When It's Actually Time to Stop Traveling and Stay Home

When It's Actually Time to Stop Traveling and Stay Home By Terumi Pong

©Chris Cutler

There might be no better time to go to Italy without crowds than right now. The streets are empty. You can get an unobstructed shot of virtually any landmark without having to crop out other people. There might even be a six-foot barrier between you and another human being so you can feel like you are absolutely alone in one of the most traveled places in the world. Yes, Italy is closed off from the world because of COVID-19 but we are travelers who know the ins and outs of getting anywhere. We could probably figure this out. We could have an adventure. By why do we travel anyway? Is it always to take as much from the world as we can? Is it to get the best deal? And is travel always about the individual traveling or do we ha ve the responsibility to think about the impact we have on the communities we visit or the community we return to after we go? In Seattle, where I am right now, people are still trying to understand why schools are beginning to get canceled. Big businesses like Amazon, Microsoft, and Expedia took the lead even before schools closed and had people work from home. Many people thought this was crazy. And now many of us are inconvenienced. We feel uncomfortable. We feel uninformed. People who usually like to travel for spring break are being forced to reconsider plans. Many are wondering, should we still go? Where can we go? We need to go! But maybe this tells a bigger story that we need to think about as travelers and as human beings. We find out that in Seattle, many of us do not have the savings or finances when work ceases for even two weeks. We find out that restaurants and small businesses are struggling and do not have the resources to help their employees when there is a crisis and they have to immediately close. People can't afford to stay home to recover from illnesses because they have no support system. Parents have no childcare or food for their kids when there is no school. We find out that government rhetoric is allowing for xenophobia to rise in our communities as people with Asian backgrounds are being blamed for this disease. I am choosing not to travel during this time, and we've been social distancing to help stop the virus spread for a while now, but I am biased. My husband is a physician in a busy Seattle hospital. He's not someone who can work f rom home or even leave the hospital when sick patients show up. And even though many of us think we won't be affected by this illness, the trickle-down effect is catastrophic. As beds become flooded with the serious cases of coronavirus, there will not be beds left for people facing elective surgery, cancer, emergency surgeries, national environmental disasters, or any other need. Coronavirus attacks lungs. Lungs need oxygen. We don't have enough oxygen machines for this kind of demand. This revelation is sobering, and for the first time in my life, I am actually fearful for many of my loved ones all over the world. Before you travel, please think of why we travel in the first place. For me, I'm going to be staying put in my community for a while, trying to help out where I can, trying to social distance, and washing my hands. When we get through this crisis, I hope this new lens will frame the adventures I choose and the stories I write when I start traveling again. We feel uncomfortable. We feel uninformed.

Moving Target of COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Travel By Noreen Kompanik

When I attended TravMedia IMM this January in New York City, I met with many PR reps from all over the world. This year, my focus was on European travel. As a result of our “speed date” interviews, I was blessed to receive many invitations to countries like Spain, Portugal, France, and the Canary Islands. Obviously, those trips aren’t going to happen in the near future given

the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions.

Just yesterday, I was invited on a press trip to Mexico’s Riviera Maya. Today, I received an email that the trip has been postponed due to the virus. As was a trip to Belize in April. Even my editor at Travel Pulse announced that most of their staff press trips have been cancelled.

As a freelancer, travel is my job. But the ability to be flexible during this crisis is important. Until all the craziness subsides, I’m shifting my focus to more of local and regional bent for my stories. I’m thankful to be a regular contributor for publications like Edible San

Diego and San Diego Explorer as wel l, where I can co ver sustainability issues along with wineries, restaurants, and local travel. I don’t plan to stop traveling at this time, although circumstances may dictate where and when I — or any of us—can travel. Just retur ning back f rom San Francisco I can say that I’ve never seen airports so slow and plane seats so empty. But, like me, travelers were taking all the necessary precautions with social distancing, thorough handwashing and use of antibacterial wipes, and hand sanitizers.

At some point normalcy with return. Until then, I plan to remain diligent and creatively flexible.

Social distancing at Bar al Cortile, Pettorano sul Gizio, Italy, before the complete shutdown. ©Bar al Cortile