Survey Shows Travelers Still Interested in Summer on Cape Cod

HYANNIS – A recent survey by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce database indicated a desire in participants for travel to the Cape Cod region this summer.

“We really wanted to know what people were thinking about. Over the years, we’ve spent a lot of time and resources understanding our customer, understanding what motivates them to travel, when they might travel, why they travel at certain times a year,” said Chamber CEO Wendy Northcross.

“Then we have this year. The cards are up in the air, let’s see where the deck lands, and we sent out a survey to ask people point blank if they would come and travel to Cape Cod this year, and we got some very good, thoughtful responses.”

Potential travelers aged 45 to 65+ made up ninety percent of the 511 total responses, with 85 percent having visited the Cape within the last two years.

Sixty-seven percent said that the would make a return visit to the Cape in summer of 2020, while 61 percent said that they would visit in the fall.

Visiting friends and relatives ranked at the top of the list for what survey participants planned to do on Cape Cod, with going to the beach and other outdoor recreation spaces coming second.

Forty percent of participants favored a hotel or motel as their first choice of accommodation, followed by 30 percent preferring a short term rental and 20 percent staying in their own home on Cape Cod.

At 80 percent, the majority said that they would stay for more than two nights.

The survey also included questions about what safety steps are most important to visitors in order to make them feel comfortable about attending events on Cape Cod, staying at a hotel or inn, visiting a museum or other cultural institution, or eating at a restaurant.

Well-promoted facility cleaning and sterilizing practices were cited as the most important in order to feel safe attending events, visiting cultural institutions and staying at accommodations.

“They indicated that they would feel more comfortable staying in a hotel or inn, but would also feel more comfortable staying in a hotel or inn when there was visible signs of a cleaning protocol. People actually wiping down counter-tops. Actively doing that,” said Northcross.

Meanwhile, the survey said that social distancing and outdoor dining options were most important in order for participants to feel comfortable eating at a restaurant.

Hand sanitizing and face coverings ranked high in all cases, but were not the top responses to the survey.

Northcross said that they will keep the survey results in mind as businesses plan their reopening for early summer.

“I think we’ll try to do the survey again in a few weeks,” said Northcross.

“We’re working really, really diligently to get everyone reopened. Hotels and restaurants should be reopening by June 8 back to a level that we’re used to. We are going to keep asking our customers ‘how do you feel, what can we do to keep you comfortable and keep you safe’, because that’s what they need and that’s what we want,” said Northcross.

About Grady Culhane

Grady Culhane is a Cape Cod native from Eastham. He studied media communications at Cape Cod Community College and joined the CapeCod.com News Center in 2019.



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