Five Ways The COVID-19 Pandemic Changed The Way We Travel

We all have started wondering when will it be safe to travel again for leisure. Before the pandemic, we had the freedom to roam in different places and experience other cultures. We have also started hoping that vaccine rollout all over the world will become the key to this problem. Even when that’s the case, we should expect big changes in Philippine tourism.

Five Ways The COVID-19 Pandemic Changed The Way We Travel

We are certainly optimistic about being able to travel again in the near future. There are several factors that will shape people’s travel decisions in a post-pandemic era. For example, economic issues will be at play since a lot of people have lost their job during the pandemic. Aside from that, governments may require vaccination from foreign tourists.

Here are a few ways how travel evolves after this health crisis:

Exploring the Philippines.

Even though countries begin to emerge from local lockdowns, one of the new travel trends will be domestic travel. We’re now more comfortable with exploring closer to home and as the tourism recovery begins locally, we’re going to see the formation of travel bubbles. Practically speaking, this is a great idea to help our own country’s economy regain its strength. At the same time, we have so many picturesque islands here like Palawan, Siargao, and Batanes. Travel will be a way for us to reconnect with our own culture and heritage.

Traveling with friends, and family.

These lockdowns due to this pandemic have kept us apart from our family and friends since it helps curb the spread of the virus. After spending months away from each other, we’ve missed a lot of celebrations and holidays together.

To make up for this, we’re likely to see more family or group travel once it’s safe to travel again. Also, we definitely feel safer traveling together as a group. We’ll be sharing accommodation and transport space to minimize contact with other people and practice social distancing.

Observing strict hygiene and touchless travel becomes the norm.

One of the most important new travel trends to emerge after COVID-19 is ‘touchless travel’. The pandemic already has trained us to social distancing and avoiding physical contact so it wouldn’t be much of an adjustment. From checking in at the airport to checking out of hotels, there will be stringent cleaning protocols and automation across the industry.

The tourism sector will take advantage of the technology by utilizing robot cleaners. They will also opt to use more touchless options such as electronic passports and boarding passes, contactless fingerprints, and facial recognition. Of course, we expect that health screenings will stay post-pandemic.

Reconnecting with nature.

After being cooped up for weeks in lockdown, more people will be feeling the need to unwind by getting into nature. Our next travel will probably be about escaping the metro to explore the great outdoors. Luckily, there are many options for Filipinos for outdoor activities. Aside from swimming, you can list mountain biking, surfing, trekking, camping, diving, and others.

More staycations.

The idea of staying at a comfortable and safe home-away-from-home with great views and without worrying about contracting the virus is the perfect one. That is precisely why hotels and resorts around the world are promoting staycations. More people are now seeing the practicality and benefits of doing staycations during the holidays.

The top reason is reducing the stress from planning and organizing a trip. Admit it, there are some days that you just want to relax in a nice place to take off your mind from work and responsibilities.