9 Aspects To Consider Before Traveling Overseas Again
We are all ready for things to return to normal. For many people, normal may involve going to restaurants and bars, having dinner with friends, or going to church. For me, “normal” involves living out of a backpack and traveling over 250,000 miles each year to countries all around the world. Suffice to say, my nomadic life is on hold for the foreseeable future.
Through the end of June, I’ve canceled trips to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Germany, Singapore, India, Morocco, and France due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While I’m sad to miss out on these trips, I’m grateful that my family and I have remained healthy so far.
But, what is it going to take for us to start traveling again? Will airlines need to block middle seats and require face coverings for flying to go back to normal? Can hotels reliably clean rooms and common areas enough to prevent spread between guests? All of that remains to be seen.
Reduced Travel Advisories
On March 19, the U.S. State Department issued a Global Level 4 Advisory telling potential travelers “Do Not Travel.” Then on March 27, the U.S. Center for Disease Control issued its highest travel advisory: a Level 3 Warning to “Avoid Nonessential Travel—Widespread Ongoing Transmission.”
Similarly, health departments all over the world have advised their residents and potential travelers against traveling.
As antsy as I am to get back on the road, I’m waiting until these advisories have been lifted before I consider non-essential travel again. For domestic air travel, I’m going to wait for the CDC advisory to be lowered. For international travel, I’ll be waiting for both the U.S. State Department and the destination country’s health department to lower advisories.
Reopening of Borders
In mid-March, my wife and I planned to visit Zimbabwe and Zambia to see Victoria Falls. But as we planned to head north from South Africa, we found out that we wouldn’t be able to do so. In order to enter Zimbabwe, visitors needed to produce a negative coronavirus test result. And we couldn’t find a way to get tested in time.
While that was a soft border closure, many countries have since completely shut borders to visitors. In our case, even if we wanted to keep our trips to Germany, Singapore, or India, we wouldn’t be able to as each country has banned visitors from entering.
At a minimum country will need to start opening their borders for international travel to be possible again. There are discussions that Australia, Spain, and Italy may not reopen their borders until at least the end of 2020. Considering the lack of adequate testing and rampant spread in the U.S., Americans may face continuing restrictions even when limited travel resumes.
It’s not just international borders that are currently shut. Hawaii is one of several states that is requiring a 14-day quarantine for all arriving passengers. Unless you want to spend your two weeks of vacation in quarantine, it’s going to be best to wait to visit the 50th state.
Reintroduction of Airline Routes
It’s not just borders that are going to have to reopen. Airlines are going to have to restart routes before we will be able to start traveling again. With airlines cutting international capacity by 80 to 90%, destinations aren’t nearly as accessible as before.
Personally, I’ve had trips to Brisbane, Casablanca, Bangalore, and Sydney all canceled as a direct result of Qantas and American Airlines canceling routes to these destinations. In each case, an alternative wasn’t even offered by the airline. Instead, the only option was a refund.
And it might take a while for these links to be reconnected. The Brisbane, Casablanca, and Bangalore routes were canceled until an unspecified date in 2021. And American Airlines has canceled all flights to Australia and New Zealand through late October 2020.
Hotels Resume Normal Operations
A large number of hotels and resorts have closed due to COVID-19. As of mid-April, Marriott had closed more than 25% of its hotels worldwide. Around 1,000 IHG hotels were closed as of April 30. And there are already reports that some hotels will never reopen.
Even when hotels have decided to remain open, they are typically doing so with a reduced amount of service—from eliminating breakfast to reducing housekeeping. So, now certainly isn’t the time to go on that once-of-a-lifetime trip to the Maldives or even a beach getaway to the Caribbean.
Once hotels resume normal operations, it’s going to be a clear indicator that travel is returning to normal. With that said, some hotels may wait for demand to rebound before taking the costly step of reopening. And it might make sense for hotel brands to keep some hotels closed even longer where they have multiple options nearby.
Coronavirus Immunity is Confirmed
Multiple testing companies have rolled out coronavirus antibody tests. While these tests will indicate if someone has coronavirus antibodies, we don’t yet know for sure whether or not these antibodies will prevent further infection.
With that said, if I can confirm that I have antibodies that can prevent further infections and spread, I’d love to start supporting airlines, hotels, restaurants, and destinations by traveling again. I agree with Delta CEO Ed Bastian that we could soon have a future with “immunity passports” enabling those that are known to be immune to get back to traveling sooner.
Rapid Testing in Airports
When it comes to traveling, you usually aren’t in a more-crowded situation than when flying. I think a lot of travelers would feel better getting on a plane if they knew everyone on the flight had just tested negative for coronavirus.
As testing technology gets faster, cheaper, and more widely available, I could foresee having rapid-result testing done as a condition of entering an airport. Some overseas airports have security checks at airport entrances, and I could see having something similar for COVID-19 testing.
While this might sound far-fetched, rapid testing before flights has already been utilized. In mid-April, Emirates tested all passengers before a flight from Dubai to Tunis using tests that produced results in 10 minutes. It seems that type of testing currently requires too much of an investment from airlines at this point, but the economics could change soon.
Fast and Effective Cleaning Measures
Scientists are continuing to study the most effective way of killing the virus on surfaces—whether it’s by using disinfectant sprays or UVC light. The potential market for surface disinfectants is going to be huge as we continue through this pandemic, so we can count on any breakthroughs to quickly be brought to market.
When airlines and hotels can quickly and safely disinfect surfaces—and demonstrate that they are effectively doing so—I will personally feel a lot safer traveling. That’s especially true if combined with the rapid testing of passengers.
Lack of Wide Community Spread
My wife and I traveled to Hong Kong and Singapore in February despite there being cases there. We consulted travel advisories—which didn’t warn against travel at the time—and we figured the risk was low, there were appropriate countermeasures in place and we made sure to wear a mask and practice hand hygiene.
Until a vaccine is developed and widely distributed, there’s going to be some risk from traveling—both of getting sick and of unintentionally spreading the disease. Still, I wouldn’t rule out travel to places where there is a lack of community spread—especially if I can confirm that I’m not carrying the virus.
A Vaccine in Wide Circulation
Of course, the holy grail in the fight against COVID-19 is the development and wide-scale distribution of an effective vaccine. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait for this to happen before we can safely travel, but it will be a game-changer in letting all aspects of life return to normal.
After having COVID-19 decimate the airline industry, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see airlines require proof of vaccination to travel. While that might seem like a wild idea to some travelers, some international travelers are familiar with having to show an International Certificate of Vaccination “yellow card” to enter countries.
I could foresee this yellow card being essential to all traveling, with the coronavirus immunization stamp joining yellow fever, Hepatitis A/B, and other vaccinations.
Bottom Line
As someone who’s flown over 1,000,000 miles by air in the past four years, I can’t wait to get back in the skies to start visiting some of the wonderful destinations this world has to offer. However, I’m not going to let this wanderlust put myself and others in danger. While we all ride out this pandemic, let’s take this time to reset and reconnect with those around us. The world will still be there for exploring once this is all over.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/2020/06/05/best-fathers-day-gifts-for-every-kind-of-dad/#66ba59551f68
