Travel after COVID-19

What do you think will happen to travel after COVID-19? I get this question more and more the longer this stay at home order is in place. And my short answer is this.

Travel after COVID-19 will eventually go back to normal, but it will take some time.

One more thing – I’m writing this article on April 16th and everything I’m writing in here is my opinion – not facts. My thoughts will most likely evolve as this virus continues to evolve and as we become more educated on the topic. Please use the CDC’s Travel Guidelines for the latest on travel and COVID-19. Also, I’m a huge optimist. Just throwing that out there 🙂

What I think will happen to travel after COVID-19

People will travel

Here’s our situation: vacations have been put off and flights are cheap. My thoughts right now are that we will be discouraged to travel at least until the end of the summer. If we look at flight prices in late summer, fall, and even into the winter of 2020/2021, we’re seeing ridiculously cheap prices. Therefore, people will take advantage of the prices and their unused vacation time, and go.

Now, if we’re discouraged or restricted to travel for longer than that, things will look different. Airlines will be forced to take a serious look at their situation and make difficult decisions that cut back their flight offerings. This decreased supply, in turn, could make flights more expensive once we’re able to travel again, and less people would travel. But, let’s hope we never have to face this option.

Travelers will be more careful…for a while

Travelers will be more careful when it comes to being sanitary, but only for the first few months. We’ll quickly forget and go back to old habits. Plus, we can’t forget that there’s always those people who just don’t care about the well being of others around them.

At the very least I’m hoping we see more people than normal be cautious of washing their hands and keeping things clean for themselves and others. I’m also hoping for more affinity towards each other being we’re all in this together and have just been through a common struggle. If you’re reading this, let’s make a pact to be courteous to those around us when traveling (aka no coughing without covering your mouth!)

We’ll see more domestic travel

With countries like Japan restricting travel from other countries, and the fact that people don’t want to get stranded abroad in case the tides change, we’ll see more people stick to domestic travel versus international travel. It’s safer and gets you away while staying close to home.

For domestic travel ideas, find my North America travel page here!

We’ll see more local travel

COVID-19 has negatively impacted a large amount of people throughout the world. People are finding themselves without jobs or with pay cuts. When this happens, we see less spending on travel. Instead, people take to their own backyards for a getaway and take road trips around their state, plan a staycation, or do more budget-friendly trips like camping.

I’m a HUGE fan of exploring your own neck of the woods. For ideas on day-trips, weekend-trips, and staycations in Minnesota, check out my Minnesota travel page here!

Travel will eventually go back to normal

Yes, I think travel will go back to normal. And depending on how long our stay-at-home order lasts, the longer it will take to get back to normal. More than ever, people are seeing the value of being face-to-face with others and experience things first-hand. Whether that’s travel for fun or travel for work. I’m also hoping this environment is making people realize to live their lives while they have the chance.

Read more about why we’re glad we traveled when we did here.