Anna Faszcza Tourism Needs and Expectations

After over a year of lockdown and travel restrictions, millions of people around the world finally started to look forward to a well‑earned getaway.well‑earned getawaywell‑earned getaway. As we emerged fromemerged from [emerge from]emerged from the pandemic of COVID‑19, which first affected the tourism industry, governments were calling for sustainablesustainablesustainable, ecological tourism. Unquestionably, the way we travel will be altered. But how? Three people are talking about probable changes in the field of tourism in the future.

Tom (27), the owner of a travel agency
The pandemic slowed down the tourism industryslow down the tourism industry [slow down the tourism industry]slowed down the tourism industry, indeed, which might turn into a starting point in our perception and understanding of how it works. It’s quite hard to foresee the future and predict how tourism will look. Tourism is like a chain with closely related links such as hotels and restaurant businesses, means of transport, or environmental issues. First of all, travellers will more eagerly choose places where they can maintain social distancesocial distancesocial distance so tourist hotspotstourist hotspots [tourist hotspot]tourist hotspots will probably be less chosen. I assume that organising remote toursremote tours [remote tour]remote tours like cruises, for groups of people who know each other, will gain in popularity, not on big cruise lines with hundreds of people on board. Private transport companies might benefit if they are diligent about hygieneare diligent about hygiene [be diligent about hygiene]are diligent about hygiene and make their vehicles properly and regularly disinfected. Tourists are expected to look for more valuable and safer transportation and accommodation rather than the cheapest. Travel operators also take domestic traveldomestic traveldomestic travel into account, as there are more and more people who want to stay independent in their travelling. People may feel comfortable travelling within their own borders by taking camping or one‑day trips in national parks. Some experts claim that the duration of tripsduration of trips [duration of a trip]duration of trips may change and people will shorten them. That makes a new challenge for travel agency owners.

Ann (32), a doctor
One of the positive “side effects” of COVID‑19 is the change in personal hygiene habits. Post‑pandemic restrictionspost‑pandemic restrictions [post‑pandemic restriction]Post‑pandemic restrictions or health awareness will have long‑term effects. People have gotten into frequent hand‑washing and finally learned the proper hand‑washing technique. Even if they are not great fans of hand sanitisers, they have them in the event of a lack of running water. What’s more, new habits such as avoiding touching things with bare hands and wiping things like table surfaces will remain with us. We became more aware of germs and how quickly viruses can cross borders. Before going to exotic countries, people might want to consult preventive measures against tropical diseasespreventive measures against tropical diseases [preventive measure against a tropical disease]preventive measures against tropical diseases. Good hygiene has proven to be one of the most crucial ways to reduce the spread of the virus. Some people will also continue social distancing to avoid being infected. Tourists will be likely to pay a bit more for safer accommodation or means of transport to avoid the exposure to virusesexposure to viruses [exposure to a virus]exposure to viruses or any other contagious diseases when going on holiday as well as for travel health insurance to be better protected.

Kris (19), a student
To my mind, my generation is far more concerned about ecological issues than our parents and grandparents were. I do really care what our future will look like. I travel a lot with my family and each time it comes to buying plane tickets, I need to encourage my parents to organise an eco‑responsible option. Whenever it’s possible, we travel by train, which is more ecological. Buses and trains are already efficient in terms of CO2 emissions per person. Some companies have introduced electric buses, but still not enough as it’s quite costly. BiofuelbiofuelBiofuel will hopefully be widespread, so flying a plane won’t be that harmful to the planet.  And it’s not only about transportation. I hope that there will be more and more eco‑hotels that make waste reduction and energy efficiency a priority. I am a devoted fan of seeking out our individual choices and destinations, not widely popular spots.

1 Źródło: Anna Faszcza, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.