Most travel restrictions are currently still in place in countries around the world. It may feel like the current lockdown measures facing the global community will never end, but things will stabilize once a vaccine is in place or once herd-immunity has been established. When this time comes, most of us will be eager to enjoy a good getaway or more likely a long-term vacation. But what will that entail?
While there is no reason you shouldn’t plan a weekend getaway locally, there’s no doubt the vast majority of travel lovers have been planning an upcoming long-term vacation ever since the pandemic set it. There’s no doubt a lengthy trip is required after weeks or even months of feeling trapped in your home. Also, if travel limitations are lifted, you should still consider the global pandemic as a current affair that will have some notable impacts on how and where you travel.
In the past, we have had only to consider well-known details such as Visa restrictions and global insurance, but it stands to reason that things will never be quite the same again. Extrapolating from current statistics and the long term reemergence policies of many countries, we have compiled a guide to the future of international vacations and what you may need to consider.
Options May Be Limited
The restrictions, as mentioned above, may not be lifted universally just yet, and many countries will take longer to recover than others. Although most tourism departments will be eager to get your attention to get this crucial economic facility up and running you are going to have to take care to research the current state of affairs of any potential destination especially if you are hoping to plan a long well-deserved vacation.
In addition to this, depending on your country of residence, there will be restrictions from your government as to which borders will be accepted for travel. Our advice is to look for the benefits and facilities offered by unconventional, previously unpopular destinations. A glorious beach near a modest little town is a much better prospect that the stress of visiting a post-pandemic Ibiza, for instance.
Your Safety
In the years gone by, we used to determine the safety of a country by way of its crime statistics. Safety is no longer necessarily a matter of conventional crime alone. Aside from the fact that countries facing more significant economic turmoil will see a rise in sociopolitically caused incidents, your safety will now also depend on the general standard of available medical care and the potential risk assessment of disease outbreak.
WHO has recommended a far more cautionary approach in anticipation of further disease outbreaks, along with the potential of a resurgence in a possible mutated vaccine-resistant form of Covid-19 developing at some point. These considerations will become the new metric of safety for you to take under advisement in researching your family’s safety before choosing a destination.
Taking Threats Seriously
If we learned one thing from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is to take the possibility of disaster seriously. The now-iconic clip of Trump stating that no one was expecting anything like this juxtaposed with the clip of Obama warning of something precisely as this speaks not only to the man’s incompetence but to our naivete.
We need to be vigilant and take any potential risks seriously. Even more so, if we are travelling abroad. In a situation where there is sufficient reason to fear an outbreak of any health crises, you will be best served by taking it seriously. So much to the point that you need to have a contingency plan to return home before anything serious comes of it.
Travelling With Cation
Even though you may feel somewhat disheartened as all of this does make the future of vacationing abroad seem like a horrid and stressful endeavour. Yes, things have changed beyond repair, and nothing will ever go back to the way it was. We will, however, need to learn to adapt, not allowing these crises’ to change who and what we fundamentally are as humankind, and how we find ways of exploring and enjoying our lives.
This does not mean that you cannot enjoy a long-term vacation abroad as you will need to keep in mind the restrictions that are likely in place in your home region already. That said your holiday does not need to be dampened by the global pandemic. Even though a lot of stress and fear remains notable on a global scale, most of us have come to terms with the new reality. Rather than avoid a well-deserved trip, you should consider the impacts and find positive ways of working around them while also adhering to regulations within your destination of choice.