Goodbye travel as we know it

TRAVEL MAY HAVE TAKEN A VACATION, BUT WHEN IT EVENTUALLY BOUNCES BACK HOW WILL IT LOOK?

Bags packed, lined up, strapped up, tickets in hand, ready to go. The countdown to a year of wanderlust hemisphere-crossing had begun. Then bam, COVID-19, lockdown.

We’re going nowhere.
 
Au revoir, social kissing, hello elbow greeting, and social distancing.

GOODBYE TRAVEL AS WE KNOW IT.

So how will travel after COVID-19 look? 

In the ‘SHORT HAUL’, we can expect health to be the priority?

• Along with hand sanitizers, more people will travel with masks.
• Airline seats will be limited and in turn expensive so people will initially settle for traveling locally or domestically.
• Conscious of social distancing, spatial rural retreats will be more enticing.
• Destinations offering mindful travel experiences will most likely increase with people striving to lessen their impact on the environment and support local communities.

Business travel will remain low in the ‘MEDIUM HAUL’?

• As companies continue to engage with virtual platforms like GoToMeeting, Webex, and Zoom. Great for the environment and cost-saving for companies. Although the value of in-person meetings can’t be replaced by technology, organisations will be more conscious regarding frequent flights and will permit travel when all other options are exhausted to close deliverables.
• Leisure travel by air will remain less frequent as people grapple with sharing limited space onboard flights and onerous pre-flight safety measures.

In the ‘LONG HAUL’, we’ll see a full return to global tourism when borders fully open and people feel safe and secure to travel further afield.

As COVID-19 lingers, and we notice the planet breathing cleaner air, wildlife thriving, and stronger communities.

• Will we realise that it’s time for change, it’s time to become responsible tourists?
• Will sustainable travel become the ‘new normal’, more compassionate to health, inequalities, and poverty?
• Or will we revert back to our unsustainable ways of before? 

HOW WILL YOU TRAVEL?