Travelers Losing Confidence in Coronavirus Information Sources

According to the most recent Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, the ever-shifting threat of the pandemic has taken its toll on consumer confidence in official information sources.  The percentage of travelers relying on information on the safety of U.S. travel from the CDC or other federal health agencies has dropped from 57% on April 22nd to 45% on July 29th.  Confidence in information from the White House Coronavirus Task Force also declined, from 24% in April to 17% in July.  Reliance on information from state health officials has slipped from 36% in April to 27% in July.

“The mixed messages and results in response to the pandemic appear to be weakening public trust in official information sources at all levels,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International.  “Growing distrust in official information will only make a coordinated response to COVID-19 more difficult.”

According to the survey, the percentage of American travelers who now feel safe traveling outside their community is 43%.  About a third of travelers support opening their local communities to visitors, and approximately 40% would feel safe eating in local restaurants and shopping in local stores.

The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded July 29, 2020 using a national sample randomly drawn from a consumer panel of 1,000 adults, ages 18 and over.  Quotas were used to match Census targets for age, gender, and region to make the survey representative of the U. S. population.

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