Travelling feels like something from another world . When was the last time you care freely decided to take off for a weekend ? While it is possible to still do it , it has become much harder and there are hurdles after hurdles to jump. A lot of paperwork and getting acquainted with medical systems all over , and it requires to have time because you might have to isolate for a few days or wait for some tests results or have your flight cancelled . I recently was one of those few who did it. I had some good reasons to leave, I was going somewhere where I wouldn’t encounter many people and I knew i could travel respectfully , and definitely have zero regrets and am happy with my decision to go . But passing through empty airports, it made me question what would the future of travelling be? Would we still care freely take off somewhere just for a few days ?
Or will we start to think ‘is it worth it!?, should I stay longer if I go that far? ‘ While I’d rather not get that acquainted with medical systems abroad again, it was somewhat nice to get a little bit more inside into the culture and be thankful for the fact that Greeks speak great English ! I think generally spending some more time living the places that one visits is better than ticking off sights in a list , and being forced to stay an extra few days in a semi locked down capital made me see it with other eyes. Seeing also similarities to the ‘lockdown’ approaches and to the love of paperwork in paper version compared to my home country. While I am one of those people who would have already in the past tried to ‘live the place’, I would have likely done it at a much quicker pace. I noticed another difference in my personal approach to the trip. I wanted to go more via the ‘official’ channels . Aka hotel instead of a room in an Airbnb , a taxi instead of trying to find a lift somehow. More out of fear of being stuck somewhere, and before arrival didn't really know how the lockdown there worked so I wanted to avoid unnecessary hassles.. Something a bit weird given my adventurous nature. But there is time for adventure and time for being careful. And the two things are not mutually exclusive... This choices gave me some more 'food for thought'. Being from a city with a very ‘complicated relationship’ with tourism , I realised that perhaps a good solution would be that to see tourism coming back only through the official way. That way it would be capped to the number of hotel room available (and hotels are more regulated than 'do it yourself' rentals), and it would still bring the money to the right places and turn the economy in the right measure. I think . Maybe friends who are working in the industry will tell me otherwise. And even then, we would need to regulate hotels to be sustainable. No miniatures, no unnecessary washing (aka just give less towels), less plastic and single use. So what would be the ideal return to travelling ? Maybe a return to the past but not the immediate pre COVID past , a past further away, one where travelling was somewhat considered expensive. It should be . Maybe still with different levels of course, so it can be open to everyone (because travelling is great!) but it should be something that one has to save for, that one has to prepare for and not just something done for the sake of some selfies... And you? How do you envision travelling in the future?
5 Comments
1/11/2021 04:41:07 pm
I'm definitely going to be way more careful with traveling now. I didn't used to be that worried about sanitizing so much but now, I'll probably sanitize everything I come in contact with.
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1/11/2021 09:43:16 pm
I'm a chicken when it comes to traveling. I'm super cautious on all fronts. I'm happy to wait to return to as close to normal as ever possible. Last thing I'd want is to get sick far from home.
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Angela
1/12/2021 12:46:27 am
I personally can't wait to travel after the pandemic, and I really hope that airplanes continue to sanitize planes between flights because I would always get a cold after reading an airplane!
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Kayla | Writing From Nowhere
1/13/2021 03:14:02 pm
My hope would that the increase in individuals working remotely will mean that a cultural shift towards slow travel: fewer flights and more buses and boats. More money spent at the local watering hole instead of one-off expense tourist spots.
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