The pandemic has effectively put a halt to many of our travel plans. Due to border closures, flight cancellations, and lockdowns, it was essentially impossible to travel safely back in 2020. But now that more people are getting the vaccine and economies are starting to recover, traveling is certainly back on the table for many folks.
In fact, a recent survey highlights how an increasing number of American consumers are starting to be more hopeful, with 72% saying that they’ll definitely travel this 2021. With that in mind, let’s take a look at four travel trends that we should all expect after the pandemic.
More ecotourism destinations
Sustainability is shaping many of the world’s industries today. The travel industry is not exempt from this, as people are now becoming more conscious of how their individual actions impact the environment. Because travelers are now more careful about the way they travel, we’ll see more ecotourism destinations pop up. Simply put, ecotourism destinations are tourist areas that aim to conserve the environment and educate tourists, while sustaining the wellbeing of the local people. Ecotourism destinations are also a way for tourism-reliant countries to swiftly recover from the pandemic, because these kinds of destinations appeal to today’s travelers.
Funding travel through personal loans
The pandemic has made everyone more conscious about how they spend their finances. However, a lot of people are also thirsty for rejuvenating vacations after more than a year of stay-at-home measures and social distancing. In this regard, people are more likely to fund their travels through personal loans instead of credit cards. For one, personal loans have lower interest rates and can be flexible, as long as you have a good credit score. Travelers can use personal loan calculators to see their potential loan options and calculate their monthly payments. On the other hand, some credit card interest rates are outrageously high because they hold more risk to the lender. So it goes without saying that after the pandemic, we’ll likely see more people choose personal loans over credit cards to fund their travels.
Longer vacations
After the pandemic, people will have more freedom to choose longer vacations. Work culture has essentially shifted during the pandemic and more people now work remotely. An unintended consequence of this is the reframing of leisure. Now, people can work anywhere they want, which then leads to longer vacations in relaxing destinations. Instead of using traveling to escape their mundane work life, the lines are being blurred and people can easily take a breather by stepping away from their desks. These kinds of work-vacation lifestyles can prevent burnout and make people more productive.
Vaccine passports
During the pandemic, not a lot of people had the luxury of entering another country due to strict quarantine measures. However, now that vaccinate rollouts are ongoing, quarantine measures may become a thing of the past. This means that travelers will have to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to travel freely. As a direct result, vaccine passports could encourage more people to travel to international destinations as they start to feel safe again, and put the horrors of 2020 firmly in their rear view mirrors.
