A Reinvented Form of Tourism Amid the Recovering Covid-19 World.
No matter what the course of the time is, travelling is one such phenomenon that will not take the backseat for long. While 2020 may have shaken the world to its core with ‘corona’ as its invisible agent that put all the hustle and bustle of every corner of the world to a halt, tourism took one of the worst hits for quite some time. Now enter 2021, and we already witness a huge surge in travel bookings (talking in millions, that’s right), thanks to the efforts of all those who made the development of vaccines possible and the respective governments of the countries administering them at a rapid pace. Though most of the international borders are sealed for the time being, even when the cases have drastically reduced world over and people being well aware of the precautions to be taken by now, we can be optimistic with the hope that they will be opened very soon in a phased manner. So the new normal that each one of us is waiting for, has already begun, with most sectors of the market opening up publicly with increasing capacities, and the topper in that list being tourism.
As the Covid -19 curves got flattened, one could witness more ease in the movements amongst people after months of being locked down in their homes. The only option left was domestic travel and the numbers attributing to it surpassed the expectations of industry experts. There is a renewed lust for travel that one could feel since the last few months. Consequently, destination choices have considerably changed for most people as they are looking for alternatives to their planned/preferred holiday spots abroad or even within their own countries. Being stuck in thick concrete jungles has not been easy for people, as they were forced to deal with all aspects of their lives within their abodes 24/7, and being extremely dependent on digital technology for almost everything that social distancing won’t allow them to do. This is where the desire to completely change their immediate environments stemmed from.
With WFH periods extended for professionals and online classes happening for youngsters, it is easier for these groups to plan their much -needed escape from boredom, mental exhaustion and workload now. What they now need as their top priority is a room with a view- far away from the spaces they have been inhabiting for so long. Of course, that is not the only thing they have in mind while planning their holidays. Weather, accommodation quality, nearby sight seeing spots, activities to do and the general environment (in this case, the active Covid cases in an area) play a significant role in determining the ultimate destinations. More and more solo and small group bookings have been observed in recent times from the younger strata of society, while those in older age groups are still reluctant to venture out properly due to Covid vulnerabilities, hence big family trips are still on the low side of the graphs. With the economy receiving a huge blow since last year and people suffering financially on the other end due to reduced salaries, they have been more conscious of their budgets in where and how to spend them. But travelling has come out to be an essential part their lives- a valuable break-for several reasons which could not be compromised till the situation allowed them otherwise. Both, short weekend gateways and weeks long staycations are becoming popular now. Closer proximity to nature is what people are preferring more at such times- be it mountains, hills, lakes, sea, wildlife reserves, or culturally and aesthetically rich open places with a multitude of options to explore from.
Travelling has progressively been the inspiration for artists of various kinds, and on the other hand, there are digital nomads who prefer working from different locations for longer durations. The list of such people has only been increasing gradually. With access to technology and remote working infrastructure, people are willing to take trips even in the midst of their working schedules. Conscious budget travelling is on the go now with homestays, hostels, cottages, guesthouses, campsites and Airbnb, while the resorts and hotels are preferred by those who are willing to shell out extra for their comfort and luxury. Since most places now have Wifi or at least data connectivity, it enables people to stay connected, work and continue doing their online activities. Though most people are now accustomed on how to keep social distancing and maintain hygiene, there is no reason why they should wait any longer to get on with their vacay mode. It is of course essential to check the sanitization certificates, light contact touch points, regular temperature checks and specialized cleaning services being offered by most of these accommodations. However, those with their private lodging arrangements or cottages are responsible for themselves and must ensure their own covid 19 protocols.
One can also go for customized options with regards to transportation like self-driving vehicles over the public ones for those who are more cautious towards maintaining social distancing or want to explore different attractions at their own convenience.
Notably, there are lucrative offers being put out by numerous travel agencies and companies, especially for domestic tours that guide you right from the selections of packages, bookings for accommodations and flights, itinerary creation, reservations for events/activities, renting vehicles etc. to make your experiences more enthralling. The discounts and special deals are all the more inclusive as part of the efforts to revive tourism sector amid the receding covid case numbers and eased-up restrictions (which also resulted in a few international countries opening up their borders for tourists). Although it goes without saying that they have a proper system in place to enable people to travel safely and responsibly like on- arrival PCR tests or mandatory negative report certificates, vaccination certificates, quarantine facilities, physical distancing, mask and sanitization rules, crowd management procedures, digitized menus (through QR code scanning) at eateries and much more — differing for each country but making sure they are in sync with WHO Covid safety guidelines.
Travelling by flights has become much more reliable after introducing new measures that enables contact-less check ins at airports, online payments for all services, regular disinfection and sanitization of all public contact points and furniture, antigen rapid testing facilities etc. These steps have ensured that in-flight transmission of virus is quite minimal apart from the known aircraft high- efficiency filtering and ventilation already keeping the risk low. Consequently, the ticket prices for most places are also economical and affordable, considering the heavy losses that aviation industry has been facing since last year.
While contemplating on all these points, one may feel that travelling is indeed possible if done safely and responsibly. It is to be seen how the pandemic is going to managed in the coming time of worldwide vaccination phase, which is inevitably going to shape our decisions on investing in vacations.
Moreover, it is the emerging data which speaks of the fact that when offered a plethora of possibilities in the most secure, responsible and hygienic ways possible, it will retain the trust in people’s heart that they can very well materialize their much awaited desire to get back in the world (at least partly, in their own countries for now) but in a much more conscious manner.
