With the U.S. now boasting more cases of the coronavirus pandemic than anywhere in the world, and with April in particular looking to be a shocking month of many deaths, it’s understandable that the need to self-isolate and avoid large crowds is going to be around a while.
Quite a few have expressed their desire online about getting out of the house and enjoying life with other people again, but a new survey of 1,000 consumers in the U.S. suggests things are going to take a long time to get back to what was considered ‘normal’ before all this began.
Sports and events research firm Performance Research published the results in partnership with Full Circle Research Co. and the opinion of approximately 44% of respondents is that they would attend fewer large public events – even once they are cleared by the CDC.
That’s a far cry from the 18% who said they would attend more, and a bit more than the 38% who say they’d attend about the same number. 47% agreed with the statement that the idea of going to a major public event ‘will scare me for a long time’.
Sticking to only cinemas and exhibitors have reason to worry with 49% of respondents saying it would take a few months to never for them to return. In terms of overall returnees, 58% said their attendance won’t change, 28% say that they will attend movie theaters less often even once they’re safe, and 15% said they plan on going to the movies more often post-pandemic.
Hit even harder? Indoor concert venues, indoor sports venues, and theme parks with 56%, 51% and 50% of respondents respectively saying it would take anywhere from a few months to possibly never for them to return – even after they’ve been deemed safe.
The areas that will revive right away? Outdoor parks and beaches, outdoor sports venues, and zoos and aquariums with 64%, 56%, and 55% of respondents respectively saying they’d return right away or within a few weeks.
Even then, 66% of respondents say their concern over the cleanliness and sanitation of venues and restrooms will be higher than prior to the pandemic. 65% say the cleanliness of food service areas will be a big deal, and 59% indicate they will be concerned about crowds and their general proximity to strangers.
One person who isn’t worried about the fate of cinemas is AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron who told CNBC (via THR) this week that he expects that shuttered U.S. movie theaters will re-open by mid-June: “We said we expected to be shut for six to 12 weeks. That would be May 1 to mid-June. That might be more the right timing… “I think if we learned anything in the last two weeks is people just so want to get out of their houses. I think we’re all feeling cooped up and want to get out and have life return to normal.”
Source: Variety
