• by Lucy Vlahakis , Columnist, January 9, 2018

From hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria to the California wildfires to a major earthquake in Mexico, 2017 saw Mother Nature wreak havoc on a number of tourism destinations popular with American travelers. As the year drew to a close, we surveyed 754 U.S. adults to determine if recent disasters had affected their winter vacation plans. The results revealed some bright spots in the forecast: Not only do many plan to return to impacted destinations this winter, but the majority of those say they’ll help with recovery efforts while there.

A few highlights:

Of the respondents who indicated their favorite winter vacation destinations have been impacted, 12% usually travel to the same hotel or resort every year. Another 21% return to the same destination, but like to stay at different hotels or resorts. In an open-ended question, the vast majority cited Florida as their winter vacation destination of choice (35%), followed by California (9%), the Caribbean (7%) and Texas (6%). All four were hit by major natural disasters in 2017.

The good news: Two-thirds (65%) of U.S. travelers who take an annual winter vacation to an impacted destination will not be swayed from their trip this season. Florida vacationers are particularly loyal. As many as 64% of those who routinely visit have plans to travel there this winter. 

Forty percent of those who are returning to their annual vacation spots report they’ll bring extra food, clothing or medical supplies to donate toward relief efforts. Another 23% will donate money to the region to help residents rebuild, and 21% plan to roll up their sleeves and volunteer while they’re there.

The majority of respondents who plan to visit an impacted area anticipate changes to their typical vacation routine. They expect to experience fewer crowds (35%), see visible damage (28%), and have limited access to their favorite restaurants and shops (20%). Twenty percent don’t expect to experience any differences this year.

Twenty-nine percent of respondents are unsure they’ll return to their favorite spots this winter. Five percent will skip the trip and say it will be a while before they go back. Only 1% don’t foresee ever returning. Of those who expressed reservations or responded negatively, top reasons include concerns about infrastructure (30%), the current attractiveness of the destination (25%), and that their favorite restaurants, stores and amusements won’t be open (20%). Thirty-two percent plan to visit somewhere that hasn’t been impacted, while the rest either aren’t sure or plan not to travel at all.

Looking further ahead, optimism remains high. The majority of respondents expect that impacted destinations will come back better than ever (32%) or rebuild to the level they were before (32%). Of the remainder, 22% believe success of rebuilding efforts will vary by destination. They anticipate U.S. regions will recover more fully, with 65% projecting a bright outlook for Florida, followed by Texas (58%) and California (52%). Outside the mainland U.S., confidence dips to 19% for Mexico, followed by the U.S. Virgin Islands (18%), Puerto Rico (17%) and the Dominican Republic (14%).

To keep abreast of conditions, as many as 29% of respondents have signed up to receive notifications from past vacation spots that have suffered damage. Another 41% frequently check for news of what’s going on.

One industry that could see an uptick in business in the wake of 2017’s multiple disasters is travel insurance, as 18% of respondents report they will absolutely purchase it more often in the future and another 22% will consider doing so. This is on top of the 14% who already do.