Travel After COVID-19

When it comes to travel after COVID-19, there is a serious lack of optimism. Whether it’s from news outlets, travel bloggers, politicians, travel industry “experts” or friends, the doom and gloom is frustrating.

The overwhelming opinion is that travel is over. It’s never going to be the same. Limitations placed on travel will end travel and tourism as we know it.

Isn’t this a little alarmist? Panicky? Defeatist? Yeah, it is. I wholeheartedly disagree with the sentiment that travel as we know it is a thing of the past.

Travel is part of society. It’s a bigger, more valuable piece of the global economy and a personally important part of more lives today than it has ever been in history. This global crisis will cause temporary changes, but travel after COVID-19 will eventually return to normal.

Others are saying life as we know it will never be the same, and, again, I completely disagree. If anything, the attitude in the United States is a growing desire to return to normal. For a few months, we’re likely to have some tough adjustments to make. Before we know it, though, we’re going to look back at this time and scoff at the rampant pessimism.

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Lessons from History

Like the responses to other major events and crises in the past, the world of tourism and travel will make the necessary changes to move forward. The changes may alter travel temporarily, but it’s not the end of anything. Travel finds a way! 

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, everyone said travel would never be the same. They said places would be off limits. They said it wasn’t safe.

Well, travel has changed since 9/11, but we’re all used to the changes. Most of the changes are security-related, and the biggest issue is the millions of headaches experienced at airport security checkpoints around the world.

There aren’t many places that are off limits today that were free and open 20 years ago. If anything, there are more open destinations two decades later. Oh, and travel is every bit as safe today, if not safer.

Terrorism still exists, but the world has come together to try and stomp it out. That kind of evil will never disappear entirely, but many places are safer today as countries try to protect tourists (and their money).

Another example is the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in a matter of hours. In addition to the death toll, the tourism industry in much of Southeast Asia took a major hit. 

Today, the tourism industry in Southeast Asia is bigger than ever. It has even grown safer. After rebuilding and recovering, Southeast Asian governments were able to improve their responses, readiness and capabilities when facing major disasters. Tsunami warning systems are now in place, and the communications regarding earthquake activity, while never totally predictable, have improved.

A poor region of the world was rocked by an horrific natural disaster. From a travel and tourism perspective, the toll was also enormous. In spite of challenges, Southeast Asian tourism made changes, improved safety and came back stronger than ever. For some thrill-seekers, maybe the normalization of travel and enhanced safety in the region is a drawback, but most travelers rest easier knowing they’re safer.

There are countless examples of setbacks that have negatively affected the world of travel and tourism. The breakup of the Soviet Union, the Great Recession, a variety of natural disasters, wars. Events like these never stop. And neither does travel.

There will always be hurdles for travelers and the travel industry. But every time something gets in the way, the world of travel and tourism shifts, improves, accommodates the changes and continues. If history has taught us anything, it’s that travel after COVID-19 isn’t going to stop.

Travel After COVID-19 – Destinations Will Change

The effects of COVID-19 on travel and tourism are currently immeasurably enormous. On a global scale, tourism is almost non-existent. Tourism has never before experienced such a massive downturn. Perhaps World War II crippled the industry, but comparing tourism in 2019-20 to tourism in the 1940s is apples to oranges – no, more like apples to hamburgers.

The first difference in travel after COVID-19 will be the destinations to which people choose to go. Border closings notwithstanding, travelers will be wary about visiting certain destinations. For instance, China, as the source of COVID-19, will see a massive drop in foreign arrivals. And the large number of reported coronavirus cases in the United States is likely to deter a lot of international tourists.

Places like Asia or Africa, commonly associated with disease outbreaks in recent years (COVID-19, SARS, Zika, Ebola, Dengue, Measles and so on) will see a drop in visitors from Western countries. Though the reasoning is flawed, this effect will linger for several months to, more likely, a couple of years.

The talking heads in the United States seem to all agree that domestic tourism, roadtripping/RVing and outdoors-based tourism will increase in the coming year. Given the economic impact of COVID-19 (more below), it’s understandable that people will forego more expensive trips abroad for something more affordable close to home. 

However, just like every other crisis that has interrupted travel on a regional or global scale, travel will return to normal after COVID-19. Diseases, terrorism, wars, natural disaster – all of these things have had huge impacts on travel in the last century. Perhaps the widespread nature of this event will cause a slower return to normalcy, but return it will. 

Travel Safety Measures After COVID-19

Social distancing measures will be enforced. Masks will be required in many places. With limitations on the number of passengers in a vehicle, transportation may take longer. Airport security is likely to be an even more tedious process. Hostels may initially limit the number of guests in a dorm room.

These are some of the immediate travel differences we’re likely to see and experience after COVID-19. But only in the beginning. In densely populated places, attempting to regulate private transport or disperse every crowd is not feasible, so these changes simply won’t be sustainable. 

Once travel resumes, the number of travelers visiting certain places will temporarily be lower. Our social habits may be more physically dispersed. The way we are forced to travel after COVID-19 will be different at first. That’s undeniable. 

Like every other major crisis the travel industry has endured, it will survive this one, too. Eventually, when economic recovery is underway, people will want to go abroad again. Curiosity will take hold. The desire to bask in the sun on a remote island paradise, to shop in Paris, explore the street food of Bangkok or trek through the Himalayas will return.

We are naturally curious. It’s human nature, and people want to travel. While the travel landscape might appear a little bleak for the next year or so, it isn’t changed forever. Travel is too important to people. 

Most people don’t imagine seeing the world sporting a mask. They’re not planning to use hand sanitizer every five seconds. And they don’t intend to spend their energy focusing on social distancing. These current practices will fade from travel quickly.

On a personal note, and I know I’m not alone, I’m traveling as soon as possible. Whenever a place on my perhaps-excessively-long list opens up for travel (*without restrictions on arriving tourists*), I’ll be on my way. There will be new challenges, but the minor annoyances will eventually go away. Travel as we know it WILL RETURN.

The Travel Industry

The travel industry – that is, the big guys like airlines, cruise lines and large hotel chains – are really hurting, but the numbers of passengers and bookings are slowly increasing. Most of these massive corporations will make adjustments, trim the fat and move forward. 

There are going to be layoffs and other cost-cutting measures that will affect the world of travel and consumers. What that specifically entails for travelers remains to be seen, but there will be temporary changes.

How long will that last? No one really knows, but hiding from the world in a “safe” little bubble at home won’t help. I mean, it could be argued that the safety-first lockdown bubbles haven’t worked anyway. 

Take a look at the numbers in the New York City area and the Lombardy region of Italy. Even with strict lockdown measures, the virus continued to spread in spite of that magical 14-day period of quarantine to supposedly slow said spread. 

I’m not an epidemiologist, but maybe some outbreaks need to naturally run their course through healthy populations. Vulnerable groups can still isolate and exercise caution. Medicine is more advanced than ever, but that doesn’t mean the world should panic and go into hiding when something new and scary appears. The effects go far beyond our own backyards. The United Nations estimates that the coronavirus crisis could push 130 million people to the brink of starvation. That is a serious number.

The travel industry is an important part of humanitarian relief and preventing such catastrophe. It’s not the leisure tourism part of the industry, but transportation, distribution and lodging. And there are even a lot of people who take part in volunteer tourism.

With or without a vaccine, a cure or a perfect treatment regimen, the world will have to open up at some point. Not only do people want to travel for tourism purposes, millions of other people have business dealings, family they miss, a need for healthcare and a desire to work. 

There will be a need for a strong travel industry after the COVID-19 global crisis runs its course. Like it or not, globalization is how the world operates in the 21st century. It took centuries for the global network of travel, trade, industry and politics to reach its current level of operation. That won’t be cast aside lightly.

Maybe tourism isn’t as important to some people as other global industries, but don’t make the mistake of thinking tourism is not a crucial part of the world of travel. The entire travel industry that is struggling right now will collapse if tourism does not resume.

Tourism-dependent countries need people to travel. Many countries are preparing to make a push to lure tourists back. Despite my disdain for “influencers,” Indonesia has already set aside a chunk of money for influencers and tourism marketing. The goal is obvious – to bring tourism back.

On a smaller, mom-and-pop scale, travel after COVID-19 will resume easily. People who need and want to open up and welcome tourists will do so. Smaller operations, provided governments don’t needlessly stand in the way, will be easier to reopen and receive tourists.

Assuming all travel businesses remain in operation after the COVID-19 crisis, the initial process of reopening will be difficult and painfully slow. That being said, the big guys of the travel world are more dependent on the little guys than they might admit. The first ones to open their doors, those without the fear of stockholders criticizing business decisions on the ground level, will be local restaurants, independent hotels and local transportation systems.

Backpackers will likely lead the way. They were among the last travelers to come home and they’ll be the first ones to return.

As soon as a few people get back to traveling, the large companies will shift to accommodate a growing number of travelers. Before you know it, travel will be back to normal. These dark days will be a thing of the past. The travel industry will be on strong footing once again, and hopefully the massive companies (and individuals) will have learned a valuable lesson about preparing for the unthinkable.

Travel After COVID-19 – Economics

The economics of travel after COVID-19 is not complicated. The world depends on tourism. Whether people want to admit it – whether or not people like the globalist society that exists today – tourism and travel are a key part of the global economy. In nearly every country in the world, a lot of people directly and indirectly depend on tourism to pay the bills.

However, the situation is not the same for every nation. Wealthier nations are rarely so dependent on tourism, and they can handle an economic downturn. There may be difficulties, but a rich country is not going to descend into chaos or famine from losing tourism. 

Other places in the world may not be so fortunate. Poorer, tourism-dependent nations don’t have the same economic security as many wealthier, economically-diverse nations. 

In wealthy Western countries where we can afford to be timid, reclusive and scared, the economic effects of shutting down travel are less apparent. However, even in rich nations, certain areas will have serious economic setbacks if travel does not return to normal sooner than later.

The USA

In the United States, travel and tourism supports millions of jobs. The restaurant industry, for instance, employs a large sector of the economy. Ridiculous regulations for post-coronavirus opening of restaurants are impractical.

The simple truth is dine-in restaurants cannot survive in a COVID-19 world of limiting guests. Restaurants operate on incredibly thin margins. Having worked in several restaurants, I can attest to this. 

A sudden change in the bottom line of restaurants can have drastic effects, and limiting dine-in customers will have a serious impact. THIS reopening solution must be a short-term one. If a restaurant is even able to remain in business, most will have to cut staff. The economic impact of thousands of restaurants having to cut staff will be far-reaching.

A friend of mine who lives and works in New Orleans told me that the city is considering not letting bars reopen normally until there is a vaccine or the virus disappears entirely. That may be a reasonable path to take in other places, but the tourism-dependent economy of New Orleans needs that revenue. 

Also, tourism and travel aside, the people of New Orleans are a very social group that loves to drink. Closing bars in New Orleans affects local life in addition to the loss of tourism receipts. It’s hard to imagine a socially-distant football season in New Orleans.

The effects in the United States are far-reaching. There are locally-owned hotels with unsustainably high rates of vacancies. Amusement parks are empty. Arenas are empty. National Parks entrance fees are down.

Despite that, New Orleans and the rest of the American travel-related industry has the benefit of being in the wealthiest country in the world. Whatever economic problems arise, the people can count on health, safety and an eventual return to normalcy. Many poorer tourist destinations don’t have that luxury. 

COVID-19 & Travel in Developing & Third-World Nations

There are many poorer and less-developed countries, such as much of Southeast Asia, that rely heavily on tourism. This includes restaurants, tour guides, small hotels, hostels, guesthouses, transportation drivers and so on. There are millions of people in these countries directly employed by tourism and millions more indirectly employed by tourism. 

Millions of families rely on tourism revenue to pay their rent, pay for healthcare, fund education, fund infrastructure and to feed themselves. Tourism is a crucial part of the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people around the world. 

The economic effect of tourism is not limited to jobs in a small, popular tourist area. It is part of the backbone of national economies. The ripple effect of tourism stretches across entire national economies.

For instance, millions of people visit Angkor Wat each year in Cambodia. The local economy in Siem Reap benefits tremendously, but it doesn’t stop there. Tax revenues benefit the whole country, and many travelers wish to explore further into Cambodia. They visit Phnom Penh, lounge on the beaches, explore Battambang or relax in Kampot. What do they do there? Spend money. 

The same goes for tourists in Indonesia. Yeah, Bali is the most popular place, but a lot of travelers decide to get away from the touristy island. They travel beyond Bali, visiting Lombok, Borobudur, Komodo National Park and loads of other places. These tourists spend money every step the way.

These are just a few examples. Thousands of places around the world depend on tourism for personal income, local tax revenue and funding a variety of essential services.

The pessimistic, doom-and-gloom attitude toward travel after COVID-19 does not help anyone. If anything, when these industry leaders and media figures speak so negatively, they scare potential travelers from leaving their homes. Spreading fear in this manor will only prolong the real economic suffering that exists in so many places.

It’s easy to sit at home in a comfortable house or apartment with plenty of food, clean water, A/C, access to a gym and endless entertainment. It’s easy to sit there and tell people not to travel, to stay home or that traveling is dangerous to others.

The reality is those people are being completely unfair and totally selfish. What these people don’t realize is that, in their claim that staying home will save others, it only helps themselves. Shaming everyone to stay home, so that you’re comfortable when you deem it safe to travel, is purely selfish. 

These self-righteous individuals expect the entire world to follow their directives. They call for hotels to limit guests, the closing of bars, social distancing at restaurants and limiting the amount of people in transportation vehicles. 

Economically, it’s impractical, even impossible, for poorer, tourism-dependent places in the world to limit guests, diners or passengers. These places don’t have the same liberties, personally or financially, to spread out and slow down. 

To be fair, many of these talking heads don’t realize they’re being selfish. It’s what they’ve been conditioned to think and say. They have the means to wait it out and shame others from their high horse.

Meanwhile, in places where tourism has dried up and governments are unable to dole out hundreds of billions of dollars on a whim, people will actually suffer. In places where measles, cholera, dengue fever, malaria and other diseases still kill hundreds of thousands of people every year, further economic strain does not help anyone.

Times of economic crisis lead to instability. Instability on a national scale can have dire consequences. Those consequences can be wide-ranging and volatile. Use your imagination, or, better yet, open a history book. Economic crises always take a toll beyond bank accounts.

Once more using Cambodia as an example, tourism makes up huge portions of the nation’s economy, with estimates ranging from 20-35% of gross GDP. In a nation where the per capita income is less than $500 per month and one-quarter or more of the economy is dependent on tourism, suddenly eliminating that revenue stream could have dreadful effects.

Cambodia is not alone. The sudden halt of tourism across the world is draining whatever small financial reserves many nations had. 

In places where life isn’t so safe, clean and disease-free to begin with, where every dollar earned is important, where foreign travelers prop up entire national economies – those places need tourism. 

Like it or not, travel is a vital part of the global economy. Not only do we want to travel again, we have to.

The World Needs to Travel

Isolation is deadly. Isolation is bankrupting people. Suddenly, mental health is no longer important, and barely anyone is talking about the thousands of suicides and “deaths of despair” caused by this shutdown.

Humans are meant to move about and spend time outside. Isolation is disastrous to mental health, and so is economic shutdown. Historically, times of economic hardship lead to increases in suicide. The isolation, uncertainties and economic issues right now are creating the same problem. Travel can help with that! 

As a form of relief, travel doesn’t have to be a luxurious tropical resort or a six-month journey across the world. Weekends away, short day trips from home, visits to friends and family or even going out to dinner can greatly benefit mental health. The world needs travel and tourism. We need it soon.

Start Planning for Travel After COVID-19

Now is the time to plan for upcoming and future trips. If you’ve thought travel is too expensive, now is the time to plan those trips you’ve been putting off for years. 

A lot of people have extra time on their hands. If you can take a break from Netflix, the latest Pinterest arts & crafts project or baking another loaf of bread, do some travel research. 

Travel Deals Everywhere!

At this point, most people have heard about some of the cheap flights available. The deals aren’t exclusive to airlines (check cruise lines, hotels, etc.), but there are all kinds of incredible travel deals currently available. 

Luckily for airlines, cruise lines, hotel chains and other major players of the travel industry, people want to travel, too. Companies know this, and they’re preparing for a surge in bookings, hence all the incredible deals currently being offered. 

I recently earned 1000 miles (yes, one thousand) for ordering a couple pizzas. A thousand miles isn’t much, but it screams desperation. The deals aren’t always in the form of dirt cheap tickets. Instead, other perks are being promoted like easy ways to earn miles, flexible flight bookings, free hotel nights and frequent flyer status upgrades.

No, you probably can’t go on a cool trip next weekend – also, if you fall into a vulnerable health category, maybe you should exercise caution and wait to travel – but there’s no reason to stop planning. When travel resumes, destinations won’t immediately be packed with tourists. The first travelers to arrive will likely have the opportunity to experience fantastic locales without the crowds. 

If you do book a trip, make sure the tickets are flexible or refundable. Part of travel after COVID-19 is constantly checking to see if flights have been canceled, so pay attention. And book your travels wisely. Oh, and make sure the destination is open to tourists for your travel dates.

Travel Differently

When money is tight, but the desire to travel remains strong, backpacking grows more popular. Travel after COVID-19 will be a great time for backpacking. When traditional means of travel are limited or too complicated, backpacking grows in popularity.

Tour companies and organized group tours will be restricted and slower to resume operations. You shouldn’t waste your time or money with those anyway, but backpacking and independent travel will be the way to go. Independent travelers have the freedom to do what they want, and it’s a whole hell of a lot cheaper.

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Travel after COVID-19 won’t immediately revert to the way it used to be, at least not in the West. However, within a year or two, I believe travel and tourism will be totally back to normal. I also believe maintaining a certain level of optimism toward travel is important, and I won’t let the coronavirus stand in my way forever.

I have already had multiple trips canceled, but there’s at least two still on the books. It feels like half of my days are spent searching for flight deals. Honestly, that’s nothing new, but I’ll be pulling the trigger on cheap flights in the coming weeks. I’m ready to get back to what I enjoy most, and I encourage other healthy people who want to travel to do the same.

The world of travel is far too important to the global economy (and for the mental health of many people) to take a backseat and slowly reemerge. Travel and tourism is a trillion-dollar industry that cannot sit idle for long. The current challenges are temporary. Travel after COVID-19 may contain some frustrations, but don’t let that discourage you from getting out and seeing the world. Soon enough, life and travel will be back to normal.