Impressions - June/July 2021 - 25

A
s people begin to hit the road, air or seas again for their
favorite vacation spots, decorators are ramping up their orders
for clients in the tourism market. " While some customers'
budgets and order volumes in this space have dropped on
what they're willing to invest, sales keep increasing and bouncing back, "
says Howard Potter, CEO of A&P Master Images, Utica, New York.
" Many are selling online more than ever before. "
Th e reason for this uptick? Americans are planning to travel more
in 2021 compared to last year, according to a Harvest Hosts survey. Of
course, while it's not surprising that most people (76%) plan to travel
more than last year, the number of people planning to travel this year
also exceeds that of 2019, with 60% planning more trips than they
took before the COVID-19 pandemic. Widespread vaccinations also
are contributing to the travel boom, with 80% of U.S. travelers saying
they'll hit the road domestically if they get the vaccine (and 69% internationally),
according to TripAdvisor.
Potter says the biggest diff erentiator for his shop is ensuring he's
decorating and shipping orders faster than his competitors. " With
fl uctuating apparel stock issues during the past year, it's more important
than ever before to get your supplies ordered for each job as soon
as possible, " he says. " Don't wait or you'll miss deadlines. "
We asked a few decorators and other industry experts to weigh
in on trends in the tourism and resort niche, along with which
apparel styles, add-ons and decoration trends are winning business
with these clients.
What Tourism/Resort Clients Want
On average, people are putting aside $3,444 for trips in 2021,
according to an Expedia Group survey. Let's look at a few traveling
trends to get an idea of what companies and destinations might
need from you:
Tanya Doyscher of The Visual Identity
Vault recently chose high-end hoodies,
joggers and more to stock an online store
for a resort hotel for ice fishing. Photo
provided by The Visual Identity Vault.
* RV Parks, Campgrounds and Drivable Resorts: More than
two-thirds of Americans (69%) still don't feel safe getting on
a plane and 56% say they don't feel safe staying at a hotel,
Harvest Hosts reports. However, a
vast majority (99%) say they feel safe
traveling in an RV and 53% plan to
only travel via RV or car within 100500
miles. Pitch apparel programs and
add-on items to RV and road-trip
destinations.
* Beaches and Shore-Town Destinations:
A good number of people (56%)
plan to head to the beach this year, with
an average trip length of a week, according
to Expedia Group's 2021 Travel
Trends Report.
* U.S. Landmarks: Th e Expedia report
found that landmarks are among the
most popular vacation spots, with 51%
of people scheduling these tours.
* Cities: Travel to big cities is making a
comeback this year. Th e urban areas topping
travelers' lists are: Orlando, Florida;
Las Vegas; Miami; Denver; New York;
Los Angeles; Fort Lauderdale, Florida;
Chicago; and Phoenix.
* Cruises: Along with hitting the beach
and U.S. landmarks, 45% of travelers
can't wait to board their favorite cruise
line, Expedia reports.
Whether you're serving campgrounds and
destination hotels like Potter, or shore-town
shops, you need to know what guests want
to buy on site and online. " We're seeing that
our clients still want the basics, " he says. " Th at
includes T-shirts; hoodies; sweat pants; hats;
travel and coff ee mugs; blankets; and decals. "
Multifunctional apparel is trending. " Our
clients have been asking for sublimated performance
shirts and anything tri-blend, " says
Tanya Doyscher, graphic designer and co-owner
at Th e Visual Identity Vault in Fairmont,
Minnesota.
Let's break down a few options:
JUNE/JULY 2021
P.25
Impressions - June/July 2021

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