D/R Download
WHAT’S TRENDING
On Google:
‘Johnson & Johnson vaccine’ was the top search term on Tuesday with +2M searches, following a pause in distribution ordered by federal officials due to rare blood clotting cases.
'Travel company that plans trips for you' is a top travel search term this week, trending +1,450% + ‘pack up and go' is a breakout travel search category.
Google search trends show a +140% surge in ‘home exchange’ searches this week, with a +120% increase in ‘house swapping vacations’ searches.
On Social:
Instagram is rolling out a test feature to select users, that allows them to turn off like counts on their own posts as well as others’ in their feed. The move is an effort to make social media less anxiety-provoking and remove the pressure to post a “perfect picture.”
LinkedIn’s new updates aim to address employment gaps by adding new job titles like stay-at-home parent.
With Media:
TravelPulse debuted a new podcast, Complete Caribbean, covering the latest in all-things Caribbean travel hosted by Brian Major and Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon.
Forbes Travel Guide has partnered with restaurant recommendation and booking service Andiago in 56 countries, in an effort to support and revive the restaurant industry post-pandemic.
A media friend of ours at Brides Magazine let us know that they will be ramping up their honeymoon and bachelorette travel content in the coming months.
Consumer + Industry Insights:
A Virtuoso survey found that the pandemic is prompting people to travel more responsibly, with 82% of respondents expressing their desire to do so in the future.
Four years of research done by BlueHealth shows that traveling to a ‘blue space’ and being near water can boost mental and physical wellbeing.
Qantas has reported a more than 90% recovery of domestic business travel.
A recent CDC study shows that keeping middle seats open on aircrafts could reduce passenger exposure to COVID-19 by more than half.
United Airlines will no longer use their COVID-19 protocol of boarding from back to front and instead will resume the United Better Boarding technique, a five-group, two-lane boarding system.
Despite the success of the vaccine rollout in the U.S., tourism officials in Europe predict that widespread travel will not be possible until late summer because of continued lockdowns and slow vaccination progress.
Travel company Sherpa created an interactive map to help travelers determine where they can and cannot travel based on their location and vaccination status.
The Maldives plans to vaccinate visitors upon arrival in an effort to boost tourism.
Patina Maldives is set to launch in May and will be the first resort in the Maldives to have a 100% solar powered kid’s club, recreation and drive centers.
Hotels.com is offering guests free room service, which it’s calling “munchie money” for bookings on 4/20.
The Hotel Paradiso is the first cinema hotel in Paris, featuring a screen projector in every room.
Travel search engine Kayak's debut hotel in Miami Beach is home to the first OpenTable restaurant created by the restaurant online reservation platform.
Sojrn is debuting month-long immersion programs, which allow adults to work from various destinations around the world while learning in-depth lessons about local cultures like an adult study abroad program. The brand’s 4-week Italian wine trip already has a wait list of 350+.
Ascend West Virginia is joining the remote work trend by offering $12,000 to outdoor enthusiasts who relocate to the Mountain State.
Best Practices:
The Good:
Uber, in collaboration with Walgreens and PayPal, is launching the ‘Vaccine Access Fund’ which encourages rideshare customers to donate to help provide free rides to those getting the vaccine.
A new partnership between Tinder and Duolingo will allow Tinder’s Passport (international version) users to better communicate with long-distance connections, offering 40+ language lessons.
British parenting app for women, Peanut, created a new glossary of alternative terminology to change harmful and outdated medical language regarding fertility and pregnancies in its new campaign “Renaming Revolution.”
The Bad:
U.S. company Whipped Drinks apologized after taking credit for the creation of the viral TikTok whipped coffee trend and selling at-home kits for $49. The drink, called dalgona coffee, has long been part of Korean culture, putting Whipped Drinks under fire by those showing their support for the Asian community.