“Passengers are requested to keep their personal force fields on even after boarding. Your visa will be e-transferred on to your passport on the embedded chip”
Sounds familiar? No, we’re not quite there yet.
We’re going to Ibiza…
Remember that perky song by the Venga Boys? Seems like an age ago. With the Coronavirus not relenting its deathly grip on humans across the globe, it may be some time, a long time, before people roam free on Earth. And while Ibiza may open, it’ll be a while before they get a party going. Personally, I can’t wait!
Yes, travel will no longer be what it used to. A mad dash for tickets, crowded immigration lines, tourist areas that are crawling with people, unplanned sudden trips, printouts of boarding passes, squatting on floors. All of that is about to change.
Will it be better or halt us in our tracks?
Business or Pleasure
There were always two kinds of travel and travellers. The holidaying kind and the business kind. Obviously, neither kind is happening. The virus is a global phenomenon. Nowhere is safe. Plans are being shelved, passports tucked away in drawers. Even corporates are forgoing the champagne and caviar-laden, business-class travel for the cozy confines of their own homes on Zoom. Saving on costs, adding to the despair of airlines and hotels alike.
In large multinationals, it’s imperative for executives to travel but they’re all online now. With mega deals, multi-country workshops, mergers and exchange of know-how all being done over the internet. The jet-setting life isn’t so anymore.
What about that summer holiday trip to Disneyland, exotic destination honeymoons, the much-planned solo trek in the Andes? Or even visits to temples, beaches and local tourist destinations? Stay-cations, anyone? Sure! At home.
All plans, until further notice from Coronavirus, have been postponed indefinitely. People will not travel in a hurry even if restrictions are lifted. The suspicion will linger a lot longer than the virus. Is it safe to step outside? Will travel by cab, trains, planes or cruises ever be safe?
So, what will change?
The Fear factor
We will be faced with a lot of questions. Is it safe to travel by air? Are adequate measures being adopted by airports, aircraft and hotels? These doubts are understandable. The virus which has already caused so much havoc lurks round every corner. There is a lot of risk involved and until protective measures become standard everywhere, we may see very little movement.
Planning
Travel will be cautious. Weeks or even months of planning will be required. Getting documents that prove you’re Covid-free will be the first hurdle. Obtaining visas and accounting for forced quarantines will mean extended stays. Not always possible. Most leisure travel involves children and their vacations.
Technology to the rescue
Of course we will wear masks and gloves. We will imbibe social distancing as a strict norm. But airports and hotels can go way further. Thermal scans, temp recordings, facial and heartbeat analysis may just become part of the new normal. Quick tests for Covid may also be introduced at many contact points. Come to think of it, if we have to co-exist with the virus for a while, I see no point in halting my backpacking trips or even urban holidays. With a dollop of caution and strict obedience of rules!
Cabs and hotels will have their own sanitisation protocols. It may sound regimental but perhaps the view of the Eiffel or a five thousand-year-old temple will be well worth it.
Digital and online
Every surface is a risk. It’s imperative we don’t exchange physical printouts. Every document will go online. A database will be updated so you may not even have to stand in queue. QR codes, mobile scans will facilitate the process. Baggage scans and UV cleansing will be standard. The objective being a completely sanitised, bug-free environment at the airport and on the flight.
The New Travel Normal
With everything expected to be hosed down with sanitiser, it’s going to be slow. Social distancing without middle seats( that’s a relief!), all processes online and on your mobile, pre-arranged transport, hygienic areas to eat and rest and a willingness to adapt to these new measures. It doesn’t sound so bad, does it? I think it will be easier, smoother and less chaotic to travel in the future.
What will the future be like?
If we do prepare for this and future pandemics, imagine this, if you will. Automation, AI and Robotics playing a huge role in easing our lives. Robots to drive you. Planes that run on solar energy and flown by software, virtually contact-less processes (you will still have to hold your burger to eat it!) and a sterile journey through and through.
Hotels that are fully automated, linen and fabric made from nano-materials that are virus-repellant. There’s so much development in chemistry, robotics, medical research, even in waste management and everything will be implemented on a grand scale.
One could keep imagining endlessly but re-imagining the future of travel is the need of the hour. It may take months and years to achieve it but the sight of whales on a cruise or the mesmeric Northern Lights or a deer that peeps out of the trees to look at you makes it all worthwhile.
This article was originally published on YourStory Weekender