R&I – FS
More Americans are satisfying their wanderlust and spending big to do it, companies say.
With daily new Covid-19 cases falling, restrictions easing and the strongest consumer finances in recent history, Americans are finally emerging from the pandemic eager to splurge on everything from travel and sports events to restaurants, cruises and theme parks, executives say.
Companies including Marriott International Inc., MAR -2.78% Expedia Group Inc., EXPE -2.10% Coca-Cola Co. and MGM Resorts International MGM -3.30% told analysts recently that business is already improving from an Omicron dip and indications point to an American public eager to live large.
“Premium customers, who after being cooped up for 2020 and the first part of 2021, are traveling and spending again with a vengeance,” Wynn Resorts Ltd. WYNN -0.38% Chief Executive Craig Billings said Tuesday of the latest quarter.
As more Americans travel, Marriott is seeing greater demand for its high-end properties, CEO Anthony Capuano said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday.
At Walt Disney Co. ’s theme parks, business came roaring back in the most recent quarter, with revenue from both domestic and international parks more than doubling year-over-year. Attendance is still short of pre-pandemic levels, but those who are showing up are spending as much as 40% more per capita than in 2019, Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said last week.
“We’ve got really strong domestic demand,” CEO Bob Chapek told analysts.
As more Americans venture out, some venues are dropping mask requirements. Disney said that starting Thursday, masks will be optional for fully vaccinated visitors at Disney’s outdoor and indoor locations, except for enclosed transportation.
Earlier this week, organizers for the 2022 Stagecoach Festival said they would no longer require negative Covid-19 tests or proof of vaccination from attendees, and the organizers of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival said they won’t require masks, vaccinations or negative tests at the event.
PragDem