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What Will Post-Pandemic Travel Look Like?
Over the past two weeks, I’ve shared tales of two personal pilgrimages with you. The first was a quest to view cherry blossoms blooming, an adventure that unexpectedly transported me from my northern California hometown to the Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto. The second was a journey that took me around the world without ever leaving my room—and left me blissful in Bali, surrounded by trilling, booming, gonging gamelan glories.
This week I want to focus on the future and pose a question that many of us sheltering-in-place wanderlusters have been pondering: What will travel look like going forward? Over the past few days, as I’ve been researching and considering this, I’ve realized that so much depends on how the pandemic evolves and what course the searches for a cure and a vaccine take. If some of the current promising medicines are found to be effective, that could considerably shorten the recovery timeline and significantly shape the look of post-pandemic travel.
But a few things seem to be clear: One is that hygiene and safety will be preeminent in travelers’ minds. Hotels, airlines, and cruise lines will emphasize the heightened measures they have taken to ensure the health and maximize the comfort of their travelers. Airports, too, will re-think and re-tool passenger screening and baggage-handling procedures to minimize traveler risks. Many experts believe that temperature screenings will be widespread in airports and on airplanes; others have suggested that travelers will be required to carry some form of immunity passport or health certificate.
Some pundits have predicted that chartering aircraft will see new popularity. Following a similar line of thought, others say that smaller boutique hotels, villas, and resort properties will be more enticing than large hotels and that destinations distinguished by wide-open nature and comparatively few people—think Patagonia, Antarctica, Mongolia, Alaska, and national parklands, for example—will prove especially popular.
All of these seem reasonable to me. I also think that as we have pressed pause on our daily lives, we have had a chance to re-evaluate what we do and how we do it. I believe we will apply this thinking to our travel dreams as well, that we will focus on taking trips to places that have special meaning for us, with people who have special meaning for us. I believe that we will be more cognizant of the effect we have on local environments and economies when we travel, and more conscious of the intricate net of human connections that support us whenever and wherever we go, from the airline check-in agent to the tuk-tuk driver to the cafe waiter to the craft shop owner and on and on. I think we will be more mindful, attentive, and grateful travelers.
But those are just my musings on a cloudy crystal ball. I am really wondering what you, dear fellow wanderlusters, are thinking. What do you see as the future of travel in the post-pandemic world? When do you think you will start traveling again? Where are you itching to go first, and why? Do you think your travel style will change? Do you think what you value and look for when you plan your trips will change? And what are some of the factors that will determine when you start making your travel plans?
If you’re inclined to share your thoughts on any or all of these, I’d love to hear them! Please respond in the comments section below—or email me if you prefer.
Thank you in advance for sharing—and dreaming!
Yours in abiding wanderlust,
Don George
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I truly appreciate all of your thoughts, words of encouragement, and dialogue over these past several weeks. Please continue to share your reflections below; it’s gratifying and inspiring to read your comments!
It’s probably too early to ask this, but I’ll ask it anyway. It is highly probable that effective treatments or vaccines for Covid-19 are far in the future. I’m an optimist but not to the point of counting on the best case time lines . I certainly don’t want to postpone all travel until that future date, and I’ll also make the wild assumption that GeoEx would want to run trips before vaccines are available too. If that is the case, what additional precautions are you (i.e. GeoEx) contemplating? Or for that matter, you, my fellow travel enthusiasts? GeoEx guides… Read more »
As soon as we can jump on a plane to Asia we will be off. My 10 year old and I were three months into another stint of full time travel, this time 18 months – and possibly our last big trip as she starts high school in 2022. We returned to Australia when our Government asked us to and are desperate for our state to relax its recreational travel ban . Our state borders are closed and so we wait.
This is the first year I have not already begun looking into a couple of trips. I very much want to go back to Ladakh and the hornbill Festival. We went this past year and stayed in lovely tents and went to the festival during the day. I would like to go to Mongolia as I have not been there yet. It seems that I am doing cruises on Crystall because my husband is older and has trouble walking.We have signed up to go on one in January to Islands in the South Pacific that we have not visited. I… Read more »
Dear Laura, Thank you so much for your thoughtful note. I would love to go to Ladakh and the hornbill festival, and also Mongolia! GeoEx has half a dozen trips to Mongolia and I’ve been studying them all recently. I hope we both can get there before long! Crystal is a wonderful cruise line and I hope you are able to go the South Pacific in January. And I hope you’ll be able to travel with GeoEx again soon too! Warmest wishes, Don
Will we feel safe traveling to some of the wonderful places that Geoex can take us? Or will we stick to the countries we know so well. Will Mongolia feel safe to us? And what shape will the airlines be in? On a more selfish note, I collect miles so I can go business class on my GeoEx trips. What if I can’t use them any more !!? GeoEx plans so many great trips, I know your many fans can’t wait to go someplace wonderful with you again as soon as you deem it safe. I for one browse your… Read more »
Dear Melissa, Thank you so much for your questions and your kind comments! We at GeoEx are certainly monitoring world conditions extremely closely and planning to restart our trips as soon as we safely and comfortably can. I think many of us wanderlusters share your questions. My fervent hope and belief is that the time will come when we will again feel safe venturing to unfamiliar places, and that the airlines will recover over time. Thank you for your passion for our trips and for browsing our catalogue. I have always thought of that amazing tome as a dream book… Read more »
I don’t have any predictions. Since I received a big payout from the VA, I want to enjoy some travel adventures as soon as my safety can be reasonably assured.
Dear Edward, Thank you for your note! That’s great news that you got a big payout. I hope you can use it to enjoy one of those adventures soon! GeoEx has some fantastic adventures scheduled for later this year and next year — I hope you’ll be on one! Happy adventuring! — Don
I have already had two trips cancelled and have a small ship cruise out of Ushuaia, AR scheduled for late October. I am concerned on several counts – lack of a vaccine or therapeutic, airline travel to AR is cancelled until at least September, and will travel company still be in business. I enjoy traveling and have been to 80+ countries, making some long term friends among the local people.
Dear Jordan, Thank you very much for your thoughtful note. I think your concerns are shared by many. For up-to-the-minute information about Argentina and other destinations, please always feel free to contact GeoEx’s travel planning experts. We are monitoring conditions constantly and receive updates daily from our around-the-world partners and security-monitoring services. I think it’s fantastic that you have been to 80+ countries and that you have made long-term friendships with local people. I also feel that those friendships are among the greatest riches and rewards of travel, and I very much hope that we can start making those friendships… Read more »
As an older Traveller, I won’t be flying anywhere until there is a vaccine. However, I live in the western US and there are many places in nature that I would like to take car trips to. As for places to stay, I am thinking of guest ranches and horseback riding. It would be nice to throw in some kayaking too.
Dear Marjorie, Thank you so much for your note. I think many people share your feelings about waiting to travel until a reliable vaccine is available. It’s great that in the meantime you live in an area where you can enjoy close-to-home adventures. Guest ranches, horseback riding, and kayaking all sound most wonderful right now! I very much hope that a reliable vaccine becomes available with unprecedented speed, and we that we will all able to travel widely soon. Until then, I hope you have some wonderful close-to-home adventures! All best wishes, Don
While I too hope an effective vaccine can be developed it is uncertain and unlikely in the near to mid term, especially to develop sufficient safety data to allow widespread acceptance. I don’t think we can depend on government or the travel industry to eliminate risks. IMHO it will take development of effective treatment which prevents the morbidity of this virus to be established before I am willing to take on the risks of infection from travel. I want as much as anyone to resume it and hope for such developments to occur soon.
Dear Michael, Thank you very much for sharing your assessment. I too very deeply hope that the effective treatment you mention will be developed soon. I love my home, but I am ready to explore the wide world again! All best wishes, Don
Hi Don,
As previously discussed, it is essential that airports all over the world get serious about sanitising, because it is clear that is where almost all of the early transmission occurred. Oh, so stupid that Trump administration cut TSA funding for airport janitor services in January 2020, sending exactly the wrong message to every other country that copies the US security procedures. I have not heard yet whether TSA has been made to correct this – can you confirm ?
Regards,
Lloyd (Perth, Western Australia)
Hi Lloyd, Thanks for your note. I agree with what you have been saying about airports needing to get serious about sanitizing. I have looked into whether TSA has changed its policies and practices since the start of the pandemic, but I have not been able to find any indication that they have. There is still so much work to be done! All best wishes to you, Don
Hi Lloyd (and Don), From what I could gather, the CARES act that went into effect March 27th included $10 billion in grants for airports. Also, on the TSA website, they say they’ve ‘issued guidance to frontline employees to conduct routine cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces and security screening equipment at the TSA security checkpoint.” https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus Here’s hoping it’ll be better!
Good writeup. I think once the vaccine is available, the airlines should make it compulsory for foreign travel for the passengers to show their vaccination certificate at the airport. In this way, travellers will feel safe.
Dear Javed, Thank you for your note and kind words. I agree that having a vaccination certificate will be one important way to help safeguard other travelers and travel workers. We will be watching closely to see how airlines, countries, and all travel-providers and travel-related organizations adapt their policies post-pandemic. We will of course pass all updates on to our travelers. Sending you all best wishes, Don
I’m a fearless traveler (not throwing caution to the wind). Still it’s hard to imagine how it will be trying to connect with local people wearing a mask and social distancing. Can you imagine Istanbul? Local village markets? We will travel but I am concerned about many things that are essential to the experience.
Dear Jain, Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It’s certainly a challenge to think of how we can combine mask-wearing and social-distancing with the kinds of spontaneous interpersonal interactions and connections that are such a rich part of travel. I believe that we will find a way. It won’t be the same, of course, but we will find a way to connect with people in markets and in metropolises, and that new way will have its own rewards that the old way didn’t. It’s not an evolution that any of us wanted, I think, but as long as we need… Read more »
I will travel before there is a vaccine,, however, I will consider the validity of COVID reports and ensure excellent care is available if required. I always travel with my husband and a private guide when seriously off the beaten track but never in groups of any size. We’ve been to 82 countries. I was always an anti-cruise person believing the whole experience was too contrived. Now I’m just hoping cruising sinks to the bottom of the ocean and stays there. It would be so lovely to have cruise ports of call back without all the day trippers. Looking forward… Read more »
Dear Kathleen, Thank you so much for your thoughtful response! Monitoring COVID reports and making sure excellent on-the-ground health care is available are both of paramount importance to me, too. And I too have lamented the way huge cruise ships can overwhelm an out-of-the-way port in particular. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. When we can venture out and feel truly alive again, let’s have a grand celebration! All best wishes to you! –Don
I had reserved a spot on a small group tour to Australia and New Zealand in October. Since I’m 73 I’ll be checking to see if the CDC and other reputable sources say it’s safe to travel before I make my final payment. Hopefully the tour company will be flexible with the payment deadline. I may decide to cancel anyway if there are so many obstacles that the tour will have to be significantly modified, or if Australia and New Zealand require quarantine upon arrival, or if vaccine has not been developed and tested adequately.
Good luck. Don’t make that last payment unless you are sure to go!
Dear Marsha, Thank you for sharing your news and your thoughts. I very much hope you will be able to take your trip! New Zealand in particular seems to have done a laudable job controlling the virus. Please keep us posted as your plans evolve. Sending all best wishes to you! — Don
For those able to take these trips, often in the ages most COVID-vulnerable, future travel will not happen at all unless an effective vaccine is in all our veins. Its easier to imagine that scenario than one that would certify every, car, van, site etc as disinfected. This I know is not a word of encouragement. If this assessment is accurate, everyone will just have to be patient for a year or two.
I should be making the decision about my choices not government!
John, I agree that you have the right to make a range of choices regarding your own risks, but we do not have the right to put others around the world at risk because of our actions (especially if we are going to places where the health care system is poor). The lessons of Typhoid Mary should never be forgotten.
Dear Mark, Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. I too think the availability of a reliable and effective vaccine is paramount in so many people’s minds. And it’s certainly true that monitoring standards of disinfection on a global scale is tremendously challenging. One somewhat hopeful note for me is that GeoEx works with a very select and small group of in-country partners, and so we can at least work closely with them to set, maintain, and monitor standards of cleanliness. But still, I agree that having a vaccine is key. Patience is a virtue that many of us… Read more »
Without the security of a vaccine there will be a heightened fear, for me, to disembark from my home.
I prided myself that when it came to traveling, I was fearless. The farther off the beaten track the better. Village made food was always welcomed. However, I’ve never been faced with the traveling doubts that are thrown in my face today.
More thoughts later.
Thanks for reaching out.
Loraine
Dear Loraine, Thank you very much for these thoughts! I think they will resonate with many people who also have thought of themselves as fearless travelers. This current fear is of an entirely different kind and I think many people are anxiously awaiting a reliable vaccine. I would love to hear any more thoughts you may have, and I want to thank you again very much for sharing these thoughts. I deeply hope that we will both be able to enjoy our off-the-beaten-path explorations and village-made feasts before long! All best wishes, Don
In addition to all of the above, I think there will be more emphasis on small group travel.
Dear Helen, Thank you very much for your comment! I definitely agree — I think small-group travel and probably “family and friends” travel will be more important than ever. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! All best wishes, Don
