Going on vacation is one of the best ways to take a break from the stress of life and relax for a week or two. However, in a post-pandemic world, vacationing is not as relaxing as it used to be. There is now the fear of covid wherever you go. Prep for a vacation used to mean packing and creating an itinerary of things to do; now it involves checking the covid cases at your destination, making sure you have your vaccine card and a mask on hand, and often acquiring a negative covid test.
I am an avid traveler and could not wait to get back to traveling post-pandemic, but I still find myself worrying about covid wherever I go. Over the summer, I took 2 domestic trips and while I was thrilled to finally be back in the air, I found myself still worried about the threat of covid looming over my head. On the plane, I was lucky enough to be seated with my family so I did not have to be sitting extremely close to a complete stranger. Even with masks required, I did not want to be seated so close to someone that I was practically touching them. In the next month I will be taking several trips, however, I will be flying by myself this time and I am not thrilled at the idea of sitting so close to someone on the plane. The fear of planes in a post-pandemic world is definitely a common fear among many people. While plenty of people are excited to travel again, the process of flying may prevent them from doing so. Not everyone is ready to be in close contact with strangers.
Masking and vaccination rules is another problem that can occur while traveling. While you may be vaccinated and wearing masks in public, not everywhere is requiring this. For example, I am heading to Texas at the end of December and they have different covid protocols there. This definitely does not make me thrilled, especially with a new variant on the rise. For people still cautious about covid, a lack of protocols in different places may make traveling more stressful or undesirable.
Another issue with traveling in a post-pandemic world is domestic versus international traveling. I love visiting other countries, but with covid still around and new variants emerging, leaving the US certainly does not sound as desirable to me as it usually would. I have to assume that many people share this feeling with me. With the uncertainty of if things could shut down again, it seems almost unsafe to be leaving your home country.
Ever since the vaccine became available, we have been speaking of the pandemic as if it is over. We refer to the world we are living in as a post-pandemic world. In reality, the pandemic is not yet over and this is why things such as traveling do not seem incredibly appealing or still seem worrisome for many. Traveling is something I, and many others, desperately missed during the pandemic and while I am thrilled to be able to begin traveling again, it is definitely a different experience from traveling in the pre-pandemic world.