🌎The Future of Travel as we see it
Written by Caroline Carter McKenzie
Published May 5th, 2021
The days of trying to hit as many countries as possible by a certain age are behind us…. for now. Our interconnected world where traveling around was easy and fun (albeit expensive) took a big hit with the pandemic; and while we’re seeing some countries like the UK and the US return to a sense of normal, we’re watching the terror unfold in India - creating an unbalanced world over a year into the pandemic.
So the question is, will we travel again? Where will we travel?
At Munwa, we believe we’ll see 3 travel trends emerge over the next 1-2 years:
Domestic Travel - I think we can all agree we’ve learned that our own backyards have more to offer than we might have thought - and enjoying time with family and friends in our country is here to stay
Travel close to home - Something about boarding an 8+ hour flight to travel to another continent while wearing a mask is just not for everyone. Until masks, and even more acute, the anxiety we’ve developed in close proximity to others, means we’ll all look to stay closer to home and travel bordering countries and regions.
Luxury Travel - luxury travel will be a big winner. why? We want to travel to developed countries where vaccines, testing, and cleanliness will be top priorities. We’re looking to travel to beautiful, lush countrysides and towns where there’s plenty of space to spread out, and the wealthy are wealthier - booming stock market, saving money working from home, no travel expenses, and stimulus checks will all contribute to travelers having more money in their pockets to spend
The future of travel over the next 1-2 years will be a bit different than the era we were used to before the pandemic. In the near term, we expect the first wave of travelers will be the vaccinated, especially given the weekly announcements of countries opening to vaccinated travelers who can travel without quarantines and mandatory tests. We expect continued fragmentation and variance across countries on their policies, making travel more complex to navigate and plan for and making it a great time to use travel agencies for guidance. Travel agencies can help significantly by connecting with their contacts at your travel destination - so you’ll get current and relevant information that google may not even know yet! (As I’m writing this I’m recalling several outings in our home town to our favorite restaurants just to find out they close a couple hours earlier now…)
Travelers should be wary of outdated tips or recommendations that were shared “pre-covid” since restaurants and local companies may have closed or changed during the pandemic. For governments and airlines, managing whether individuals are vaccinated, have a negative test, and/or are quarantining continues to become complex, meaning we can expect some countries to simplify by saying individuals must be vaccinated to travel or alternatively, stop checking for requirements once citizens of the country travelers are entering have been vaccinated. Travel policies are going to vary A LOT from place to place, and we can expect to see heavy influences in decisions based on a country’s wealth, vaccinated population, culture/priorities, and reliance on tourism. For example, we may see a country like New Zealand, where all citizens might be vaccinated early on, still maintain very strict entrance policies based on their highly cautious nature while a country like Mexico who relies on tourism will create as many opportunities as possible to encourage travel despite the potential lack of vaccines available for all Mexicans. At Munwa, we believe travel is trending up, which each season of every year opening up to new and exciting destinations we’ve all been eagerly adding to our bucket lists. We think we’ll all be traveling the world again together by 2023.
Ready to travel now? Already vaccinated? Travel with Munwa! As of summer 2021, we are resuming group trips to Mexico and beyond. Let us know if you’re interested by emailing me caroline@munwaexperiences.com
Adios and bon voyage!
Caroline