Reserve now – but don’t travel until 2022
Reserve now – but don’t travel until 2022
With all the confusion going on at the moment and the uncertainty of when countries will be reopening for business, we need to take a look at how this will affect our ability to travel once again. Lets face it, everybody is absolutely chomping at the bit to get out of this lockdown, get out of this country and go somewhere a little warmer/colder/quieter/wetter or more adventurous than here. No matter what your definition of a holiday is, you just want out of here.
The airlines are encouraging everybody to book now and you can understand why. It’s getting close to a year and a half since they have had any revenue and many of them are basically on their knees. They are still leaking cash at a frightening rate and an airline is a very expensive item to run. So, you decide to make the decision and reserve your flights, car and hotel, sure everything will be grand in October.
What happens when it turns out that things are not grand in October ?, your flights get cancelled and the airline offers you a voucher, not a refund. You have to scramble and rebook everything, maybe November will be safer (maybe not !), You then have to move your hotel/apartment/house reservation, you have to change your car hire details, you might have booked a cruise to tie in with the flights, the cruise is still going but the flights are not.
IT’S JUST ONE BIG BLOODY MESS !
It’s just one big mess, your perspiring, your blood pressure is going through the roof, the hotel wont give you a refund, so you have lost that money and your mental health is going down the swanee. Is it really worth it ?, trying to anticipate when it might be safe to travel again and trying to get the march on everybody else.
Even if things work out and your flight gets you to your destination, your car is ready on arrival and your hotel turns out to be better than expected, there are other problems to be considered. Lets start with the airport and the flight; you have been living in a Covid bubble for nearly a year and a half, so you are unprepared for the number of people at the airport. You have to wear a mask from the moment you enter the airport until you come out of the airport at the other end. People are not wearing their masks correctly, some have the dreaded “nose commando” on view, some are covering their chins instead of their faces for some reason. Check in and bag drop are supposed to be touchless, but you have to touch a lot of the screen to get your bag on it’s way to the aircraft. There is no social distancing on the flight, there are people’s hands touching things all over the place, fingerprints everywhere and Mr Nose Commando is sitting beside you. Due to restrictions, there is no food or drink service on the flight, so you arrive hungry and thirsty.
On arrival it’s 85 degrees, your face is so hot that you think the mask is permanently stuck to it. Out of the airport, mask off, go to your transfer, mask back on, arrive at the hotel with a mask on, but it’s slowly disintegrating and your mask “tan” is starting to develop. You finally get to your room, where at last you can take that damn mask off. You look around your room and your first thought is “Have they cleaned this properly ?”
I could go on about what could possibly happen in restaurants and bars (if they’re open), what if there is an outbreak and your area is put under curfew, but I realise I am making my own industry and livelihood sound very unappetising indeed.
The point I am attempting to make is this; at present (and this is purely my opinion), it is not advisable to travel anywhere out of this country, even if we were allowed. There are too many variables against it. All the industry material indicates that travel will get started from October of this year, but I still think this is too early.
My personal advice is that things will not really have settled down until May/June of 2022. At least by then there should be enough people in the world vaccinated, which will give us herd immunity. There will be a bigger easing of restrictions and maybe even the dreaded mask will be no more. You have not been anywhere for 18 months, so keep calm, keep saving the money and go on the best “Revenge” holiday ever, next year.
Holidays for 2022 and 2023 are available for sale now, with most operators allowing you to cancel your holiday with no fee up to 60 days before departure. So why not take the plunge and make a reservation now, at least you will have something to look forward to, with complete security if you change your mind.
What’s selling now for 2022/2023
Get away from it all vacations; cruises to Arctic, Antarctic and Galapagos Islands on smaller, more intimate ships.
USA long weekends including New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with a lot of reservations in Business Class, combined with luxury hotels.
Destination resorts staying in villas rather than the main hotel in the Caribbean, Florida, South Africa and all over Europe.
Fergus Roche is the owner of Form Travel, the above piece is merely an opinion, but hopefully it will give you food for thought.
Form Travel specialise in Luxury holidays, our ethos is to be with you from start to finish. We don’t just throw all of your requests into a mixing computer and send you the results, we will plan the perfect vacation with what you want and not what a computer wants to give you.
For more information and to start your post Covid perfect vacation, why not contact us
