Arrivalist, the leading location intelligence platform in the travel industry, unveiled a day-by-day index measuring the volume of vehicle trips taken by U.S. travelers.
Dubbed the Daily Travel Index, it is a free, publicly available tool on the company’s website designed to give travel industry leaders the most up-to-date data possible to make informed decisions in this challenging and uncertain environment. Leading industry associations such as the U.S. Travel Association and Destinations International have already begun leveraging the tool among their members to provide a daily pulse on current travel trends around the country.
“The Daily Travel Index not only allows the industry to monitor the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel, it has the potential to serve as an early indicator of when travel demand begins to return,” said Cree Lawson, Founder & CEO of Arrivalist.
Data for the Daily Travel Index comes from the trillions of location data points that Arrivalist aggregates from multiple data sources, including smartphones and other location data sensors. The tool uses a panel of GPS signals representing road trips explicitly taken in automobiles. A trip is measured when a consumer has traveled a minimum of 50 miles and spent at least two hours at their destination. Commuter, freight, delivery, and other types of frequently repeated trips are excluded from the Daily Travel Index. The Daily Travel Index includes travel for all dates from February 1, 2020 to the current day.
“Every day, travel leaders need the latest data on the rapidly evolving environment for travel,” said Roger Dow, President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “We appreciate Arrivalist making this tool available as a critical source of intelligence for the industry.”
Prior to the launch of the Daily Travel Index, industry markers of travel intent primarily came from surveys, hotel bookings, and other data sources that are typically delayed by 10-14 days, compared to 48 hours or less for the Daily Travel Index.
“We are thankful that our strategic partner, Arrivalist, has created this complimentary industry tool for destination organizations to use to check the latest data on the industry’s daily travel activity,” said Don Welsh, CEO of Destinations International. “We are inspired by the work our members and partners are doing in response to COVID-19 and how our industry is coming together to help each other as we go through these challenging times together.”
Beyond the travel industry, other businesses like restaurants and retailers can use this tool to predict when they should restock inventory, reinstate advertisements, and get consumer-ready once more. This tool is free and available to the public on the company’s website. Additionally, companies can request more information about the ability to create custom applications.
