The Reality of Travel and Covid-19
For many people, travel these days is included with second-guessing, extra research and plenty of confusion by way of logistics, travel restrictions and safety. The economic damage to the travel industry as a result of Covid-19 has become a very dire situation. Any thoughts on the future of travel have been fully engulfed within a cloud uncertainty.
Now. We all have a right to an opinion and It would be wrong for me to not address the current situation. I am writing this in hopes of shining some light with my predictions. I too have many questions about the future of travel. So, I figured I would answer them through this article and maybe a lot of you would be able to relate. Some of you might disagree with my predictions and that’s okay. But if I manage to lighten up the thought on this subject for some of you, that is success in my book.
Moving on…
Depending on when travel restrictions will be fully lifted, the World Tourism Organization expects international tourism receipts (i.e. spending by international tourists) to drop between $910 billion and $1.2 trillion this year, which would set the global tourism industry back by 20 years
The fastest that a vaccine has ever been developed was for the mumps which took 4 years. The idea that there is suddenly going to be a vaccine and that everything will go back to the way it was… Well I hate to say it, but that isn’t going to happen. This is a major shift in humanity. An event that will change the world forever. Things are changing and they will continue to change. Then one day there will be a new normal that is different from the way things were pre-Covid. We as humans must adapt and embrace these changes.
Four Predictions on the Future of Travel
In Country Travel
If you’re a traveler or even just like to do it occasionally. That doesn’t go away. Because of the restrictions to international travel. We are forced to find alternatives that can satisfy that travel itch. One of these alternatives and if not the best alternative, is in-country travel.
RV’s, Van-life, and tent camping are all currently booming. Many people including myself are beginning to think “Wow, there’s a lot of cool stuff here… in my backyard.” It’s crazy how you don’t even need to fly to reach these places. The effect of this is going to make a lot of us become more content with our own home countries. Most importantly more content with spending time in nature. A side effect of in-country travel is a mindset that will shift us to look more into slow travel.
Slow Travel
Slow travel AKA Mindful Travel is going to be the next best thing. Which is something I can totally get behind. As you search your country for these amazing travel experiences that you yearn for. You’ll notice something. That something is the value of not rushing around, but instead having a slower and deeper experience.
You won’t be needing that quick hit of seeing 20 different places in 1 week anymore. It wont be about seeing all the sights possible. It’ll be about having more meaningful, more purposeful interactions with your surroundings. Being more in the present moment and becoming aware of the small details around you.
Human Powered Adventures
One thing that I have noticed lately is that both walking and bike riding have become such popular activities. Which is normal considering that it’s a lot safer than putting yourself at risk with public transportation. We also have a lot more free time on our hands due to unemployment, remote work, or online classes.
Making the choice to walk to work, the store, a friends house, or the gym will be more frequently done. There’s no doubt that this choice allows you to notice a lot more details in your surroundings that were missed before because of driving and daydreaming. This feeling of discovery is what adventuring or exploring is.
As more people are biking, walking, or kayaking. You can translate this to adventuring. This ties in with everything I have been saying that we don’t have to go too far to “travel” or “adventure”. So I believe that we will be seeing a lot more of this in the future.
Different Connection with Each Other
As a traveler, what I have noticed through my own experiences and conversations with people around the world. Something that is brought up very frequently is that the world is generally a GOOD place. People are good, people are kind. They want health for their families, themselves, to be safe, and loved.
Everyone brings up the same point. That they were convinced by either their family or the media that the world is dangerous and that there are many bad people out there. But once they go out, they realize that the world is not as dangerous as they thought it was. Quite the contrary, there are actually a lot of amazing people out there.
Apps and websites such as Couchsurfing are going to explode.
What makes this whole Covid thing unique is that we as a planet are all going through this together. Unlike other past traumatic events such as world wars which no doubt affected a lot of countries, BUT it didn’t affect the whole world.
This shows how we are all just one and it’s up to us as a whole to get through this. Once we get back out there, we will have this common experience that we all shared together. Getting through the Covid-19 pandemic. Of course some got hit by it more than others, but as a whole, humanity is fighting together against this disease. So this will connect us in ways that are unimaginable.
