Airport Procedures For Travel From India To UAE During The Covid-19 Pandemic
Normally a visit to another country involves that small sense of excitement in anticipation of what is to come. However, during these tough times, traveling during the Covid-19 pandemic is an experience that needs to be tackled with the utmost caution, adhering to all possible safety measures to avoid contracting the virus. Airports are, after all, a hotbed for huge gatherings, compounded by the fact that passengers might even be in transit to a third destination. There is a lot of confusing, and often contradictory, information out there regarding the procedures to be followed as well as the availability of flight tickets, things to be done, and even the list of nationalities permitted to enter certain countries. This blog details my journey from Chennai, India to Dubai, UAE, on the 19th of August, 2020. Pre-travel to-do List The very first thing that you need to ensure is the availability of flights to your destination. A large number of private carriers have temporarily halted their services to and from a list of destinations, especially in those countries that have been hit badly by the pandemic and see a large number of fresh cases to this day. There were only a couple of carriers available from Chennai to the UAE. Initially, I’d booked an Air Arabia flight to Sharjah, but that got canceled within the next couple of days. I ended up booking an Air India Express flight to Dubai instead, which was part of the Vande Bharat Phase V scheduled list of flights. Even before that, however, make sure the type of passport and visa(and procedures for the same) are in the permitted list, as in these turbulent times a lot of restrictions are in place. In fact, Indian passengers seeking to travel to the UAE on Visit Visas were not permitted until 15th August, and the Vande Bharat scheme was specifically for UAE Residence Visa holders. Visa On Arrival facility still remains disabled to date, so ensure that you get a Visa arranged for via a travel agent either in the country of your residence, or a reliable source in the UAE, which I personally recommend for a hassle-free process. Check with your country’s embassy in the UAE on social media, or look for a clear, explicit news article that states that your particular passport and visa combination is eligible to travel, before booking tickets and making arrangements. You need to get a Covid-19 test done no more than 96 hours before the departure of your flight according to UAE regulations. This test has to be done from one of the government-accredited testing centers of your country of departure, or from the list of PureHealth screening facilities(curated by the UAE). Produce this negative test result on arrival in Dubai. It is also recommended that Visit Visa holders procure a Medical Insurance for Covid-19, lasting the duration of your stay at the UAE, for an additional charge of around AED 200. Indian Immigration officials actually asked me to produce this Medical Insurance, so be sure to purchase one to avoid any problems before your flight. I would advice taking printouts of all relevant travel documents that you may be asked to produce at your departure port, just so that you can prevent your phone from being passed around. Every single touch or contact is undesirable at this point! Purchase a few masks, a bottle of sanitizer, and if you want to err on the side of caution, a hazmat suit. Descriptions of N-95 masks being hard to breathe in are wildly exaggerated in my opinion. I used one for the entirety of my journey, right until I reached home, and faced no problems whatsoever breathing, at any single point of time. Face shields are provided before the flight takes off(we’ll get to that in a bit). I did not carry gloves with me, as according to a relative who works in the medical field, most people do not know the right way to take off their gloves and end up defeating the whole purpose behind wearing them in the first place. Airport Procedures Social distancing wasn’t really being actively enforced at the Chennai airport. There was a distinct lack of crowd in the airport though, which should help you do your part. Before you even enter the airport to check-in your baggage, a small form is provided, where you fill in basic contact information and your address in Chennai(carry your own pen for this). The line was slow-moving though, and the officer was perfectly fine with taking his own sweet time while checking the details and permitting passengers to proceed onward. Not to mention the fact that he couldn’t be bothered to pull his mask above his nose, thereby, once again, defeating the whole purpose behind wearing protective gear. You are asked to display the front page of your passport shortly afterward, to a contactless desk, before you make your way to check-in your baggage. Immediately, I noticed that the airport was infinitely less crowded and quieter, perhaps owing to all the shops being closed. The procedure here does take a little bit longer than usual, but they have a transparent barricade in place between yourself and the check-in officer who issues your boarding pass. The officer here was careful in checking and ensuring that you have all the relevant, aforementioned documents on your person, including your Medical Insurance before she issued my boarding card. Near Baggage Check-In, Chennai International Airport I made my way to the Immigration counter, where lines were non-existent and the counters, empty. Once again, the Immigration officer was more inquisitive than usual, but all that being done, it was business as usual. Security Checks were smooth and decently quick, owing once again to the lack of the usual airport traffic. I frequently used the hand-sanitizer after touching a foreign object, and I recommend that you do the
What is Virtual Travel and Should you care?
Over the past couple of decades, technology has permeated and disrupted all facets of our life. The travel experience has been completely changed because of technology just the same. From the ability to navigate oneself using GPS, pre-booking flights, and hotels using the internet and sharing one’s travel experience in real-time with friends and family using social media. All of these have been made possible because of the advancement of technology. One of these latest advancements that aim to replace or at least complement the travel experience is Virtual Travel. Virtual Travel: A Brief Virtual Travel In layman terms, virtual travel is a digital simulation of an attraction or a destination through immersive high definition photos and videos. One of the most popular methods of experiencing Virtual Travel is through the use of VR headsets and 360° Video. With about 90% of the global economy on lockdown, virtual travel-based experiences are in a unique position to help satisfy the wanderlust of travelers around the world. Providers of these experiences have experienced a significant surge in users ever since the lockdown went into effect. The entire virtual travel market is estimated to be worth around $6.1 billion in 2020. Travelers have flocked to this technology to experience exotic locations like Machu-Pichu and museums like the Smithsonian alike. Advantages of Virtual Travel:- Accessibility:- All you need to be able to experience the wonders of the Taj Mahal and immerse yourself in the beauty of Mona Lisa virtually is a phone that doubles as a VR headset and the will to see the wonders of the world. This technology has very rapidly made these experiences widely available to everybody regardless of their financial status or their physical capabilities. Try it before you buy it:- Virtual Travel experiences created by tour providers allow travelers to immerse themselves in the beauty and culture of a destination unparalleled to what photos and videos can offer. It allows travelers to make more informed decisions before paying to visit a destination in person. Better for the Environment:- If the experience is immersive enough to satisfy the wanderlust of casual travelers, virtual travel can provide the unique advantage of being able to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the tourism industry and solve the problem of over-tourism. Independent of Space and Time:- Virtual Travel can be used to create experiences that would simply be impossible to replicate in real life. This technology can be used to create experiences that would allow us to experience a culture in a completely different light. Eg. A virtual experience in Paris in the late 1800s as the Eiffel tower is being built or an experience or an experience based in ancient Rome where you experience gladiators fight along with 50,000 other spectators cheering. Following are some of the best-rated Virtual Experiences:- The Louvre Museum, Paris Known as one of the most iconic museums on the planet the Louvre offers a variety of tours of its exhibits ranging from Egyptian artifacts to paintings from the renaissance period, all from the comfort of your couch. The Louvre, Paris, France The Smithsonian Museum, Washington, D.C. Located in the heart of Washington D.C, The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has the world’s largest natural history collection in the world. Its expansive collection of artifacts makes it an attraction that attracts tourists and locals alike. The virtual experience offered by the museum is one of the most highly rated due to its high fidelity and easy to navigate interface. Taj Mahal, Agra One of the 7 wonders of the world, The Taj Mahal built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his wife, is by far the most famous tourist attraction in the country. Various virtual experiences offered to tourists allow them to explore 22 different sites on the premises through 360° video and narrated mini-movies. Taj Mahal, Agra, India Amer Fort, Jaipur The fort located in the pink city Jaipur is famous for its cobbled pathways and magnificent gateways. The Hindu-Muslim influences are apparent from the design of the fort and the serene views Maota Lake make it a must-visit for anybody looking to explore the culture and heritage of Rajasthan. In order to revive interest in the tourist attraction present all over Rajasthan, the government has launched a variety of virtual tours that allow you to experience these attractions from your laptop browser. Cons:- Lack of Immersion:- There is a stark difference between using virtual travel as a means to narrow down your travel and the virtual experience being all there is to it. The virtual experiences are limited by technology and are not as immersive as required and are fairly limited. Hence, do not satisfy the need to explore a space that a tourist usually has. Uncomfortable:- The experiences are based on the virtual reality technology which itself is in its nascent stages and still has its own sets of bugs and kinks. The VR headset used for these experiences is often bulky and uncomfortable. Therefore hinders the experience of the traveler. Due to the clunky nature of video presentations if even leads to nausea if worn for a longer duration. Lack of Social Interaction:- As described by travelers over the years “ Travel is inherently a social experience”. Whether it’s getting to know the history of a city through the personal anecdotes of a native or our parents enjoying the vacation significantly more by seeing their kids discover the wonders of the world, social interactions form an irreplaceable part of Travel. In conclusion, I’d just like to say that virtual travel and VR as a technology, both show tremendous potential and one day might even be immersive enough to serve as a replacement for traveling in the real world but for now, its role is limited to being an effective placeholder.
India’s Strained Foreign Relations With China And How It Impacts Tourism
Since independence, all of India’s successive governments have worked on building better relations, particularly in trade, with its neighbors and other countries. This policy was pushed on more with the advent of the Modi government in 2014, with a major focus placed on creating better and stronger ties with other countries. In the past few months, however, India has been facing a major challenge in its northern borders with China, an issue that started in May and continues still, getting more and more worrisome. Historically speaking, this relation has always been rocky at best, but placed mostly in the backburner for the sake of trade, because India does, after all, trade goods worth millions with the country. With the rising border tensions concentrated in the Ladakh region and the death of Indian soldiers due to a face-off with Chinese troops, there has been a wave of nationalism that has affected the country. With a prominent boycott of Chinese goods and software still taking place within the country, the process is slow but successful. This wave of nationalism has brought to attention the other fragile relations India is dealing with consistently with its neighbors like Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, etc. that can, in fact, be traced back to China. What does this have to do with the tourism industry? It’s important to keep in mind, firstly, that a large number of countries in Asia, predominantly smaller ones, have debts to China and India, two of the fastest-growing economies in the world who can afford large loans to other countries, which establishes them as two giants, not just economically but also through land space, in Asia – relations between the two affect a number of countries. Secondly, and most importantly, multiple countries in the continent are dependent on tourism as a revenue generator, for example, Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand, Bhutan, India, etc. They are dependent financially and/or for employment on tourism, whether it is a big chunk or a small sector. With these facts established, let’s get into the 3 most important ways that China-India relations can affect the tourism industry, either directly or indirectly. 1. Border tensions and land disputes The beautiful but currently dangerous borders of India China is, of course, one of the countries India is currently having a land dispute with in terms of claimed territory and borders, concentrated towards the border in Ladakh which India shares with Tibet, officially a part of the republic. Did you know, however, that India is also facing land disputes with Nepal and Pakistan? the two countries earlier released new political maps of their countries which claimed regions in India as theirs, with Pakistan claiming the whole of Kashmir and sections of Gujrat as a part of the country and Nepal releasing a new map with towns and sections of Uttarakhand (Kalapani, Limpiyadhura, and Lipulekh areas) as Nepal’s territory. Many political experts believe both had been influenced in some way or the other by the Chinese government to carry out these changes. Whether this is correct or not, the fact is that these map changes are not only complicating relation issues for India but also hinting to more disagreements that can cause land loss. While it is unlikely these maps will be accepted, it still means that the land being fought over may just get more dangerous and even cordoned off for tourists. Ladakh, Kashmir, and Uttarakhand are some of the most tourist-heavy destinations in India and an escape from the densely populated southern cities for many. These issues, whether remaining stagnant or becoming more problematic, will cause many problems to the tourism industry. Small vendors and shops in the areas dependent on tourism, already hit hard enough by COVID-19, will suffer even more due to these border issues. Potential Problems: A hit to tourism in the areas where there are land disputes with other countries, mainly Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh. This can cause a hit to revenue, increase in danger and possibly lesser enthusiasm in travelers to these spots. 2. The Indus Water treaty The mighty Indus River The Indus river is one of the main sources of water for many states of India. It originates in Tibet, which is a part of the Republic of China, and runs in Pakistan, India, and Tibet. The treaty has, for years, made sure of fair usage and distribution of the water between the countries, mainly India and Pakistan, who have upheld the treaty now for close to 60 years. Next to the town in Tibet closest to India, there is a giant hydroelectric dam built on the Sengge Zangpo River (Indus), just 80 km from Demchok, a Ladakhi village that sits on the undefined Sino-Indian (China-India) Border. China has, in the last few years, rapidly ramped up development along the river, with satellite images showing multiple projects that have sprung up in Tibet funded by the Republic. Although the government says these are for faster development of the region, multiple experts share concerns about the nature of the development. Many say this is one way China is trying to impact India – and this will leave a huge scar. The river runs through Ladakh and provides water for irrigation and other purposes to provinces in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab. These states will be directly impacted, and so will tourism – with the flourishing tourism industry in Himachal and Ladakh, as well as the role of water sports in these attractions, any changes made by China such as controlling the water source through built dams, redirecting within Tibet, or more dams and hydroelectric projects that can majorly impact the water flowing into India will hit these states hard in multiple industries. Potential problems: Any control or hold back of the river to even the smallest extent can drastically hit infrastructure based along the river and in the states hit the hardest. Agriculture will be hit
Ultimate Guide to Accommodation in India post-Coronavirus
The Coronavirus has made it not only to travel out to any place but the fact that when we look at a new place or a new person, we get that feeling of being scared of catching the virus that our willingness to travel is also gripped. Such an extreme feeling has become really common and the fact that a new place or a new location might have a higher chance of getting a person infected restricts a traveler to even go out of their house. Making this feeling a new normal, traveling to a new place, and staying at that place is going to change for good to push towards safer means of travel. You think you know all about catching Coronavirus? Check this. When we think of staying and sleeping at an accommodation that is not our home, the first thing we think of is how many people have actually been here and used it? Is it really been cleaned after their stay? Or is it even safe from any disease that the person might carry? All of these questions are not just going to be our simple thoughts but a grave concern, a concern that will be needing complete addressing and safety measures that will make sure that these doubts are vanished as quickly as they come inside a traveler’s mind. Leading hoteliers believe that these concerns and risks can be simply taken care of with a few safety precautions and wearing a mask at all times when outside the accommodation. A woman wearing mask the right to stay safe. You can check out the guidelines by the government of India to make face masks at home here and make a mask for all your needs to be safe from Coronavirus. Travel includes staying at a new place(obviously!) and a traveler could have a preference for staying at a posh location that has all the amenities and a person need not even go out of the property to have fun, and a traveler could even have a preference of going with the cheapest closest option to stay for the night or the day and be gone the next morning. However extreme a traveler would want their accommodation preference to be, the coronavirus is set to bring a few changes to all of them. Checking-in to accommodation is the first thing that a traveler has to do to start their stay at a new place. During check-in, there can be several violations of social distancing norms, like touching each other’s documents, handling cash, staying close to the attendant at the reception, standing close to other guests, etc. Having a digital, contact-less check-in will be the new normal in each accommodation, where a traveler will just walk into a hotel and head directly for their room that will be pre-allocated to them before even their check-in. A possible tech-travel solution for this could be, no need to show any documentation or a booking voucher, just QR or bar code on the phone that enables the door and unlocks it for a traveler to enter the hotel premises or the accommodation premises and head straight for their rooms. Think twice before reaching out for the bell! Escalators, lifts, or staircases, which one to prefer? It is pretty much clear that lifts are our worst enemies when it comes to social distancing. Staying in close proximity to a person for longer than 10 seconds is always a factor of risk. So, stairs might be safer than lifts and you can even eliminate the bulk of the threat by not touching anything like the railing or handles and walking at a distance from anyone walking close to you. The common areas like lobby, gyms, pools, spas, etc. will have to be tackled with utmost safety. Since these areas attract a lot of visitors, there is not only a chance of catching the virus from coming in contact with an infected person but from a surface that was in contact with an infected person. These areas will be limiting the number of guests on the floor and ensuring that each area is cleaned off at regular intervals. Swimming pools are much safer when it comes to Coronavirus because chlorine does not let the virus sustain. You can have a chill time at the pool but make sure that there are not a lot of people present and you are still steering clear and swimming at a distance. Although not a lot of hotels have opened swimming pools, it is something to look out for. Swimming pools are not as dangerous as you might think. Eating at a restaurant is going to be a little problematic. Not exactly problematic but very different. There will be a lot fewer customers that would opt to eat out, and even if they do, restaurants need to have a strict policy of how many foodies can even be present at once in the vicinity. The best solution to eating a meal at your favorite restaurant would be to order room service. Sanitizing your hands and eating a meal in your room is the best way to stay safe and eat during a trip when the pandemic is still at large. Getting to the accommodation and checking-in is fine but how do you really stay? Remotes, handles, faucets, toilets, surfaces, room keys, etc. All can carry a potential risk to infect a person from this highly contagious virus. Now we have two options, either you go berzerk and start sanitizing every corner of the room you’ll be staying in, from the handles to the TV, or you make sure that you keep your hands clean every time you want to eat something or do an activity that might involve you touching your face repeatedly. If you’re really paranoid, sanitize the hell out of the entire room. Touching door handles? Better sanitize the hell out of
The Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism Industries Worldwide
We all are familiar with the fact that the travel and tourism industry makes up a big part of the world’s economic activity and also that due to restrictions on traveling how much this prospering industry has come to stand at the bottom. We all make plans to go to attractive places every year and while we think that it is for sole fun, it is indirectly benefiting a lot of daily wage workers and not only our traveling agent. Besides it provides local residents and of course many startups and mega travel and tourism companies with job handlings of a hotel manager, spa manager, event & conference organizer, executive chef, tour guide. Now this industry has almost doomed because of the unfortunate pandemic. Source: World Travel and Tourism Council We know that the impacts are deep and will leave scars that call for change in the travel industry, but how is it country and continent wise? We’re going to look at the overall impact of the pandemic on these places and how they are affected. The United States Usually crowded places looked abandoned during lockdown The USA is the only country to gain much from the profits of travel and tourism which is a country also one of the worst-hit by this pandemic. The revenue generated from tourism in 2019 in the US was almost $210.7 billion which is even more than half of what is earned by Spain. As it became the major hotspot for COVID-19, all traveling facilities have been shut down for good. But this good decision is rather against the employees in the sector of travel and tourism. The famous airlines American and United suffered a total loss of $2.24 billion and $1.7 billion respectively in the first quarter of this year and the people’s job is at stake if this industry doesn’t open after the month of October. Although the CEO of American Airlines gave hope that it can be avoided depending upon how fast the airline companies open up. According to an article published by Forbes, “USA can face a loss of $910 billion due to shut down of the travel industry, which is seven times the loss due to the attack of 9/11.” The USA travel association which acts as a support system for travel agencies predicted that 4.6 million jobs could be lost in just this industry. “The coronavirus crisis is hitting the travel economy hard, and it’s also hitting fast,” said the association’s president and CEO Roger Dow in a statement. Tourism Economics found that one out of every ten citizens of the USA is associated with the travel job and if this situation prevails, the national unemployment rate is surely going to rise. But to combat the situation for now the association introduced CARE Act and funded travel organizations with relief packages. Check out this blog on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism by India City Blog. Europe The busy roads of European cities are mostly still lying empty The collection of paradise lies here, in Europe. From westernmost Portugal to far east Ukraine, every country in Europe is worth a watch. That’s the prime reason why countries like France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Turkey remain top destinations among the list of every enthusiastic traveler. In 2018, about 713 million people visited Europe. Now due to the spread of the deadly coronavirus, no one is visiting these countries and we can only imagine the worsening of the situation. But many airline companies in Europe like EasyJet and Ryanair are looking forward to opening their airports in June for travelers because of the incurred losses and to compensate for it. What is more significant here is the loss of the tourism industry of Europe. The circumstances are similar to World War II. Commissioner of Internal Market of European Union (EU), Thierry Breton said, “Tourism was the first sector to be hit by the coronavirus and I am sure that it will be the slowest to recover and come out of this phase”. It is rather hard to imagine how the authorities of museums, beaches, parks, and restaurants would be dealing with this condition. Due to the shut down of these points, a loss of $300 to $435 billion is estimated, even as these countries slowly recover. The tourism industry of the EU gains as much 550 billion euros every year which contributes to a major part of their GDP. The direct and indirect jobs that this industry provides to these states sums up to 26.6 million. It was one of the fastest-growing industries where investments used to be high. The part of Europe which is mostly going to be affected is Southern Europe as a major sector of economy dwelled upon this, like Greece where about 23.4% of the population worked under the tourism sector. The main blessing, in this case, was that the European states gained enough US dollars from foreign countries that exceeded the spending of the government on different aids like building up schools, hospitals, universities, etc. Now instead of spending on these necessities, all the government’s funds are going into building better health infrastructure and saving it’s peoples’ lives, as it should. Several steps have been taken by the EU to support the travel and tourism industry as they are in the hands of agony due to uncertain futures. Measures like liquidity support, fiscal relief, and an easing of state aid rules, as well as the temporary suspension of EU rules on airport slots to avoid empty flights, have been taken. On May 13, the EU passed out guidelines and recommendations on travel and transport to help the countries of the EU to resume their airline services to reopen travel and tourism businesses. The Brussels and the EU state members have rolled out 200 billion euros spending programs which constitute 1.5% of their GDP to help the
Ultimate Guide to Transportation in India post-Coronavirus
The Coronavirus has surely made us believe that the only constant in life is change, and this change has been life-altering. Every person is now preparing for a post-COVID19 world, a world where safety and survival will be the basic necessities, a world where masks and sanitizers will become more important than water and food, and a world where we’ll think twice before coming in contact with anyone new. It got me wondering how our commute will be different post-COVID, not just daily commute that will be different but how traveling in airplanes and trains will look like? Let’s take a look at how traveling in a post-pandemic world will look like specifically focusing on traveling in India in a post-COVID19 scenario. What a survey of 6000 travelers told us about post-Coronavirus travel The biggest industry when it comes to traveling and transportation is the airline industry. The pre-COVID revenue of the airline’s industry stood at 873 billion dollars in the world, which has now dropped to almost half of it! India had a passenger count of around 160 million in 2017! It’s safe to say that air travel will have the most impact considering the monetary juice it requires to maintain an airline. How will Air Travel in a post-COVID world change? How will the cost of air travel change post-COVID19 is the first thing that comes to our mind. While there is a common misconception that ticket prices are ready to soar, this is not true. Keeping in mind the fact that a traveler will want to choose safety over pleasure, the number of passengers is going to decrease. Not just for leisure, since all the offices have adapted and loved the concept of work from home, business travel will also come down significantly. As a meeting that earlier took hours of traveling and a lot of money can now be easily done by staying at home. Moreover, airlines will have to gain more trust in the travelers and will have to offer huge discounts too. Airport check-in while maintaining social distancing. Digital and Touchless Travel will be the first thing to be implemented in and around the airport and airplane to maintain the norm of social distancing. Digital won’t just mean no physical boarding pass but even the Visa and the Passport might have to go entirely digital to make sure there is no contact between the passenger and the crew at the airport. No peanuts at 35,000 feet anymore. Airlines will stop serving food in the view of Coronavirus being spread through the removal of masks and gloves for eating. So, how will we eat during a flight amidst the Coronavirus? Well, packaged food on airports instead of flight will be the best solution for staying safe. Baggage Sanitizing and screening will become as common as baggage checking. We have already seen some airports in a few countries screen bags using UV rays to check for the possibility of Coronavirus on them. When we think about traveling on an airplane, we never really consider how easy it is to transport our belongings through it but now we’ll miss the days this was true. There might be more checks for baggage and also a restriction on the number of bags each passenger can carry. Travelers with face masks, and shield and crew with PPC. Face masks, shields, and gloves will be the new common while traveling on an airplane. We have had reports of the Indian government making it necessary to wear gloves and masks at airports and have also instructed all the airlines to provide face shields to the passengers. It is a great move by the authorities considering how close a person sits on an airplane. Considering the fact that the middle seat in a flight will not be left empty, having a face mask and shield will have to be necessary. Get ready for Empty Airports and long queues. Airports will have to go a complete overhaul making things work amidst this pandemic. Airports experience maximum footfall as compared to other transportation mediums. At Delhi airport, the busiest airport in India, almost 2 lakhs passengers used to land or depart at the airport. This will change entirely to shift towards empty airports, where people are standing and sitting 3 feet apart, the safe distance for coronavirus. Making the queues long and waiting time high. With passport and boarding pass, health certificates will be a new mandatory document Health checkups and certificates may become mandatory to ensure a smooth flying experience. A temperature gun is not enough to conclude whether a person might be suffering from Coronavirus or not, to make sure we have a process that makes traveling easier in a world where the Coronavirus is like a common cold, airlines and airports can make it mandatory for travelers to have a Coronavirus test done in 7 days and present a certificate for the same for being eligible to travel in an airplane. Airport shops, food courts, and restaurants will dry up and maybe even forced to close to keep this pandemic in check. A major source of revenue for any airport authority, and the reason why early check-ins and coming early to the airport is recommended, are the outlets at the airport. These stores though necessary for the operations of any airport will have to remain shut or operating at minimum capacity. More important than water? Face masks in a vending machine will be very common. Masks, Sanitizers, gloves instead of Pepsi, Lays, Water. Vending machines will change the kind of essentials they process. A lot of travelers will vary from eating or drinking at the airport or even in the flight. Masks, sanitizers, gloves, and other essentials will be the right path to take in order to ensure the safety of travelers, and also generate little sales for the companies. Time to reach the
Why Millennials Are Opting For Sustainable Travel: 5 Effects of Travel on The Environment
A little under a year ago, Greta Thunberg, a popular climate change activist, spoke passionately and strongly about the need for change, urgently and sustainably. Although this brought a lot of publicity to the massive youth movements against global warming, it did little in terms of real change that can be created and implemented. Greta would even refuse to travel by air when she was invited to different countries due to the large carbon footprint left behind by air travel and instead relied on a small boat with a small crew. Large protests around the world have for years demanded change The effects of travel on the environment are far and wide, but also relatively unknown or ignored. Not only does travel speed up global warming, but it also causes harm to ecosystems, communities, and the use of finite resources. This issue is pressing, important, and something that needs to be understood and addressed before its too late. We know that as a travel company, it may come across as odd that we speak about this. But awareness is important, and so is the promotion of sustainable ways to live and travel. At The Tarzan Way, all our experiences are targeted towards sustainable change in communities, small societies and villages, and individuals such as farmers and fishermen. But we still have a long way to go – and understanding and accepting the problem is the first step to making a change towards and for it. There are some really great blogs too that we were inspired by and recommend reading, such as this one on sustainable travel and how to do it. Here are the main effects of Travel on the environment, that you can change and work towards fixing because even small steps matter in every way. Global warming and Travel – the humungous carbon footprint Flights are a drain on resources – but experts say they won’t stop anytime soon It is estimated that around 6-7% of total year-on-year global warming is caused by travel by flight, and a few points less than this number is the share of cruises in the same. The two methods of travel use up huge amounts of fuel, and not much is really going to change because fuel usage is convenient and cheap, although incredibly harmful for the environment. One average round trip from a place and back in a flight can cause the same amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution as 50 cars in a year, per person. It takes a lot of fuel for flights to fly and land safely, and many companies get close to bankruptcy due to the expense of running planes that use so much fuel on a daily basis. Although some American airlines like Delta have pledged to use more sustainable fuel and change the way fuel is used by planes, long term change won’t start until companies are pressurized into it and realize the cost of their actions. Fuel used to power flights is dangerous not just because of the carbon footprint but also the consequences of exhaust emitting carbon molecules into the stratosphere. Oil is a scarce resource – and the cost at which we guzzle it every day in all our activities is simply not worth the convenience it brings. There needs to be a shift towards green energy, and it needs to be fast. There are various resources you can read on sustainable travel and sustainable flying in specific, which is a less developed idea and movement at this stage. What you can do – as much as possible, pick alternative modes of transport when you’re traveling for short distances. For longer distances, flights are pretty much a necessity – what you can do is chose wisely. Research on which companies have implemented change, which are investing in low fuel planes, etc. These factors are important and will help the money you spend on flights go to a good place, even if it’s for years onwards. Don’t put for cruises – they’re an unnecessary luxury, generate a lot of waste, use up too much fuel, and are especially dangerous due to the risk the COVID-19 pandemic brings. Reduction in Biodiversity If we continue our wasteful use of resources, there won’t be any biodiversity We know you see it on the news every day, read about it frequently – some species or the other is endangered or extinct and this is increasing at a rapid rate. You may wonder, how does it really matter or impact me? It’s a good question, and something to address first. Biodiversity is extremely important because of the ecosystems dependent on them – each and every species has a relation with multiple others and their existence, no matter where their position is in a food web or triangle. When one species reduces in number or goes extinct, it threatens the entire ecosystem – this is bad for us because we’re dependent on a number of them for more things than you’d guess. Each species has its role and place – disturbing that can have devastating impacts. For example, take bees – their threatened existence is something to worry about not just in terms of our honey supply, but also for the essential process of pollination that bees carry out. Without them, seeds wouldn’t get from one plant to another, our agricultural systems would collapse, and the ecosystem dependant on them (they control the population of small worms, pests, etc) would face the same fate. So what does travel have to do with this? We bet you’ve visited a park or two in your travels, or seen the interactive zones in large ecosystems. More often than not, human encroachment actually results in reduced populations and a disturbance in their systems. Some parks do follow proper procedures, but many don’t too. Moreover, those deep jungle resorts and hotels in forests mean clearing the land completely, damaging
Sustainable traveling: Everything You Need to Know!
In the wake of the pandemic, it is important to realize the impact of our actions on the environment. We might have seen social media posts about how, ‘When the world stays home, the planet benefits’ depicting the surprisingly clear water in Venice or clearer air due to the reduction of nitrogen gas emissions in most countries. All of these instances instill a responsibility in us to do better and you can do better when you choose to travel sustainably! What is sustainable traveling? Travel is all about understanding and developing a connection with the culture, lifestyles, and customs of a new place. Sustainable traveling is the concept of visiting somewhere as a tourist and trying to make a positive impact on the environment, society, and economy. Travel tips to help you travel Sustainably In a world where climate change is becoming an increasingly pressing issue, it’s more important than ever to travel sustainably. Here are some tips to help you do just that! 1. When you travel internationally, travel intentionally! Travel by flight A 2018 study published in Nature Climate Change showed that emissions from tourism add up to 8% of the global total, with flying making up the largest share of this. We often tend to hop on planes to explore different places all around the world in a single year and contribute on a major scale. You can reduce the number of trips you go on by exploring a place for a longer time or in the off-season which in turn enriches your travel experience. How we fly matters a lot too and it is always better to choose airlines that are conscious about their carbon emission offsetting and choose economy class over business class seats as they result in reduced carbon footprints. You can also consider volunteering or travel and learning opportunities to extend your stay and make it more meaningful. Sailing is a great alternative to flying and you can explore a ton of offbeat places and the vastness of the world at your own pace! 2. Exploring Locally Shop souvenirs from local handicrafts Make conscious choices of opting for travel agencies that make sustainable traveling a priority. Shop souvenirs from local handicraft stores and artists. Choose local transport or a green mode of transportation to explore the place. Several destinations are economically dependent on tourism and it is wise to visit these places and help out the local vendors, research, and learn their customs and lifestyles to make the most out of your travel experiences. 3. Do not Litter Beach clean up in Barbados We all know this one, right? But we still see tourist places flooded with plastic waste not disposed of properly and we sigh in disgust. Every tourist is a guest and we should leave the place better and not worse. So, not littering a place is good but not enough so participate in Beach clean-ups or take up an initiative to clean up a place you’re visiting. It might be a small action but it definitely matters! 4. Choose Reusables Pack your own reusable items You can choose to buy a reusable water bottle or refillable coffee mugs, or pack up your own eco-friendly toiletries and cloth bags to reduce the waste we produce at all places we love! Treat your hostel/ hotel as a way to sustainable living by using less water, cooking locally sourced food, using solar power banks, and beingUsing less water, cooking locally-sourced food, using solar-powered products, and being a good guest will help you live more sustainably. 5. Choose Experiences over Destinations Explore camping, trekking, and road trips All of us have a list of places on our Post- COVID bucket list and we often get so lost in ticking them off that we forget to enjoy the journey altogether. With the offset of the pandemic, we have to travel responsibly by exploring local places with fresh eyes! You can try camping, star gazing, trekking, and nature walks without having to travel too far. There can be a ton of hidden places that we’ve no idea about in our own cities and it’s time to explore them. You can also choose travel agencies that offer experiential travel by organizing activities involving local communities which creates a great impact. 6. Caravan Traveling Caravan Traveling Caravan traveling isn’t completely eco-friendly but it can be optimized to make it a very viable option. You can choose destinations that aren’t very far and extend your stay at the destination longer which gives you a great opportunity to explore it. Pack light and carry reusable utensils to avoid one-time plastic usage, buy local produce to cook your own food and avoid wasting food, and use less water. Caravan traveling is one of the best ways to travel as you take the comforts of your home with you everywhere go and explore at your own pace with beautiful views! 7. Let the animals just be! Elephants in their natural habitat If you love wildlife and nature, then you know better than to disturb them by locking them up in cages, going on elephant rides, feeding tiger cubs, watching trained dolphins performing tricks, or sea lions posing for pictures. They are wild animals for a reason and it’s high time we do not financially support these organizations that tend to make money off of such practices. Also, do not purchase any products made from animal skins, corals, or ivory. Research more about such places and make the right decisions. As a famous quote goes, “Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories and waste nothing but time”, we hope you reduce your carbon footprints as well! If you are wondering where to travel next, do check out the experiences we offer and our travel feed for all things travel!
6 Traveling styles that you should explore!
As Deborah Lloyd once said, “Travel sparks our imagination, feeds our curiosity, and reminds us how much we all have in common.” To experience this, we have curated 6 styles of traveling that you can adopt in your post COVID plans to explore places in a beautiful way! Explore different kinds of traveling to make the best out of it! Solo traveler: Breathtaking views of Spiti Valley If you have been putting off travel plans because you’re waiting for someone to go with- Stop! Just go! Solo travel gives you the ultimate freedom, pulls you out of your comfort zone, and allows you to explore places like never before! There is something amazing about spending all the time with ourselves, understanding our choices, and exploring life, one place at a time! It can seem pretty scary, exciting, daunting, and all at once but it is worth a shot! From deciding what and where to eat, exploring new places to making friends on the go, life lessons are hidden in every step you take if you dare to look for it! As Hans Christian Andersen said, “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, to roam the roads of the lands remote, to travel is to live!” and we hope you get to experience this in your own company! 2. Family Traveler: Family traveler Travelling allows you to experience and understand new places, culture, tradition, food, language and customs of the land and it definitely gets better when you travel together with your family. Family travelling is one of the best ways to explore places as the entire family gets to try out unique things out of their comfort zone together. It can be hiking, road trips, treks, beaches or visiting a museum but all of it is worthwhile when you get to share them with your loved ones! It definitely helps you understand each other better and you will come home together as a more loving family. As Tom Lichtenheld once said, “A road trip is a way for the whole family to spend time together and annoy each other in interesting new places.” 3. Backpackers: Backpackers A backpacker is a person who can practically live anywhere in the world out of their backpack and is always on the go! They are here to travel for the long term and are fiercely independent and adventurous. They are usually budget travelers staying in hostels and surviving off of street food. Backpacking is popular because it allows you to lead a simple life in a foreign land and walk the place like you’re a local. It helps you understand yourself as everyday’s plan involves going way out of your comfort zone, all the while saving tons of money and creating memories for a lifetime! Everyday comes with a new set of friends, places and adventures and you get to live in the moment! With a new set of backpacker friends also comes the never ending adventure stories! 4. RV Travelers: RV Travelers Have you ever wondered how you miss the comforts of your home while travelling? Well, it’s time to take your home with you by travelling in an RV! By travelling in an RV, you get to save lots of money, explore your chef skills and pause your travel to have a picnic in the middle of nowhere! You also get to travel with your loved ones, it could be your spouse, children or even your pet! You can wake up to scenic views and be one with nature in your own terms! All of this at your convenience and flexibility is a dream come true, right? RV travelling is an amazing experience that you should not miss out on! 5. Photographers: Photographers Photographers are those who capture beautiful images on every trip they go. It’s all about the mesmerizing and scintillating views for them. Be it people, streets, food, monuments, nature walks ,treks or a beach, they are the ones looking for the right angle to capture the beauty of the image! As Rumi said, we take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone and these travelers live by it! For them, travel is synonymous with pictures and they explore a place through their lens adding perspective with every click! They won’t just tell you about their travel stories, it comes with beautiful pictures and makes you feel as if you were right there! 6. Groupies: Groupies As Charles M. Schulz once said, “In life, it’s not where you go, it’s who you travel with.” Groupies are those travelers who live by this and always travel in packs. They love the idea of people coming together to explore new places, be it a road trip or a hike! You can easily find them as they are visible in packs or busy being the life of the party! They are the ones planning their vacations ahead of time and make the most out of every holiday by exploring places in a group! It is bad manners to keep a vacation waiting so it’s time to plan your trips! You can check out the travel experiences we offer and our travel feed to read about all things travel!
6 Reasons Why Travel Booking in Advance is a Smart Choice post COVID-19
COVID-19 has been devastating for the world. The small things we used to take for granted are coming into focus and making us more appreciative, and one of those is travel – travel isn’t just the vacations we take, its the commute from home to the office, its the spontaneous weekend plans and drives, the freedom to pull up in a highway restaurant and eat without worries. It’s also the business trips we take, commuting between cities, meeting new people, going to new places. Of course, travel is taking a back seat now in these times, and rightfully so. But as the world starts to open and everyone begins cautiously stepping out, it’s important to keep in mind the various risks associated with the same. One of these is traveling post-COVID and being exposed to the coronavirus, to the risks that come with it. After the pandemic, travel will be safer, and all the more important – for this reason, even in times of uncertainty, advance booking will be extremely important post-pandemic, and a part of this is also traveling insurance, finding the right places, and knowing when and how to do prebooking/advance booking. What is advance booking, the benefits of advance booking, when to book in advance, and how to save money while doing the same – all these questions will be answered in this blog, your guide to the advantages of advance booking. Generally speaking, advance booking/prebooking involves confirmation and payment for the different stages of travel – traveling, accommodation, intercity travel, and other related services. So why should you book your tickets and plan out your trip in advance? Here are some reasons. 1] Travel Insurance, the new Holy Grail Travel insurance is extremely important, especially now Travel insurance is an insurance policy that offers compensation for any travel-related losses, personal /medical and delays and cancellations of flights during your travel within India or internationally. Many people lost a lot of money when countries and cities started shutting due to COVID, because of thousands of booked flights, tours, hotels, etc. canceled last minute. This risk is still prominent – outbreaks of the virus and hotspots crop up every day, and for whatever reason you may be traveling you need to be protected from the same. Not only does it provide financial security, but it also allows for medical security in possibly unknown and new places you may be in, in case of an outbreak or possible infection from the virus. So what does booking in advance have to do with this? Travel insurance is often offered for flights and trains only initially and gets much more expensive the more you delay it. There are also more options available when you opt for travel insurance earlier on your trip, from different companies and different deals. Another benefit of opting for travel insurance earlier on is having the safety net for longer, so if you need to travel earlier than expected or have unexpected cancellations from the flight or accommodation or any other service, you can get a full refund from the insurance. There are 3 kinds in general – medical, luggage, and cancellation based insurance. The main benefit is that travel insurance, in particular travel medical insurance, is a huge asset for traveling post-COVID. Check out Nerd Wallet‘s comprehensive guide on travel insurance in a post-pandemic world, and why it is important. 2] Cheaper rates and better deals You can avail better travel deals and book for cheaper in advance When you book early, it is more likely that you will find deals that are better and cheaper, ones like you’ve never seen before because mostly everyone tends to book at the last minute due to uncertainties. However, if you combine travel insurance and early booking, chances are you’ll find great deals and discounts to save money, get better offers, sometimes get upgrades. Why is that? because travel companies, especially in these times, want more people to book early so as to reduce their uncertainty and have a fixed possible income. They basically want you to book early, and they’ll return the favor you’ve done to them generously. You can also find cheaper rates by booking flights, trains, buses, etc. tickets earlier because it allows you to access discounts and coupons available for the time you are booking in as well as future deals offered to you. Another point to note is that many flight services let you buy memberships for lesser prices and access more early bird offers that way. For more about booking cheap flight tickets and getting ahead of deals, check out Thrifty Nomads‘ blog on the same – it’s informative and detailed! 3] Flexibility in your itinerary Flexibility and spontaneous changes are key in travel One of the biggest advantages of booking tickets and trips earlier is having more flexibility in case of different situations cropping up, the need to change plans, or even just a spontaneous shift in destinations for vacations and trips. This flexibility is especially important for people who like to go with the flow when it comes to travel, make it up as they go, or change different things in their plans. Flexibility is great not just because you can deal with new changes but also because it allows you to change last-minute based on unexpected circumstances, such as maybe a coronavirus hotspot discovered near to your destination or any other dangerous/risky situation that may crop up. So if you plan to take a family Christmas trip in the winter, but last-minute change your destination, you can cancel for that, and in the case of a COVID hotspot being warded off you can change for it as well – keep advance booking in mind the next time you need to or want to travel. Advance booking/pre-booking your travel or destination or accommodation allows you to change things quickly and without any repercussion
