Travel during Covid-19 Pandemic
We all want to go back to “normal”, in some shape or form. We are itching to travel again. Many of us have cancelled our trips until 2021. Some are hopeful to get on a plane by the last quarter of this year, wondering if it will be safe to do so.
The Internet is brimming with opinions and polls on how the future of travel is likely to pan out for business and leisure travelers in the coming months. The global travel community is getting restless and travelling before the introduction of a vaccine sounds less risky to some than to others. Discussion boards are abuzz with views, tips, and elaborate worksheets with updated airport statuses and quarantine regulations in every single country. Here is a good one for your reference.
While countries such as New Zealand and cities such as Venice are promoting domestic travel, some others like Slovenia and Eritrea are slowly opening up to international travelers. Japan and Sicily are offering to pay part of your holiday expenses, possibly air tickets for domestic or international travelers.
I reached out to 10 avid world travelers – adventurers, travel bloggers, and extreme travelers – to understand their take on the current situation and travel limitations. I asked them that if flights were to resume and go back to (somewhat) normal, would they travel before the vaccine for Covid-19 is out. What precautions would they take and the first destination they would visit.
Here is what these travel lovers and experts had to say.
Expert Speak
A travel addict on a journey to explore every country in the world on a backpacker budget. Adam is a British national, living in the UAE, and has been to 139 countries across all the 7 Continents.
Travel Plans: Absolutely! I would travel even before vaccines are out. The virus will still be here in 12 months, so I think normality needs to be restored and countries need to start opening up. Controversial, but I think crumbling economies could end up killing more people than the virus itself.
I’d like to continue my progress in travelling to Africa. The aim was to complete the continent by end of 2020, but Covid-19 has kind of ruined that. Realistically, Africa will likely be the last continent to re-open because their medical system isn’t capable of handling a mass virus spread.
Right now, I would happily travel anywhere. Until then, I’ll keep exploring the local region.
Precautions: I’d like airlines to keep all middle seats empty until global travel slowly resumes. Likely it would increase ticket prices, but I think social distancing is important. Mid-air on flights is very easy to spread infection.
If middle seats can’t be kept vacant, I would potentially see the price differential to fly Business Class. Either way, I wouldn’t let it stop me from travelling.
Travel Essentials: I would pack extra hand sanitizer. In all honesty, I would pack no differently to any trip before Covid-19 was in existence.
She visited 48 countries in less than 48 months while living in Krakow, Poland. What started as a fun goal is now about creating a lifestyle that doesn’t just include travel, but is built around travel.
Travel Plans: Normally, I wouldn’t fly within Poland. But I am looking forward to traveling around Poland once the lockdown eases. Poznań is top of my wishlist. I do plan to go to the US in October but that again isn’t really “travel” to me because it’s for family stuff. It’s more of an obligation.
Precautions: Most people use masks and sanitizers wrong anyway, which diminishes their effectiveness. Better to just try to avoid people when you can and practice handwashing.
Travel Essentials: I personally wouldn’t bring any kind of special items traveling because I think things like masks and hand sanitizer give people a false sense of security like they can act normally as long as they have them.
A Dutch adventure traveller who has been to more than 95 countries. From troubled regions to countries that don’t officially exist, his trips are low-budget and often improvised. He is listed as the youngest Dutch traveller in the UN+ top 20 on Nomad Mania.
Travel Plans: First, we should all avoid putting our own personal travel goals above everyone’s health and safety. Therefore, I would always try to assess the Covid-19 situation at the destination. If things are not under control, it’s better to not go there. That said, I would definitely be open to considering flying to countries where things have gone back to normal. I’d love to revisit Iraqi Kurdistan (flying to Erbil) or go backpacking in Tunisia. I had a trip planned for North Korea, but I guess that will have to wait. By the way, due to Covid-19, I am now also thinking of just going somewhere by car. Switzerland in August is one of the main options I am considering.
Precautions: I will probably buy a cheap face mask and wear it during the flight. But as I said earlier, I would rather wait it out to take distant holidays and instead travel by car to countries closer by. I am not in any hurry to “chase” countries.
Travel Essentials: I would bring typically non-Covid related things such as offline maps for navigation on my phone, swim goggles and shorts to exercise and my camera. I recently downsized from a full-frame camera with large bulky lenses to a more lightweight and compact Fujifilm setup with just 2 prime lenses. I am very excited to try it all out abroad!
Travel writer obsessed with remote destinations and finding the world’s most badass adventures. She is also a @Forbes Contributor and a Mongolia travel expert.
Travel Plans: Yes, I will absolutely be traveling again, as soon as it’s safe and not completely reckless or selfish to do so. I’d hate to ever endanger a remote village or tribe who doesn’t have access to healthcare – that is my ongoing biggest concern.
My first destination will be Mongolia – the world’s least densely populated country and a place where social distancing has been a thing for thousands of years!
Precautions: When I fly, I will wear a mask, carry hand sanitizer, and of course cancel my plans if I’m feeling sick. I will do my best to maintain a safe distance between other passengers, and respect the rules and regulations each airline airport will put into place for the greater good of us travelers. I think that’s key. When I land, Mongolia currently has a 21-day quarantine, which I will plan on doing as well. An important precaution that I’m happy to participate in, especially as a foreigner.
Travel Essentials: Packing is certainly going to look different – the fewer bags I can travel with the less chance I have of picking up germs (in my opinion). I’ll most likely wear longer sleeves and clothing I can wash often and easily, and besides keeping hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes handy (wiping down luggage will be important), I’ll be packing Immunity Nuuns tablets to keep my immune system strong and healthy and taking my trips slower than normal in order to avoid burnout and fatigue.
A world traveler who has been to 150/197 countries while working full-time. Debjeet is an amateur photographer and terms himself as a ‘global health nerd’.
Travel Plans: My first trip will be to travel to India to see my mother. Then it would depend on whichever countries are opening up. There will be many countries (especially in Africa) that may not want to reopen borders for a variety of reasons and as such, my decisions would be predicated by the openness of borders and ease/cost of travel. Ideally, I would like to visit my remaining countries in North and West Africa, but I think I may end up traveling to countries in the Caribbean or in Asia.
Precautions: I will follow all precautions requested by the airline and the country to which I am traveling—including any testing required prior to travel, at the airport, or after landing. Personally, I will carry sanitizer and wipes, so that I can wipe any surfaces and my hands. I will wear a mask. Although given concerns about the feasibility of sleeping on several-hour flights while wearing a mask, I may decide to take shorter flights and try and stay awake instead of sleeping. I will also arrive earlier than usual at an airport so that I have ample time to clear new security procedures. Again, difficult for me to respond to this question since so much of this would be dependent on regulations enforced by authorities.
Travel Essentials: Multiple masks, sanitizer, wipes, face shield. Anything else required by authorities.
A Norwegian native who has visited every country in the world at age 29. He has also authored a book on his travels called ‘Go Discover‘.
Travel Plans: I would travel, and probably aim for some of the countries which either:
a) are dependent on tourism which might go against the warning pretty much because they have to. If you haven’t been to Croatia or Greece, now is a chance to get them to yourself.
b) to countries like Georgia and Pakistan who are trying to do a full makeover by doing everything they can to get more tourists (Georgia announced that they will open for tourists again in July ’20)
c) Countries that are highly dependent on oil. Emirates Airlines is running a quick testing trial and I am therefore hopeful on arranging a road trip in the gulf end of this year.
or d) I would go to India, or other big and diverse countries where you can spend a lot of time and always have new things to discover. Now is not the time to hop across multiple borders in a short time, but a time to travel slower and spend more time in one or a few countries.
Precautions: Regarding safety connected to health, I’m the wrong guy to ask because I already have a track record for deadly diseases such as malaria, dengue, e-Coli and I still go on believing that the world is safe. I’m going to keep cleaning my hands a lot like I do now and will continue to think of this as a worldwide overblown case of flu. But again, don’t take my advice on things that have to do with health as I have no expertise in that field.
An extreme traveler who has been to 105 countries. He is a paraglider and a paramotor pilot. He is an Indian national based in the UAE, and follows a vegan lifestyle and diet.
Travel Plans: If flights were to resume, I would not be among the first to travel. I would wait a few months as the situation between countries and borders is still very open-ended without clarity. I have friends who have been stranded for 5+ weeks in foreign countries because flights have stopped. Who’s to say or know if flights reopen and travel starts if the disease infection rate suddenly climbs, we may face another lockdown situation, which leads to even more anxiety and uncertainty. It gets compounded when you’re a traveler on a weak passport. We have seen several low wage migrant workers for no fault of their own getting stranded airside while their home government refuses to accept them and the host government refuses to take them back citing visa validity.
Besides border closure uncertainty, there are other environmental factors. This virus thrives in temperate conditions, and as we see the onslaught of summer in the hot parts of the northern hemisphere, we will definitely see a reduction in the rate of infection. The opposite will happen in the southern hemisphere but because it has a relative minority of the world’s population, southern hemisphere countries will not be as affected. However, the possibility of infection is higher as they are entering their cold-weather phase.
Finally, think of affordability. If you have mandatory social distancing in airplanes, it means empty seats. The cost of these empty seats will be split between fare-paying passengers on board. I fully expect airfares to go up. This will make travel more expensive than it already is.
Many airlines are canceling their staff discounts and privileges so this means the cost of travel will go up. I have a feeling that the cost of travel insurance will also go up. Hotels and accommodation will become cheaper, and Airbnb will become more expensive. As you can see there is a complex interplay between bureaucracy, passport power, climate, political expediency, disease control, epidemiology, economics, and it’s not just about business or holiday anymore. It’s about a global reassessment on the real need and priority of travel.
A world traveller and adventurer from the UK, on his quest to visit every country in the world. He has been to 156 countries and counting.
Travel Plans: Yes, I would definitely travel as soon as I can. My first stop would be a trip from Johannesburg to Lesotho through Mozambique and Eswatini.
Precautions: I would get a Covid-19 test before travelling and wear face mask and take plenty of hand sanitizer.
Travel Essentials: I would pack my usual trip gear with plenty of spare face masks and some gloves.
A digital marketing lass from the UK with a very big passion for adventure travel. She is a UAE licensed blogger who loves to find destinations off the beaten track.
Travel Plans: My first destination will be the UK to see my family without a doubt! I missed a trip to Congo, Uganda and Rwanda in March 2020 due to the pandemic so I would love to continue with this trip someday. My dream has always been to venture up to Africa’s montane forests and see the gorillas, I was so close! In Uganda, I was going to be feeding my adrenaline junkie side by white-water rafting down the rapids at the source of the Nile. However, to travel before the vaccines are out, we may need to choose our destination based on countries that have recovered and are taking precautions. Only time will tell what those countries will be.
Precautions: I will be wearing a mask and gloves for sure. The plane tables and seat arms will be getting sanitised with disinfectant wipes and the air nozzle will be turned off.
Travel Essentials: I will go armed with a decent supply of alcohol spray and anti-bacterial gel!
A Finnish travel blogger and tourism professional sharing her life online, hoping to inspire others to live life in their own terms.
Travel Plans: If flights resume in 2020, I would definitely travel to Stockholm to my loved ones. But if they resume in 2021, I hope to get to my family in Australia and attend two weddings.
Precautions: If it’s possible, I would prefer flying in Business class for more personal space. I wouldn’t find it comfortable to be seated so close to strangers for a while.
Travel Essentials: I would bring my own mask, hand sanitiser and my noise-canceling headphones!
Closing Thoughts
2020 is yet to shape out fully in terms of travel restrictions and possibilities. We are all monitoring news on which airlines and counties are resuming travel operations slowly. There’s no saying what is the ideal way forward, but we’re all akin to take some chances and calculated risks for the sake of our love for travel.
In all of this mayhem, one thing’s for sure. There’s only so much that a pandemic can do to keep travelers locked in and grounded. Sooner or later, we are all going to get our wings back and we will take to the skies again. Safe Travels, y’all!
