Post-Pandemic Adventures

The ongoing pandemic has single-handedly brought the entire travel industry and the majority of the business world to a grinding halt. Not to mention the hospitality industry, where entire hotels, boutiques, or otherwise, have had to close down or completely change their policies to adapt to the health crisis that’s still unraveling. 

In short, if you’ve envisioned yourself enjoying a full family vacation in an all-inclusive resort – think again. The world for globetrotters is quickly changing, so we need to adapt our own expectations and make sure that our travel plans reflect the latest recommendations from health professionals, especially when it comes to little ones. Even more so, we need to be aware of our role in this process to slow down the pandemic and understand how our family travel plans will need to change for the foreseeable future. 

Finding the joy in local travel

Since most countries are keeping their borders tightly controlled, if not closed entirely, the idea of traveling abroad with kids is not the finest one at the moment. As the pandemic dwindles down, you can expect that health experts will still encourage more local explorations over international escapades.  

Your packing list will also change to an extent, mostly to include hand sanitizers, face masks, and other preventative items that can help you and your children stay safe and reduce the risk of transmission. As a result, more people will organize local vacations, explore local nature reserves, and set up domestic adventures which can be an even better solution for families as they won’t be spending too much time in transport. 

Hitting the road once again

Crowded airplanes? No, thank you. Even though the world will slowly go back to and revamp air travel to introduce new preventative measures (health checks, masks, sanitizers, limited ticket sales, airport temperature checks, disinfecting cabins, etc.), more people will turn to the good-old idea of family road trips in all of their glory. What will also change is our perception of road trips: we’ll learn to appreciate them more than ever, and we’ll do our best to tailor the experience to our own liking.

For example, details such as personalized number plates will soar in popularity, and they’ll turn an ordinary vehicle into a personal vessel for adventure, one that you’ll gladly rely on after the pandemic. They not only make a vehicle stand out in a crowd but add a greater, emotional value to your ride. People will personalize their cars on other levels, too, such as adding bumper stickers, a better AC system, getting the kids involved in designing details or even adding a rack for bringing a bicycle for exploring nature on two wheels. 

Solo tourism on the rise

The social distancing rule that is still in place across the world will remain a strong recommendation even after the pandemic. Why? To prevent the potential resurgence of the virus by keeping social contacts reasonable and our hygiene habits improved. However, this will also affect travelers in another way: more people will venture into the unknown alone.

Solo travel has been a growing trend for years, but it will become more than a trend. It will transform into a globetrotter’s precaution, and a way to see the world (even if it’s just local) without large groups. Travel agencies will embrace the trend by providing personalized travel packages for individuals, too. 

Camping and small-scale escapades

Is there a lake just outside of town? Do you have a nearby beach that seems utterly abandoned? These are the ideal opportunities for families yearning to travel after the coronavirus outbreak. Even now, as countries are still recovering from the pandemic, healthy individuals are doing their best to organize quick getaways over the weekend, somewhere without too many people where they can relax and the kids can run freely not worrying about close contact with others.

If you have camping gear or even your own RV, all the better! You and your kids can set up a quick escape into the great outdoors and make the most of the sunny weather without any metropolis-based sightseeing. 

Limitations across the board

“Business or pleasure” will definitely no longer be just a turn of phrase commonly heard at the customs. It will become a valid way to assess whether or not you have a good enough reason to enter a specific country, and those with a substantial cause will have a better chance to travel internationally. Large gatherings will definitely be present, although in a different format: the term large might need to take on a new meaning, one that limits the number of participants to a much lower number than ever before.

It’s safe to say that travel will slowly, but surely go back to some sort of normal. While we wait for health professionals to find the simplest solutions to these complex problems, we can still enjoy some small travel pleasures such as camping, domestic road trips, and weekend getaways limited to you and your family members. We have yet to see how the pandemic will unfold, and what each country will do to protect its residents for the long haul – but travel will surely be a key segment where we can expect change to take place.