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Covid-19 and travel

Honestly this is a bit different for me to write about but recently it's got on my nerves.
All we see is the news about covid 19 and in the UK the government seem more focused on the economy than anything else - a real shame. People are still being infected and we have one of the biggest death rates...but people are still happy to start looking for holidays. 

P&O Cruises have a been an awful example of this. They have not refunded many passengers who have been waiting for refunds for months - like my grandparents. And that's not all, airlines including Ryanair have come under pressure too.

Simply, we cannot afford to put more lives at risk. By travelling this summer you are doing that - think before you decide to go! Surely travelling on holiday then having to self isolate for around two weeks after the trip can't be a positive. I personally can't see a reason why anyone would go and not experience the whole country (simply what is on offer).

As we've seen many airlines including Ryanair and easyJet simply rely on passenger numbers and there is, sadly, no way to keep a sense of security for the travel sector. This pandemic has caused issues for all sectors but travel will be hit to such an extent never seen before. Holidays are much cheaper than years ago - we have created a solution to the expense of flights and hotels from years past. While I myself am too young to have known the expense of a holiday, anyone my age will have been told by their elders that holidays abroad were very rare.

The commodity of travel is an issue. The European holidays many Brits may have taken years ago - pre Brexit - had no extra issues: we had a free entry to the country, no extra measures and we were lucky. Now, certain areas (e.g. Spain, more specifically Benidorm) where tourism is the main source of income for most will be hard hit.

Benidorm is an example of the vicious cycle in action. Companies find an popular and cheap area, build the infrastructure, sell cheap deals and continue over and over. This leads to a much larger supply than demand eventually but is how many charter holidays function (your typical flights and hotels with the likes of the old carriers like Thomas Cook or Monarch). 

Areas that thrive off of tourism will no doubtly struggle and as such are trying to reopen before a second wave hits (China recently got only a few hundred deaths and lockdown and shut schools, yet we are going back to work and school as if it's safe - how can we feel safe enough anymore is the question). Airlines, hotel chains, local business - everyone will be effected. As many Brits sit home or return to work, they will start building some savings which they will want to put towards the likes of a holiday. While this is all well and good (if we didn't have a global pandemic going on) we simply cannot rely on this model anymore. 

The problem, tourism is so widely accessible to everyone! This creates an issue when it comes to opening boarders back up - as mentioned above certain areas rely on tourism and could be significantly impacted without clients returning. However, airlines and tourism companies will want bookings to continue and people to keep visiting. The only way this can happen is by smaller numbers and rigours checks.

On a personal note, I wouldn't want to go on holiday to not be able to enjoy myself by exploring the areas and tourist sites - to me it makes no sense. I get that people want to go away but the logic - at least for me isn't there. 

Travel will most definitely be changed after this pandemic and I think it's important we understand the importance of travelling safely. We need to stay safe during this lockdown and transition as well to ensure we limit cases and deaths, unfortunately, not everyone is following regulations. This is careless and people should really think about their actions.

Whatever decision you make this summer on regards to holidaying abroad, please remember to be safe. Look into the airline or travel operators policies such as facemasks and be prepared to isolate. Please remember that we are only past the peak, we still have a long journey ahead.

Be kind and most importantly be considerate.

Stay parked for now,

Freya

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