Travel - Tempted, Terrified or Not For The Time-Being

OK I am going to admit my feet are seriously itchy and I have been busy travelling during my dreams - infact I've been pretty busy leading tours in my dreams as well. Never in my life have I travelled so little as this year and it is really starting to hurt. However, I am not sure if it is time to start travelling again yet. Whilst I am tempted to travel I still find some aspects of travel a bit of a terrifying thought.

To Quarantine or Not to Quarantine

I really don't want to have to spend 14 days or so in isolation at the start of my travels. This would extend my stay longer and it would also impact my travel budget. I also don't want to spend a period in quarantine when I return, although I would be prepared to do this if I could do it at home.

However, my issue with quarantine is really the risk that it could change rapidly. This could be because there is a spike in Covid-19 infections either in the country I am visiting or my home country.

For now, it seems like there are too many unknowns for me to make an informed judgement on this situation. The UK is at a different stage and rate of infection than other parts of the world and it is unclear yet whether infection rates are going to increase as a result of lockdown measures being eased. It feels like there are too many variables at the moment.

Airline and Airport Requirements

There are various approaches being taken by airlines and airports. These include things like temperature checks. Ticketless travel, seating spread through the plane, no onboard service and compulsory wearing of masks.

There seems to be quite a lot of variance between airlines and airports and it is unclear at the moment whether these actions will be enough to stop the spread of infection between travellers.

Visiting Country Requirements

There is talk already of air bridges allowing quarantine free travel which is clearly an effort to boost travel. However, this would seem only to work where the risk level in both countries are similar. The UK has a significantly higher risk rate than Germany for example and of course, the uncertainty comes because the risk level might change. Some countries have said they will provide testing to arriving guests, but this raises questions about what happens if you test positive - do you need to return home or do you have to stay in the country you are visiting?

Cancellation Rights

At the moment companies seem to be offering rebooking and flexible travel rather than refunds. For those with a limited travel budget this can make it more difficult to book. If there was an increase in cases which meant that the only travel destinations available became the home country or perhaps a country with a lower risk then it would be better to have a refund and use that money on an alternative trip.

Insurance Cover

At present, I have only seen one company that has included cover for Coronavirus on their travel insurance. I would not consider travelling without this being covered and being assured that there would not be some sort of get out clause perhaps about where the virus was initially contracted. I want to travel knowing that my travel insurance is going to pay out if I need it, although I hope to never have to use it.

Hotel Assurances

Hotels, destinations and indeed whole countries are looking to provide reassurance to travellers that they are safe to travel to. Actions include things like social distancing, no restaurant service, no valet service and rooms not being serviced during the stay. Other actions include more cleaning of surfaces and one hotel chain is even looking to remove door handles at the entrances as a possible source of infection.

The issue is the unknown at present. Will these actions be enough to stop transmission between people?

Conclusion

For me personally, despite being desperate to travel, there are just too many unknowns, variables and grey areas.

It feels like it is not quite the right time to make decisions about travel because first we need to understand if the virus is more under control than it has been.

Currently it is difficult to see how that is possible without any way of tracing those that have been infected and then working through the chain of transmission accordingly to ensure people isolate and stop the spread.

As such I remain incredibly tempted to travel but won't - not for the time-being anyway.

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