about the subject in our survey as well.

It’s a similar story to our first question. Many do not feel safe sending their kids back to school, with 37% considering it not safe at all. Just 12% consider it very safe. Each country has their own plans to reopen schools but, with the UK having to abandon part of their plan already, a lot of work needs to be done to convince parents classrooms are safe.

What we can see is that lifting lockdown measures is only the first step. Convincing the public that getting back out to restaurants, malls, and schools is safe is the next challenge to face.

Staycations mentions continue to rise on social

Thanks to Covid-19, lots of travel restrictions remain firmly in place and, as we just learned, many consumers don’t feel safe getting in planes or staying in hotels. But using our Consumer Research platform, we found English-language social media mentions of staycations are increasing as people look for an alternative break that’s closer to home.

From March – May 2020 mentions of staycations were up 11% compared to the average mentions in that period in the three years prior.

This suggests the pandemic has had consumers thinking outside the box and adjusting their plans for the year to accommodate for the crisis, just like we’ve seen with many other Daily Bulletin trends like virtual drinks and woodworking.

In part, social discussion about staycations was driven by safety. From March to May there were 45k mentions on social about how a staycation was a safer alternative to a traditional vacation. And there were 28k English-language mentions of staying in-state or closer to home for a quick return in case of another wave.

Google Trends echoes the interest on social media, with worldwide search interest for staycations at a five year high. Meanwhile, BuzzSumo revealed consumers engaged with staycation destination listicles 38% more in March – May 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.

Staycations are a great example of how consumers have been adapting to difficult times.

Although flights have started to resume, consumer confidence in flying is low right now. We expect the number of consumers contemplating a staycation will continue to rise until they are convinced that going further afield is safe.

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Brandwatch Response Team