As a frequent traveller, I have been thinking about what has changed in travel in the last 12-months. Everyday we watch on the news about the impact of covid in all sectors of life and it has dealt a devastating blow to a lot of business and apart from our healthcare system, travel is one of the most impacted sectors. Being a frequent traveller who has not travelled in over 6 months, I have been wondering about what has changed in travel over the last 12-months and wondering whether some of the changes are permanent or short-lived.
The last time I travelled was at the beginning of September last year and we had just come out of a 6-month long lockdown. I was eager to travel somewhere even just for a day or two and even though I was very nervous about the pandemic not being contained, I was going star crazy staying indoors staring at the ceiling. I choose to travel to Venice, Italy for a few days and had the best time ever. The trip resulted in reduced crowds meaning no queuing and I had an opportunity to actually enjoy the city unlike many other times before.
What has Changed in Travel in the Last 12-Months?
This time last year I am preparing for a trip to the USA for worth then a 2-week vacation to Hanoi, Vietnam. The trip was to be our annual winter escape to somewhere we’d never been but knew at this time of the year it is warmer. Within a few short days, Asian countries started closing their borders and trips started getting cancelled. It was a devastating blow but it was just the beginning of the end of travel for 2020 we just didn’t know it.
In February, I still managed to travel to the USA for work and then flew to Seoul, South Korea because my airline wouldn’t cancel the flight to Vietnam even though hotels had been cancelled so I opted to changed destination to not lose thousands of pounds I had spent. During this trip, I got a first hand taste of the early impact of COVID where we had to sanitise everything, attractions were closed or partially open and the doom was starting to set-in.
But this was just the beginning because what followed changed travel in a way no one anticipated and below I list a few of those changes.
Negative Covid Test 72-hours Before Your flight
Whilst I am not encouraging anyone to travel at the moment but there are people travelling for many reasons at the moment. The expectation is that those who are travelling need to present a negative COVID test at the airport and it has to be taken no more than 72-hours before your flight. This is not only for your peace of mind but also so that you don’t contribute to the spread of the virus from one country to the next.
For those who MUST travel at the moment, you need to ensure you check first your departure location that you can easily get a COVID test done before your flight. Secondly you need to ensure at your destination, the testing centres are acceptable by your country of origin. There are some countries that are refusing results from certain test centres so be mindful of this.
Travel is inaccessible to many
Travel is no longer accessible to many people, gone are the days of hopping on a £15 return flight to Gdańsk Poland. Today you need to pay anything from £145 – £200 for COVID test at origin and departure locations. Then if on your way back you test positive, you need to isolate which means paying for accommodation (unless its your home country you can stay with family). You also need to think about paying for another ticket home. After isolation, you need another test to be done before you will be allowed on your flight back home.
Travelling during COVID is no longer budget friendly, because now more than ever you need to budget for the expectation that you might get COVID, need extended hotel stay and rebook a new flight back to your destination. This can be anything from £750 to £2000 depending on your destination and the cost of vacationing there. If you MUST travel then budget for that much. Remember you also need to budget for transportation at your destination, buses are a no-no especially as its hard to maintain the 2-metre distance between passengers.
Local Quarantine 72-hours or 5-days
Depending on your destination, you might be required to quarantine for 72-hours upon arrival and also receive a covid test at the airport or designated hotel which you pay for. In countries like South Korea you need to quarantine for 2-weeks in a government facility and pay ~$2000 whilst in countries like Grenada you quarantine for 5-days in a designated hotel which you need to pre-book before boarding your flight.
Whilst the UK is still lagging behind with respect to local quarantine, this is the expectation in most countries and it is so important to ensure you check your chosen destination. I am still against any travel at the moment and will wait a little longer before I can start planning trips abroad. Please remember to travel responsibly and only travel if you MUST.
Reduced Services and closed attractions
Whilst there are many countries that are opening their borders for international travellers, you will still find that most attractions are either closed or have reduced services. Most hotels are no longer offering buffet to reduce the spread of the virus and many are offering reduced services so it is very important to ensure you are aware of the services that are still being provided by the hotels or accommodations that you choose to stay at.
During my visit to Busan, South Korea this time last year, we found many attractions had closed or offered partial services and this was at the start of the pandemic. When I travelled again in September to Venice, Italy, I found most attractions were open but limited services. The restaurants were the only places where full service was still being offered and social distancing was practiced to the letter and hygiene stations were visible everywhere.
Respect the locals
This goes without saying, even before the pandemic it was important for travellers to respect the locals and their traditions and today is no different. There has been a lot of backlash at influencers from many locals in many destinations who are calling westerners insensitive to their pain. Most of the countries that rely heavily on tourism for survival have been opening their borders up and this has led to an influx of people travelling their because the cost of living is so cheap compared to back home.
Whilst I have no quarrel with people who’ve travelled to this tourism dependent countries I must say its not ideal for people to be ‘recommending’ travel at the moment. Because remember, someone has to put themselves are risk to cater to you during your visit as that’s the only way for them to earn a living. Not everyone can afford to not work or have life savings they can blow out. Always respect the locals.
These are some of the changes I have observed in the travel space and I am sure this will continue for a while longer until the pandemic is manageable. What are some of the changes you have observed in travel in the last 12-months? Have you travelled anywhere abroad in the last 12-months?
Ntensibe Edgar says
Truth be told, Travel is inaccessible to many. To me, I am afraid of travelling at the moment!
Christiana says
I’m not a traveller, or at least I haven’t travelled in a very long time, however, I’m well aware of the numerous changes and restrictions most travellers face. Needless to say, COVID-19 has really changed the world.
Warp Speed Odyssey says
I can see how travel as change due to the advent of covid 19. But I think that we are capable of adapting to all kind of situation and that we will prevail.
yudithnapitupulu says
Absolutely changing, Nowadays if you want go for try you need to do covid test and wear mask every where, Feel not safe. I really hate this pandemic.
emman damian says
This is very insightful. For some countries, they require 24 hours before flight COVID-19 swab test. But thanks for the list!
Arūnas says
I am waiting for better times as now is too complicated to travel abroad. The good side of this period is that I have a great opportunity to get to know my country better.
Emily Michelle Fata says
Super useful information to be sharing! I definitely learned a lot, thank you for posting about this.
Heather says
We haven’t traveled since the end of 2019. I can’t even imagine going anywhere until this pandemic is over.
Ben says
I haven’t been anywhere in over a year, and I don’t plan on going anywhere until COVID is well and truly under control. Not traveling at all is the biggest change for me.
Cristina Petrini says
It scares me a bit to travel, but not for the reasons one could imagine, but only and exclusively because I lack normality and I am afraid that my wanting to look for it could make me do or say things that are now seen as “wrong”. However useful advice!
Cinny says
I am frustrated about some of the changes. I am hopeful things will improve soon.
Rachael Robinson says
Travel has become so much more expensive and pretty difficult for families now too. Obviously that’s no one’s fault, but it has meant that we’ve taken a different route. We have recently bought a van that we will be converting into a camper which should enable us to travel the UK and Europe a lot more cheaply!
Miranda says
It is so expensive to travel right now but a camper van is a nice idea
Aarika says
This is a great overview of the changes that have impacted travel in the last year. The covid testing 72 hours prior to travel is a good idea – just to be sure! I hope that we get back to “normal” soon. Cheers!
Mayuri Saxena says
Travelling to a different country has become a distant dream for us. CoVID has changed the world in multiple ways …I guess I will have to postpone my travel plans till the middle of this year.
Lyanna Soria says
This is definitely going to be that new norm for a while and thanks for updating us on it. I’ve heard there were ton’s of travel bans all over the world but some are still open with strict safety measures.
aisasami says
Thank you for your insight and views on has change. I wonder if this going to be the new normal for a while when we travel.
Anda says
I’m sorry, but I’ll have to start by saying that I hate how much this pandemic changed our way of traveling! Just the simple fact that we have to wear masks everywhere we go, takes all the fun away from travel. I like to wear make-up, but what’s the point of that when you have to wear a mask? To say nothing about the fact that you might be required to quarantine for 72-hours upon arrival in some parts of the world. I’ll probably have to wait until this goes away, although who knows what that will happen!
Planet Hopper Girl says
Vow so much has changed in a year. Hope we can all travel again soon.
Eric Gamble says
We have seen similar challenges when traveling to and from the States. First of all, that is crazy that you guys have to pay so much for a Covid test. So far, we have had to take 2 before traveling and both times they were free. Thus, I am not sure why on earth it costs so much in the U.K.
I guess it all depends on where you travel too as well. When flying within the U.S. we havent had too many restrictions of forced quarantines as you would bouncing from the smaller European Countries. But we turned some travel down to South American or Caribbean destinations cause of their regulations. Hopefully, this will all get easier sooner than later.
Renata - byemyself says
In Europe, we are encouraged not to travel at all. Also, going to many countries isn’t much fun anyway since everything is closed. I rather wait till travel is safe and fun again.
melissa major says
Covid has sure made an impact to everything hasn’t it? Its so sad that everything has changed including travel
Samantha Donnelly says
Travel has certainly changed this past year, we were lucky to travel in September last year. I think it will be a long time before the travel industry gets back to some sort of normality
Kira says
It’s been an absolute world wind hasn’t it , lucky for me I don’t plan on travelling anytime soon!
Beth says
The last 12 months have been very troublesome in terms of travel… although, hopefully, we can move forward soon and start planning again.
pacioalita9 says
It’s crazy how the pandemic changed everything. Here in Kyoto Japan, we rely so much on tourists. Now its very quiet. It has never been so silent like this before
LaaLaa says
Insane how much has changed in a short space of time. I’ve not gone anywhere since the pandemic began, me going to my makeup counter was a big risk for me lol. I’m around too many highly vulnerable people to risk it.
Rebecca Smith says
It is crazy that so much has changed in 12 months for travel. I am so used to heading somewhere with the family and I am really missing it.
Fransic verso says
You pay a lot more than you did before when traveling nowadays. That’s not good. Thank you for sharing it!
Roshanna21 says
It’s crazy how much things have changed. In NY country there a huge reduction in services and accommodations as well as you have to quarantine for alteast a week
Monidipa Dutta says
My life had changed completely 360 degree past this year. I have again stood up.
Renee says
My husband and I are traveling across the country next week. Thank you for this!!
Kenneth says
Covid has surely made a huge impact for everyone especially the travel and hospitality industry. I’m a victim of being jobless and was really affected. When will this end? Hope ASAP