Wanderlust in the Time of Coronavirus (A GeoEx eBook)

Wanderlust in the Time of Coronavirus

When Can We Travel Again?

conditions improve. For several years now I have had the desire to complete an around-the-world journey in one fell swoop. I am creating my Grand Opus which will take the better part of a year to accomplish.” Mr. Robinson offered more details about his Grand Opus: “I have found from my own experience that my most memorable moments have been from the connections made with local people as well as with other travelers along the way. My journey will be in general from east to west. My timetable is to include the following items: “1. A stopover in the capital of each country I pass through, spending three to four days in each to get the lay of the land. “2. Once outside of the capital, visit various historical locations, which contributed to the development and growth of the national character. “3. Seek out sacred sites from temples to megaliths that have shaped the pulse and soul of the cultural psyche. “4. Find places to pause, rest, and recharge my mind and body. This I anticipate being my personal favorite. “At this juncture my route, although not cut in stone, includes 32 countries outside the United States. I will begin in Iceland and finish in Japan. As a student of life, my underlying mission is to work on becoming a true Citizen of the World.” In the media world last week, one question that seemed to gain momentum was “When are we going to be able to travel again?” Pundits and prognosticators began to weigh in on this, offering analyses and opinions that stretched from “sometime this summer” to “2021.” Of course, the truth is that no one knows right now. The best we can do as travelers is keep as informed as possible and refine our ASAP Lists so that we’re Thank you, Doc Robinson! I applaud your mission—and I’d like to take this tour too!

ready to go as soon as we can. However, as I was talking about this in virtual-office meetings with GeoEx colleagues, one truth emerged that was a great surprise: We may want to book our trips now too, because some parts of the globe are already practically sold out for 2021. Sitting in the quiet isolation of your home, with no prospect of immediate travel anywhere, you may find this difficult to believe, as I did. But my colleagues explained that with so many travelers transferring their plans from spring and summer 2020 to 2021, adding to those travelers who had already booked trips for 2021, some exclusive properties and limited-season destinations are already nearing capacity for next year. GeoEx Travel Designers’ Findings on 2021 Scarcity Kate Doty, longtime world traveler and private trip designer extraordinaire, said that Africa, in particular, has already been widely reserved. Many of the exclusive safari lodges and resort properties she regularly books are reporting that they have little or no vacancies for the peak travel times—June through September, and the Festive Season from December–January 2022. Counter-intuitive as this may seem, this means that if Africa is on your dream list for next year, especially a summer or end-of-year trip, you really should book your trip ASAP. I asked some of GeoEx’s other expert travel designers about 2021, and here’s what they told me: Natalie Crow, Managing Director of Global Sales, said, “Patagonia is already selling quickly. Timing matters a lot here. With some of the top properties already sold out for the high season—January–February—we’re trying later in 2021, such as October. On the other hand, we do have a few spaces left on our February 2021 group trip, and if someone absolutely wants to go in January, we’ll do everything we can to find room!” Other areas that are filling up fast are Costa Rica, the

28

29