How to plan travel in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak

The Impact of Coronavirus is already visible in front of our very eyes. Airlines are grounding flights, hotel rooms are empty and the stock markets are volatile as ever. However, given the current scenario, how should we proceed about our travel plans? Since most people have either postponed or canceled their travel, we’re seeing a plethora of deals. Which deals should you go for? Should you even set foot and travel in the first place?

Coronavirus Advisories

If you’re looking to plan travel, the the first resource you should refer to is your own government’s advisory. The last thing you’d want it to book travel to a place about which your own country’s government has an advisory. For example, the US State Department has the following travel advisory on the website. You can also refer to the CDC website for more information, on a country by country basis.

Airline and Hotel Policies

How many flights is your airline operating? Are hotels functioning normally at the place that you’re looking to visit? Most airlines and hotel chains have already put out information about restrictions and advisories on their websites.

Coronavirus Outbreak: Complete list Airline Restrictions, Advisories & Fee Waivers

Marriott Hotels Coronavirus Advisory

Hyatt Hotels Coronavirus Announcement

Hilton Hotels Coronavirus Statement

Social Media Impact

We live in the information age. I recently argued that the fear of contracting disease is spreading a lot faster than the disease itself. Social Media and the internet are fueling the fear, with clickbait headlines and Twitter conversations often exaggerating the risk factors and the dangers posed by the disease.

Yahoo! News: Rationing and robbery: Coronavirus outbreak sparks toilet roll panic

CNBC: Coronavirus: Social media could spread panic and influence consumer behavior, analyst says

Skift: Virus Fear Empties Overcrowded Venice of Tourists

Make no mistake, the disease is clearly dangerous and is fatal. However, my argument is that Social Media amplifies any information. It’s human nature to focus more on bad news rather than good news. The Coronavirus impact has clearly shown how panic can spread quickly. It’s one thing to take precautions and heed to any sound opinions or advisories, but a whole different thing to stop your routine life or drastically alter it based on what you read on social media.

By all means this there’s every chance that this could get worse. However, on the flip side, it could also get better and governments and people slowly to grapple with the situation. As humans, we possess a wonderful ability to adapt and hopefully we’ll see the threat slowly subside and things return to normal.

The Pundit’s Mantra

Here’s a checklist if you’re looking to plan travel:

1. Check restrictions and advisories by your own country’s government

2. Check restrictions and advisories by the government of the country where you intend to travel

3: Check schedules, policies and restrictions or the airline or the hotel that you intend to do business with

4: If you tick all these boxes and decide to travel, then contact your medical professional in order to get information on preventive measures and any other advice before you commence your travel

Also Read: Coronavirus: Precautions you must take before your next flight

Numbers do matter. However, one must dig deeper before altering travel plans. Firstly, we need to clearly understand the distinction between the number of cases as compared to the number of deaths. Secondly, one must also look at the numbers as a percentage of the total population.

There’s a thin line between precaution and panic. While the threat is very real, let’s ensure that as smart travelers, we take concrete preventive steps but continue our travels to wherever we love to travel to in the safest way possible. Ultimately each person’s threat perception is different, so the final decision about whether you should travel and where you should travel rests on your shoulders.

Wish you and your family very happy and safe travels around the world!

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