I know that being stuck at home for months made everybody miss a lot of things, and one of which is travelling. Even my four-year-old daughter could not stop asking me when the coronavirus would be over because she really misses travelling. I know that we are still far from seeing the end of this pandemic, but we’ve been seeing a lot of countries that has started to ease restrictions. Sooner or later, more countries will need to restore tourism to help their economy bounce back.
With that in mind, here are some things you need to be aware of before you book your vacation abroad:
You might need a medical check-up
Shortly before you jet away to sunnier climes, you may need to prove that you are fit and healthy to fly abroad. Your first thought might be “I need to visit a medical centre near me” but you may need to check if there are specific clinics you must see instead.
While you’re there, it also makes sense to have any required injections or ‘shots’ to protect you from any potential diseases at your holiday destination.
Social distancing might mean long queues
Depending on the social distancing rules at the time of your flight, you may discover that there will be a lot of waiting around in queues. Some airlines and airports may demand that passengers keep a certain distance apart from each other.
Even when you’re not waiting to board a plane (or get off one), you might also learn that there could be queues for various amenities and points of interest at your chosen holiday destination.
You may need to wear a mask in public
It’s no secret that masks help to lower the spread of COVID-19. Even after most restrictions get lifted, you may still get asked to wear a mask in public places. Examples of where that might be required include public transport and indoor spaces such as shopping centers.
Even if such restrictions were no longer in place, many people might still prefer to wear masks in certain locations. And some retailers may request their visitors wear masks out of courtesy.
Contactless and card payments may get requested
You’ll likely notice that most holiday destinations prefer tourists pay for things with contactless payment methods, debit, or credit cards. It’s worth checking at the time to find out what payment types you should use abroad.
Apart from that, it’s worth taking a small amount of cash with you in case you do buy goods and services from retailers that don’t accept contactless or card payments. Before you go abroad, make sure you use payment methods that offer a fair exchange rate and don’t charge high currency conversion fees.
Like what I said, this pandemic is far from over, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll never get to enjoy things like travelling ever again. There will just be a lot of changes, and I just hope that we get to be responsible travellers. And more importantly, may this pandemic make all of us appreciate more everything we’ve been taking for granted for a long time, and that includes being “in the moment” as we travel.
Like what I said, this pandemic is far from over, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll never get to enjoy things like travelling ever again. There will just be a lot of changes, and I just hope that we get to be responsible travellers. And more importantly, may this pandemic make all of us appreciate more everything we’ve been taking for granted for a long time, and that includes being “in the moment” as we travel.
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