Skift Take
A lot of data and other metrics are being tossed around when prognosticating about the recovery of the travel industry. What we aren't hearing so much about is the prolonged impact of anxiety and stress that Covid-19 leaves in its wake. Let's not discard that fallout.
The travel industry cannot ignore the psychological effects of the Covid-19 crisis. While consumers intend to travel, these best intentions could be short-circuited by self-preservation driven by anxiety and fear.
The message is clear — consumers want to travel again. The intent is there. Many data points paint a picture of pent-up demand, driven by our collective social isolation and national impatience. We’ll get to that data in a minute.
However, when put in practical terms, we can’t help but think there’s something huge missing in this equation, and that is fear.
Fear of the unknown. Fear of the unseen. Fear of the guy sitting in 26D.
The human toll of Covid-19 remains to be seen. But the fear and general sense of unease it generated has already impacted our decision-making process and personal well-being.
There are critical questions that haven’t been widely addressed from a behavioral psychology perspective, as they pertain to the travel recovery timeline:
What is the psychological toll of the Covid-19 crisis?
What might this mean for travel recovery timelines?
How will different demographic groups think differently about emerging from isolation?
What are the implications for travel marketers, as they walk a tightrope between consumer sensitivities and maintaining engagement?
Not having a Ph.D. in psychology ourselves, we spoke to someone who does.
Jamie Howard, Ph.D., is a senior clinical psychologist in the Anxiety Disorders Center at The Child Mind Institute in New York, and the director of the center’s Trauma and Re
