Traveling is one of the best human experiences of our lives. Nothing comes close to the rush and excitement of feeling the earth on your feet on a foreign land. It gives us a certain euphoria knowing that we are not alone in this world and there are more people to meet and different cultures to discover.
Whether you’re on a journey towards self-discovery after college, revisiting an old friend or a memorable place, or just looking for a small measure of peace from the stress of waking life, traveling makes everything clearer.
There is no past, no future. There’s only you, living and breathing without a care in the world, being your best self, however for a brief moment in time.
To love travel is to love life.
While the world stood still because of the pandemic, traveling has taken a back seat in many people’s list of priorities.
The never-ending lockdowns and restrictions all over the world have caused stress and anxiety both for travelers and their friendly destinations.
But with the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine and the increasing number of people getting inoculated, the light at the end of the travel tunnel has started to shine a little brighter.
While countries all over the world are starting to easen up their borders and begin welcoming travelers, the pandemic changed things that will never be the same ever again, and it includes how we travel.
And even if these changes are inevitable, there is a good balance between the advantages and disadvantages of traveling post-covid. Change is always a welcome sight, especially when it results in a better and healthier way of traveling.
In this article, we will discuss a couple of very useful information of how the pandemic has changed travel forever.
We decided to come up with this list so as to help you plan or re-plan your travel activities.
Knowing what to expect before hopping in on a plane to Costa Rica or embarking on a cruise on the way to the Caribbean can make a big difference between a happy trip and a bad experience.
So read on before you start packing.
How the Pandemic changed Travel Forever
1. Family visits will become the first priority for travel.
Gone are the days when people used to hate visiting relatives for gatherings.
The pandemic has caused many families to miss a lot of gatherings over the past two years.
Birthdays, weddings, Thanksgiving Dinners, Christmas Eves, and God-forbid funerals took a back seat for quite some time and the easing of restrictions has given families the long missed chance of getting together after a long time.
In this case, most of the early travel arrangements will be domestic in nature. This will result in increased domestic flights and may increase their ticket prices given that social distancing will be imposed inside the plane, therefore cutting the number of passengers in every flight.
Car trips will also be the transportation of choice for a while for many as they offer better protection from strangers and possible covid carriers. Rides to visit the old family cabin or a local weekend ski trip will be a big thing for a couple of weeks or until after air and sea travel are deemed safer.
Pro-Tip: Short Trips require small but important items to bring with. A slim minimalist travel neck wallet is the best when it comes to these travel scenarios.
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2. Hotel Rooms will have less Items
Since the pandemic has taught us to stay clear of touching surfaces, your next hotel room will probably get rid of some items you used to find upon your arrival.
Paper products like magazines, newspapers, brochures, and tent cards will be a thing of the past, thanks to the pandemic restrictions.
What’s there to stay are those small individual bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and soap. And of course, a large bottle of hand sanitizer will now be the norm for all occupancies.
Pro-Tip: Spare yourself the fear of catching covid or any other virus by carrying your own personal toiletries whenever you travel. A waterproof, easy to carry travel toiletry bag can be found here.
3. Vaccination Cards will be your second passport
While more and more countries are opening up their borders for tourists and travelers after two solid years of tourism restrictions, all of them will most probably require visitors to present their complete vaccination cards before letting them in.
Countries like the Philippines require travelers from other countries to have full-vaccination papers upon arrival at the airport. And these vaccination cards are also required when traveling to different destinations.
This may be an added inconvenience to many but expect it is going to be an important requirement for travel and visa applications around the world for quite some time, or at least until more destinations reach their targeted herd immunity.
Think of it too as your personal fight against bringing the virus to destinations with low cases of covid-19 so as to prevent infecting unsuspecting locals of the virus.
Pro-Tip: A safe money/passport/vaccination card RFID-Safe travel belt can help you protect your valuables from theft and data breach while traveling.
You can check it out here.
4. Gyms, Swimming Pools, and Saunas will have to be booked.
As social distancing practice will still be in effect in most establishments and hotels everywhere, most of the previous walk-ins to the gym, pools, and saunas, will have to be reserved in advance.
You may have to book time for these activities with your hotel or resort before enjoying them so as to limit unnecessary contact with other people.
On the positive note, reserving your time in the gym will prevent equipment-hoggers and annoying patrons. Plus, no more distractions.
Pro-Tip: Avoid using in-house hotel or gym towels for extra personal protection from various diseases. A quick-drying microfiber towel dries 4 times faster than a regular towel so carrying one on your travels is both convenient and safe.
Check it out here.
5. Travel will be more for leisure and less for work
The lockdown restrictions have paved the way for many office workers and students to practice online meetings via video calls.
This adaptation of work and study at home will most probably stay around for a long time.
Gone will be the days or nights of traveling to another state or city just for an hour-long meeting with the bosses. The use of internet technology has changed the way companies communicate with their workers therefore eliminating unnecessary flights for more workers.
Instead, travels will be mostly done for fun and leisure activities.
Pro-Tip: For more great reads on travel tips and lifehacks, check out https://www.venture4th.co/blogs/news/.
