The New Normal — Traveling (for a few years at least)
How COVID-19 has affected the travel industry and travelers.
Sadly traveling won’t be back to normal anytime soon and it looks like till about 2023 meaning that traveling may look like this and it may be the new normal for a few years.
This whole COVID-19 pandemic really has seen some worsts, one of them including the travel industry. Many airlines have gone bankrupt, or has collapsed because they entered into administration some voluntarily because of their financial situation and some were not voluntary.
Love travelling? But COVID-19 has cancelled or put a stop to all your plans. Here’s how travelling won’t go back to normal any time soon. For most of you, the first thing you want to do after lock-down or restrictions ease is travel and go on a holiday but here’s how that’ll be.
- International travel won’t be back to normal
For many of us we all want to get back to traveling and enjoy life the way we used to but now International travel won’t go back to normal. There won’t be as many flights in a day as there used to be pre-covid. Social Distancing may still be maintained and the whole plane won’t fly to full capacity for that reason. Countries will start to open up their border slowly but what you will have to face upon entering the country with some restrictions still in place. Some of these things may include isolating yourself for 2 weeks, testing at the borders with a swab test and even checking temperatures with a thermometer or a heat camera. With this all in place the queues at immigration may be much longer and you will be waiting in that line a long time before its your turn. Something that may throw you off international travel for a while may be the fact that you would also have to quarantine yourself for another 2 weeks when returning back home, meaning a whole 4 weeks (a month) is wasted being quarantined and may throw people off traveling internationally. - Domestic travel will be back
Domestic travel will definitely be back a little bit quicker than international travel. You will probably travel in your country many times before you even think about international travel. The reasons why because restrictions won’t be as strict as international, and with domestic travel you could avoid flying and travel by car or train. Yes traveling by train may be require you to be surrounded by others but there is ventilation, you are able to open the windows and it may be less crowded. You may also prefer domestic travel for a while because you won’t need to isolate yourself for 14 days upon arrival. - Airlines will jack up their flight prices
If you are planning a domestic or international trip anytime soon then depending on the airline chosen be prepared to pay much more $$$ than you would have pre-covid. This is for airlines to catch up on missed opportunities for revenue that lasted during the pandemic and the lock down of the world in travel. Some airlines may even limit their capacity that they will fly at to maintain social distancing especially if you are flying for more than a few hours. - Packing will be a whole lot different
Items like wet wipes, anti bacterial (hand sanitizer) and masks. The restrictions on bringing 100ml liquids may be relaxed to enable you to bring more hand sanitizer for example on board. If you are staying at hotels, motels, Airbnb’s etc that is not at a family or friend’s place you may even want to bring your own linen (towels, bed sheets etc) and pillows (travel size) to use. If some airlines aren’t flying at the normal full capacity then they may let you pack more kg’s in an extra suitcase. Some individuals may have already been doing this but most of us aren’t. - Airport Lounges
The way we used to enjoy the luxury of lounges might not be the same anymore. Some airports and airlines may close all their lounges for sanitation purposes. If some of them continue to operate then the whole buffet type dining might be closed off due to infections of any type spreading by touching the same spoons to serve you or even sneezing or coughing near the food area. They might just serve packaged foods to grab and go. - Hotels/Accommodation
Choosing where to stay on your next holiday might change too. You might want to book a hotel that is a 5 star luxury hotel, this might be because you would expect thorough cleaning and ensure that there is proper sanitation and where good preventative measures are taken when it comes to where you are spending a few days or weeks. You might even choose to find accommodation where there is less people or away from the city in a less congested area. This means that you might even avoid using Airbnb’s because you won’t know if it has been cleaned properly after the last travelers left. - Travel Insurance
Pre-pandemic many individuals and families never bought insurance but post pandemic that might all just change. Flight centres and airlines may change their insurance policy and what it covers and may included things that weren’t covered before including illnesses similar to COVID 19 and if you would be covered if you were international at the time.
Are you guys planning a trip soon either domestically or internationally or are you avoiding travel anywhere for a few months?
~Danisha
