JACKSON, Wyo. — Jackson Hole will not go “back to normal” any time soon, according to respondents of a survey issued by Town Councilor Jonathan Schecher.
Schechter opened the survey on April 8. By April 15, 857 people responded. On his website, Schechter said he plans to run the survey monthly to see how perceptions shift.
Schechter gave the caveat that “the survey was not designed to capture a statistically valid sample of Jackson Hole or the greater Tetons region. Instead, it was designed to be a ‘Wisdom of the Crowds’ exercise, based on the hope that the combined estimates of a large number of impassioned people might give us a sense of what the future may hold”
Some takeaways:
- 62% of respondents estimate local businesses will not fully re-open until July 1 or later
- 72% of respondents estimate the American public will not feel comfortable resuming car-based vacations until July 1 or later
- 86% of respondents estimate the American public will not feel comfortable resuming airline-based vacations until July 1 or later (and 46% feel it will not be until September 1 or later)
Respondents also predicted tourism levels will drop for the remainder of 2020, as much as 69% for the spring season.
Twenty percent of respondents reported living “paycheck to paycheck,” and respondents anticipate learning 14% less in 2020 than in 2019.
“It will be a few months before I can compare the results with actual data to see just how wise this particular crowd may be. Until then, it’s perhaps best to use the data as a point of reference, a tool for calibrating your feelings about our future,” Schechter wrote.
See the full results of the survey here.
