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It’s been over 4 months of living in a remote world. I canceled my April vacation with hopes that the world would be back to “normal” by summer. It’s now the middle of summer with no end in sight to the restrictions. I’m still slowly coming to accept that there will be restrictions for a while. One of my favorite things to do is to plan trips. I typically have a trip booked or I’m in the process of planning one. I didn’t realize how that whole process had kept me sane until now that I can’t (won’t) travel. What makes it worse is not knowing when next I’ll feel safe getting on a plane. I don’t know what travel looks like now, but here are my predictions on how travel will change:
1. More expensive flights
With the increasing number of things airlines have to cater to, I predict a hike in prices. No airline wants bad PR for being unhygienic. As a result, they’ll put in more effort in sanitizing the planes often, dealing with food more hygienically, and socially distancing the check-in and boarding processes. To continue operations, airlines now have more costs and this will affect how travel will change. The airline industry has taken a big hit with a drop in the number of passengers. To survive in the future, they need to do a better job of balancing deals to attract more passengers and price hikes to keep themselves in business. With the partial lockdowns around the globe, some airlines are practically giving away tickets. I estimate, however, that once restrictions start to ease, ticket prices will go up gradually until they surpass their pre-COVID levels.
2. A step back on addressing climate change
In the past few years, the hospitality industry has made some effort to address some climate change issues. Although companies had made those conscious efforts to make their businesses more eco friendly, those practices will have to be put on pause. There had been a big shift to reduce single-use plastics in planes and lounges, ban straws in restaurants, and reduce single-use plastic toiletries in hotels. As one of the ways travel will change, airlines and hotels will need to increase single-use plastics & reduce reusability to combat the spread of COVID. To minimize contact, all those environmental conscious decisions will have to be put on hold.
3. Restricted international travel for Americans
When I started writing this post a month ago, I was worried about the way America was handling the pandemic. At the time, there were about 2million cases and 115,000+ deaths, but there are significantly more than that today. With other countries seeing major improvements and a flattened curve, it is really sad to see how we’re struggling.
The major issue here is that state and local governments are in charge of lockdown and regulations. This leads to some states performing much better than others and the numbers show the clear repercussions of good vs bad leadership. I worry about how this is going to affect Americans in the future. I’ve been staying home, self-isolating, and keeping myself away from large gatherings. At the end of the day, none of that matters much as it takes just one person to change your whole situation. As the number of new cases is still going up while states continue with their reopening plan, I know America is not serious about tackling the spread. This will ultimately lead to international border restrictions for people flying from the US.
4. Focus on hygiene
Although a lot of people hate the airport experience, it doesn’t bother me as much. I had a system in place for efficiently weaving through TSA & security in minimum time & spending my layovers in lounges, so as not to be stressed by the airport experience. With the current need for social distancing and effort to minimize spread, the whole airport experience is going to change for the worse. This change will also be extended to hotels. One of my favorite pastimes of staying in a hotel is the breakfast buffet. I’m a huge breakfast person & I love the unlimited options that come with a buffet. I can estimate that the buffet setup is a COVID breading ground & hotels will be closing this up in the future. For me, this is a very sad change. It’s tough to say how exactly the heightened focus on hygiene and health will affect the travel experience. I can only estimate that it will make the whole travel experience more annoying and stressful.
5. Virtual events
The swift transition from everything being in person to being remote has brought about a huge surge in online events. The truth is, it is really hard to replicate the in-person experience no matter the industry. I have seen some museums offer virtual events and tours and other ways of connecting without being in person. While I do appreciate the efforts to stay connected with people, it can’t replace the in-person experience. I believe virtual events can be a good opportunity to get people hyped up about traveling, but in-person tourism & trips can’t be substituted.
The virus blindsided us and changed our way of life. Unfortunately, our government and fellow citizens in the US have not handled it well. As a result, we’re going to have to figure out how to embrace a new lifestyle filled with facemasks, constant sanitizing, and presenting test results when traveling. Rather than letting life & time go to waste, I’m going to figure out how to adapt to this new lifestyle by embracing the ways travel will change. I just want everyone still in high impact areas to be very cautious so that we can get our freedom back.
Are there some other things you think would change or that bother you about all this? Let me know!
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