My First Travel Article Has To Be About COVID — And What Travelling Will Look Like Going Forward
As some of my followers may know, I have re-committed to pursuing my passion for travelling and writing.
If you want, you can read about how I am getting rekindling my love of travel and travel writing here and here.
So now that I have decided to write about travel, what should I write about? While I have many ideas to write about, only one item is at the top of everyone's “travel questions” list: COVID.
For anyone that hasn’t heard about COVID, here is a refresher:
Just kidding.
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COVID has dominated the headlines in every newspaper, been the talk of every socially distanced or zoomed water cooler, and has disrupted every major market and industry over the past year and a half. Every job, every country, every person has been affected by COVID in one way or another.
One of the most affected and damaged industries was travel.
Countries shut their borders, and we were ordered to stay inside our homes as much as possible for as long as possible. Remember what your life was like a few months ago? It almost seems like a dream now, right? No toilet paper, lines to get into every store, masks, masks, and more masks.
However, it looks like there is light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.
The key to the end of this COVID nightmare is vaccinations. The more people get vaccinated, the higher the “herd immunity” becomes and the safer we all are. Herd immunity means that not only will vaccinated people be safe, but that in turn will mean there will be fewer people to get infected. Even unvaccinated people will be safer and have less chance of becoming infected because the virus won’t spread as easily. There is no magic number to achieve herd immunity, but it needs to be anywhere from 50–90% for the case numbers to decline.
This is where Canada and North America are heading right now. As of July 16, 2021, Canadians are 47.6% fully vaccinated. America is 48.9%.
Some countries have begun to loosen COVID restrictions, and others are even starting to open up their borders to tourists because they have achieved a high immunization rate. Some countries are also more dependant on tourists to survive than others, and they are chomping at the bit to get tourists back.
However, people’s safety, specifically the citizens of their own country’s safety, has to be assured and is paramount before the governments start making any economic decisions regarding tourism. And the safety of a country’s citizens will mean only letting in people vaccinated against COVID for the time being.
I am Canadian, and I was recently researching the laws for vaccinated and unvaccinated air travellers. First of all, all travelling is still not recommended unless essential. Next, unvaccinated air travellers must do the following:
- Have a negative COVID test no more than three days before you depart
- Book a quarantine stay in a government-approved hotel for three nights upon your return before leaving
- Take a COVID test upon arrival to Canada and wait in the hotel for the results
- If the result is negative, self-quarantine for an additional 11 days at home
- If the result is positive, you are taken to a government-controlled facility where you will remain for the duration of your quarantine period
- Once you are back at home from your negative test and mandatory hotel quarantine, you must take a government-approved COVID test on day 8 of your quarantine
As of July 5th, 2021, fully vaccinated travellers can skip the mandatory quarantine period. Vaccinated travellers still need a negative COVID test no more than three days before leaving and will have to take a test upon returning to Canada.
Also, vaccinated travellers can stay at the quarantine hotel with their unvaccinated partners or children and skip the home quarantine.
Your country is probably something similar to this, but do your research before you travel anywhere.
So the question’s are: how long will these restrictions on travelling last? Will all travellers be required to get a vaccine before they enter a new country? Some countries are only letting in vaccinated travellers, will there be a vaccination passport?
Full disclosure: I have had both my shots. I also know many people who are against getting vaccinated for a variety of reasons. People have different views on vaccination, and I am not one to judge you. I am here to inform you.
The way things are going, I would imagine that fully vaccinated people will be able to travel more easily than unvaccinated people until herd immunity is achieved. After herd immunity is achieved, there is a good chance that countries will open up their borders to unvaccinated people. Some experts think this could be in 2024.
However, it does look like there will be vaccination passports being issued between countries. There is now something called the European Union Digital Covid Certificate (EUDCC), formerly the Digital Green Certificate, and came into effect on July 1. It aims to allow Europeans to travel safely throughout Europe by digitally providing an individual's vaccine status, test results, or recovery status from COVID-19. Other countries are in talks with the EU to recognize this certificate and add on their own certificates to achieve mutual travel status over their borders.
Final Thoughts
As of right now — July 16, 2021 — vaccinated travellers will have an easier time getting to and from their destination than their unvaccinated counterparts. International travel is just starting to open up again, and vaccinated travellers should be able to get through with a negative COVID test and proof of vaccination — depending on which country they choose to visit as some countries will be slower to roll out vaccines than others.
For everyone else, you’ll either have to jump through the quarantine hoops, wait until herd immunity is achieved, or bite the vaccination bullet. I know those are tough choices, but this is the world we live in right now. Whether this COVID world (and its variants) sticks around remains to be seen.
What is certain is that the world will start opening up to leisure travel again, and that process will start soon if it hasn’t happened already in some places.
For the next few years, travelling will look and feel much different than in the past, but it will still be possible. Countries need tourists just as much as we want to be tourists. Governments will make travel and tourism happen, but only when it is deemed safe enough for its citizens.
Personally, I can’t wait to start seeing the world again, but I also want to see it safely. So for now, I wait. And I write.
Stay tuned for more, and make sure to follow me for all my new travel articles.
I love to create content, and if you enjoyed reading my work, perhaps you would like to buy me a coffee. If so, thank you so much! You can do so here.
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