COVID-Era Travel
The world is changing!
WRONG
The world has already changed!
We are now in the COVID-Era where life as we knew it has changed. If we thought we had travel figured out before, everything is now different. Masks are now being required on flights and in hotels. Quarantines are being enforced at popular destination sites. Cancellation terms and insurance policies are being completely revamped. And, believe it or not, some of the popular travel brands might significantly change their offerings or announce bankruptcy. Here are some changes to be familiar with as you start looking for travel trends and places to go.
WRONG
The world has already changed!
We are now in the COVID-Era where life as we knew it has changed. If we thought we had travel figured out before, everything is now different. Masks are now being required on flights and in hotels. Quarantines are being enforced at popular destination sites. Cancellation terms and insurance policies are being completely revamped. And, believe it or not, some of the popular travel brands might significantly change their offerings or announce bankruptcy. Here are some changes to be familiar with as you start looking for travel trends and places to go.
Mask Mandates
Pre-2020, I (like many who live in the US) rarely saw anyone wearing a face mask outside of hospitals. While I've seen many citizens from eastern countries where them during cold/flu season, those trends never took hold in many westernized countries. However, in 2020 and the COVID-Era, masks are now normal all around the world. Many countries and states within the United States are creating laws to mandate that people should wear masks. As a Washington resident, I immediately noticed Governor Inslee's proclamation of a mask mandate on 7 July 2020. As of 10 July, a little over 20 states have followed similar regulations for masks.
As a travel agent, I especially started to take notice when many of the airlines followed suit. Immediately, reports of resistant passengers emerged. Not long afterwards videos started popping up EVERYWHERE of people having a hard time following the guidelines. Even though there is a Mask-debate, this along with other guidelines are projected to stay in place for a long time. The days of going to the airport, waiting in a massive line, and boarding a packed flight with minimal health concerns is over. In a previous article, pre-COVID-Era, I wrote about Surviving Airport Lines ... that terminology has taken a new turn. It's no longer about finding out how to beat the line. Instead, now it's about how to stay healthy and distanced while at the airport and on the plane. (For more information on surviving airports in the COVID-Era, check out an updated post COVID-Era Travel: Surviving the Airports.)
Moving forward, masks will be the new normal when travel on airlines, while in hotels, on cruise lines, in restaurants, ... pretty much everywhere. Even when COVID cases drop significantly, I image mask rules will still be in place in modified terms. Perhaps, those modified mandates will require masks during cold and flu season or if people are experiencing certain symptoms. At this point, no one fully knows what will happen in the future, but it's safe to assume that masks will be there in one form or another.
Mandatory Quarantine, Testing, and Closures
There are a lot of words that I had not used much before 2020: pandemic, COVID, social distancing, flatten the curve, stay home, PPE, etc. There have been a substantial amount of these previously under-utilized words and new words that have caused the dictionary powerhouse, Merriam-Webster, to add new words or definitions. Other websites like Cheapism have documented this linguistic change as well. One of the top ranked resurgent words now commonly used is QUARANTINE.
Quarantine was a word that I had not used often before 2020.
Matter of fact, I'm not sure I have ever used that word outside of English class or dystopian novels. Now I use "quarantine" ad nauseam, especially regarding travel in the COVID-Era. ALL locations around the world required their citizens to quarantine in place to avoid a drastic uptick in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Destination locations like Hawaii put a mandatory travel quarantine on visitors--requiring visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days before they left their accommodation. (This makes sense since a majority of their economy is based on the hospitality and tourism industry.)
Expect this trend to continue ...
Despite destinations slowly opening up their borders and lifting certain restrictions, quarantine mandates will still be imposed on visitors. These destinations cannot afford to close again. Likely, if they do not take those precautions, they will be ostracized in this era as the new virus "Hot Spot."
These new restrictions could look like Hawaii's mandated 14-day quarantine or a negative COVID test within 3 days of their arrival.
Or
These new restrictions could look like the European Union's (EU) targeted reopening. In this, the EU is opening its borders but only to certain countries and placing a travel ban on countries whose case and death numbers are worrisome like the United States.
...
Pre-2020, I (like many who live in the US) rarely saw anyone wearing a face mask outside of hospitals. While I've seen many citizens from eastern countries where them during cold/flu season, those trends never took hold in many westernized countries. However, in 2020 and the COVID-Era, masks are now normal all around the world. Many countries and states within the United States are creating laws to mandate that people should wear masks. As a Washington resident, I immediately noticed Governor Inslee's proclamation of a mask mandate on 7 July 2020. As of 10 July, a little over 20 states have followed similar regulations for masks.
As a travel agent, I especially started to take notice when many of the airlines followed suit. Immediately, reports of resistant passengers emerged. Not long afterwards videos started popping up EVERYWHERE of people having a hard time following the guidelines. Even though there is a Mask-debate, this along with other guidelines are projected to stay in place for a long time. The days of going to the airport, waiting in a massive line, and boarding a packed flight with minimal health concerns is over. In a previous article, pre-COVID-Era, I wrote about Surviving Airport Lines ... that terminology has taken a new turn. It's no longer about finding out how to beat the line. Instead, now it's about how to stay healthy and distanced while at the airport and on the plane. (For more information on surviving airports in the COVID-Era, check out an updated post COVID-Era Travel: Surviving the Airports.)
Moving forward, masks will be the new normal when travel on airlines, while in hotels, on cruise lines, in restaurants, ... pretty much everywhere. Even when COVID cases drop significantly, I image mask rules will still be in place in modified terms. Perhaps, those modified mandates will require masks during cold and flu season or if people are experiencing certain symptoms. At this point, no one fully knows what will happen in the future, but it's safe to assume that masks will be there in one form or another.
Mandatory Quarantine, Testing, and Closures
There are a lot of words that I had not used much before 2020: pandemic, COVID, social distancing, flatten the curve, stay home, PPE, etc. There have been a substantial amount of these previously under-utilized words and new words that have caused the dictionary powerhouse, Merriam-Webster, to add new words or definitions. Other websites like Cheapism have documented this linguistic change as well. One of the top ranked resurgent words now commonly used is QUARANTINE.
Quarantine was a word that I had not used often before 2020.
Matter of fact, I'm not sure I have ever used that word outside of English class or dystopian novels. Now I use "quarantine" ad nauseam, especially regarding travel in the COVID-Era. ALL locations around the world required their citizens to quarantine in place to avoid a drastic uptick in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Destination locations like Hawaii put a mandatory travel quarantine on visitors--requiring visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days before they left their accommodation. (This makes sense since a majority of their economy is based on the hospitality and tourism industry.)
Expect this trend to continue ...
Despite destinations slowly opening up their borders and lifting certain restrictions, quarantine mandates will still be imposed on visitors. These destinations cannot afford to close again. Likely, if they do not take those precautions, they will be ostracized in this era as the new virus "Hot Spot."
These new restrictions could look like Hawaii's mandated 14-day quarantine or a negative COVID test within 3 days of their arrival.
Or
These new restrictions could look like the European Union's (EU) targeted reopening. In this, the EU is opening its borders but only to certain countries and placing a travel ban on countries whose case and death numbers are worrisome like the United States.
...
Cancellation Terms & Insurance Policies
Start this section ...
Start this section ...
continued from above ...
Popular Travel Brands: Changes, Closures, and Bankruptcies
Start this section ...
Wrap-Up
Wrap up the article is a nice way ... especially look for internal links that could connect readers to new content for travel in the COVID-Era.
Popular Travel Brands: Changes, Closures, and Bankruptcies
Start this section ...
Wrap-Up
Wrap up the article is a nice way ... especially look for internal links that could connect readers to new content for travel in the COVID-Era.