While a few countries like China & New Zealand are seeing the light of normalcy, others like the United States and even India are battling the peak of the virus.
How long will COVID19 last? How deep an impact would it have on the global economy? How soon will we find a vaccine? The answers remain unclear. What is certain though, once borders re-open, #Travel will unlikely be the same as the pre-COVID world.
Here are 7 ways we here at Cozymoons anticipate our adventures will change:
1. FOMO will be replaced by SLOMO
The first ’new-normal’ would be slowing down the pace of our travels. We’ll prefer epic road-trips, scenic train journeys or even convenient buses over airplanes in the short-term. This way we’ll have more control on our physical environment and less travellers breathing down our necks.
2. ‘A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it’ - George Moore
We’ll finally realise why millions of foreign travellers visit our lands each year as we resume our travels by first exploring destinations closest to our homes. Think weekend getaways, safari holidays in our own state, trips to more remote regions of our country. In our endeavour to satiate wanderlust, we’ll set off on adventures within easy reach.
3. Hygiene, Privacy and Quality will top our list of ‘must-haves’
In a world full of travel addicts that prioritised location and price while deciding where to rest their head, we’ll see a paradigm shift towards hygiene, privacy and quality. We’ll be more thoughtful about the practices of sanitisation, quality of food and privacy levels that these accommodations will offer.
4. Sustainability will be king
After a pandemic like #COVID19, another interesting new-normal would make us significantly more responsible in the way we explore our Planet. We’ll prefer eco-friendly accommodations that give back to communities, opt for non-stop flights over indirect ones to reduce our carbon footprint, avoid single-use plastics and support more local businesses on our travels.
5. Less will be the new more
In a pre-COVID world where bigger, faster, taller was the norm, things will take a turn for the positive. With our want for more space, we’ll value lesser-crowded and more off-beat places, choose local over branded, intimate over lavish thus crucially also helping in the fight against Over Tourism.
6. We’ll travel with plenty more purpose
It may be long before travelling 3 or 4 times a year will be normal again. As we embrace the end of our frenetic lifestyles by adding more calm, we‘ll probably travel less frequently. Importantly, the duration and purpose of each journey will be more tantalising than ever. We’ll be more sensitive about our choices, how they’ll affect destinations, its communities and even ourselves. We’ll invest more in our well-being, personal development and be more driven to have a positive impact through our escapades.
7. Family will form an important part of our plan
Sure we love the thrill of globe-trotting with our best mates and perhaps will. However, having just survived a global pandemic, we will increasingly realise the value of our lives and those of our loved ones. We’ll crave to create memories with our grand-parents, parents, siblings through travel experiences which will reinforce the special social connection we share and look to build upon them.
Let us know if you have any thoughts on how travel will change in the future?
Drop us a comment here or a line on dream(at)cozymoons(dot)com! We’d love to hear your thoughts.