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How are you likely to travel in the next year or two?

While we wait for the COVID 19 pandemic and panic to subside, scientists are frantically scrabbling around to develop a vaccine. In the meantime, travel to countries such as Greece is in a bit of a state of limbo.

Travelling is going to be a whole new ball game for at least the next year or two. Restrictions on air travel from one country to the next are already placing many travel firms and airlines in jeopardy. Freedom of movement has been severely curtailed. While we wait for the COVID 19 pandemic and panic to subside, scientists are frantically scrabbling around to develop a vaccine. In the meantime, travel to countries such as Greece is in a bit of a state of limbo.

As we move forward, air fares will increase as the industry shrinks and competition is diluted. Weekend getaways and longer vacations will be significantly reduced. At the time of writing, the tourist industry in Greece should be receiving its first visitors of early May as the season awakens from its winter slumber; however, hotels remain bereft of tourists, certainly on the islands.

Impersonal and remote

The airline industry is impersonal and remote and not an experience most of us relish. If you thought it is remote and impersonal now, wait until it begins moving again. It has been quoted by one management official at Heathrow airport in England that to maintain social distancing queues will snake over a kilometre round the airport. And there was you thinking queuing for your shopping was a chore.

The hotel and tourist industry is going to be just as bad. Receptionists will be wearing masks, as too will waiters in restaurants – do you really look forward to being served food by a waiter wearing a mask in a half empty restaurant? Not many people will I suspect. Oh yes, and hotel accommodation prices are likely to rise in the short to medium term.

Dream the dream

It’s a lovely dream to escape real life and swap it for a dream escape to the beaches and sun of Greece. However, the reality now is going to be more of a nightmare. Not the holiday that is but the travel experience. Is it any wonder that ‘staycation’ is rapidly increasing in popularity? Additionally, with home entertainment such as games and online casino, on demand streaming TV series and movies available 24/7, staying home and relaxing in the back garden seems more attractive as the days turn sunny and warm.

The mood is difficult

The mood for travel is not good. In real terms the travel industry has taken a giant leap backwards in time as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic. In the UK the press is reporting increased searches on Google for holiday options closer to home. The tourist industry of Greece looks like taking a mammoth hit in 2020 for sure. 

Airlines look set, at least those which will still be operating, to limit passenger numbers to comply with social distancing requirements. Fewer paying passengers in each plane will mean higher seat prices for the rest. Demand for seats will decrease also so who is to say that a plane which is designed to hold 300 passengers will even be two thirds full. The airline companies are facing a huge dilemma – put prices up and lose more potential customers, keep prices as they are and risk running at a loss. The latter is not an option. This will also have a knock on effect on the prices of package holidays, which are the foundation of the Greek tourist industry. 

Demand for tickets and travel will eventually begin to rise, but the suspicion is among industry insiders that the ‘golden age’ of cheap travel and cheap holidays is now consigned to the dustbin of history.

Slower check in times

Do not expect the check in process to be any faster than it is currently, even with reduced traveller numbers. In addition to the draconian measures in place for searching for dangerous substances, smuggling and drugs etc, each passenger will also need to undergo superficial health checks. Though quite knows how that will work in practice is just another headache for bungling bureaucracy.

Taking temperatures will be a mandatory demand on the dignity of travellers, as too will be the procedures for disinfecting travellers. Much like sheep are put through a sheep dip before they are sent off to market, you'll be travelling on a plane smelling like a bottle of cheap disinfectant. 

If you think you’re treated like cattle now, wait until travelling begins to resume – a trip to the abattoir might look much more inviting. Who needs to be treated like a plague victim just for the sake of a couple of weeks in the sun? Not so many I suspect. 

Oh yes, and there is the not so small issue of airport taxes – no doubt plenty of caring sharing governments around the world will be raising this tax to help fill some of the black hole in their respective nation’s finances – every little helps as they say.

Evry element of travel is going to change or be restricted in some form or another. Business travellers face potentially longer travel time and certainly higher costs in business class. For those who may want to visit sick relatives and friends, they will find they will probably be treated like a sick animal before they even start their journey.

All tourist destinations will be affected. Countries like Greece, where island tourism is one of the foundation stones of its modern economy will likely have a huge impact on the economy. It will be extremely difficult to predict the next two years or so as these are unprecedented times in which we live.

For now, expect a sizeable percentage of tourists who would have been relaxing on the sun soaked beaches of Greece to ‘staycation’ at home. For those who are bold and brave enough to travel, if they can afford to, the least they can expect is some expect ‘vacation inflation’ and a less than warm welcome from those friendly airport check in and greeting staff.

 

Photo from Unsplash

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