Planes, Trains and...
The above photo was taken by my mom at the airport recently. She met up with her college roommates and one husband in the southwestern US for a sightseeing and hiking trip. The day before her departure, she told me that she was so excited to be traveling. However, this isn’t the case for most people. With the Delta variant sweeping across the world, most people are anxious about getting on a plane, train, or bus because of the confined space.
“But while the mood in the travel industry is optimistic, not everyone is eager to take a trip. Travel anxiety is making many people hesitant to book that first flight, despite pressure from family and friends to get together in far-flung destinations.” — Joni Sweet, VeryWellMind.com Beyond this people are don’t want to do anything that might put others at risk. My mother plans to quarantine upon her return from her trip. “Beyond the risk of exposure causing increased anxiety for travelers, there are also those more concerned about their actions potentially impacting others, whether at home or in their destination.” —Jessica Poitevien, CNTraveler.com
So now if we want to travel, do we cope with our anxiety.
“To minimize her risk of exposure to other people and to the virus, Smith [Ashely Smith, travel blogger] prepares for a vacation by reading about COVID protocols at her destination and about the local attitude towards the pandemic. She also packs extra cloth and disposable masks and mini bottles of sanitizer so they’re accessible at any time.” — Vivian Chung, Fodors.com Smith also focuses on what’s in her control when she travels.
Other ways to control your newly discovered or reawakened travel anxiety:
1. Stick your daily routine as much as possible in the days leading up to your departure
2. Meditate
3. In route Distract yourself with a puzzle, music, book, etc.
4. Book a place that gives you an opportunity to continue your pandemic-developed routines as much as possible — like a jogging route, free wi-fi, kitchenette for making your own food, etc.
5. Or in the case of my mother, plan to drive I-95 to Florida for a winter vacation and pack her own towels.
Pandemic cell phone usage was up 40%. 90% of hotel guests prefer to stay at a hotel with an app where they can check-in and check-out hands-free. Not only this but 50% of travelers say they want a hotel that lets them use their streaming services to watch movies on the TV in the room. Movies are only now being premiered in theaters only. The point is two things. One we want the comforts of our routines when we travel and two, we want to feel safe when we travel.
An added note on Air BNB…19 out of 20 major markets in the US saw a decrease in stays, although stays were longer when booked. There was also an increase in the cleaning fee to accommodate the higher price cleaning services were charging for a “deep clean.” I personally traveled three times and choose to stay at Air BNBs to be able to make my own meals, avoid the crowds at hotels, and the in case of the last Air BNB, do laundry as needed.
Free e-book on reducing pandemic-related travel anxiety.