It is a really great questions that we ask ourselves, and that we’ve had friends and family asking. Considering this is the first time we have collectively been living through a pandemic, it’s definitely a hard question to answer. With so many unknowns, putting a specific date on it would be unrealistic.
There are, however, certain criteria that we personally are looking at that will indicate our ability to start traveling again. These will be indicators of things starting to return to normal. The three items include: government policies, positive economic growth, and medical advancements.
Government Policies
At this point in time in Canada, many of the provinces are still either in a state of emergency, or just ending their state of emergency. This means that for the duration of this time, travel has been restricted. Both international travel and domestic travel were off the table unless necessary, and if you had been travelling, self quarantining upon arriving home was and still is necessary.
These government policies and changes to them will be the first indicator of things returning to a state of ‘normalcy’ (or what we like to call ‘the new normal’). Each day as the government assesses the situation and the risk to Canadians, they reiterate their findings and recommendations. This is then taken down to a provincial level where each province decides on when the policies can start to be lifted and what that means.
This will be a slow process, and although government policies and restrictions are currently starting to be lifted, we do not think we will see these restrictions lifted from the travel and tourism industry just yet, specifically for air travel. However, in Ontario this week, we did see restrictions lifted on access to provincial parks. They are not yet open for camping or beach access, but trails were opened in time for the long weekend. It’s changes like this that we are looking for and assessing in our own way. With provincial parks open, we can expect discussions to be taking place on when and how campsites will open up. Although we may not be able to travel by air outside Canada, road trips and weekend getaways may soon become part of our new normal for this summer.
For those who are keeping their fingers crossed on air travel opening up later this year, it will be important to not only look at the government policies in your own province or country, but also in the countries you plan on traveling to. While Canadian borders may open up in the near future, countries around the world may continue to remain in lockdown.
Positive Economic Growth
The second area we are looking at is the re-opening of the economy, and positive economic growth. For the past month ad a half across most of Canada, only essentials businesses were open along with those who were able to provide curb side pickup or delivery. The next phase of this that we are starting to see around the country, is the re-opening of additional businesses. This will be another key indicator that things are starting to return to a new state of normal.
The second factor in this area is the opening of schools and workplaces. Schools and workplaces, similar to many shops and populated areas, will need to find a way to allow groups of people to congregate without spreading germs. These are a little trickier to manage since a lot of the space is communal and shared. Once the government figures out a way to safely open up schools and workplaces, we believe many of the standards that are set will also start to be applied to other sectors, such as the travel industry.
Medical Advancements
Medical advancement is probably the biggest indicator of things returning to normal, but the one that will take the longest to achieve. A treatment or vaccine will be an especially important milestone before we believe travel can fully return to normal because until then, there doesn’t seem to be a great way to stop the spread of the virus. Traveling from country to country can increase your risk to exposure and put you in a sticky situation if you need medical attention. For us personally, this factor is one that we are using as an indicator before we feel comfortable traveling out of the country, and many are currently saying that this will take a minimum of 12-18 months.
So, when can we travel again?
We won’t be able to put an exact date on it, but as we see changes in government policies, positive economic growth, and medical advancements, we will be able to start to decipher what and when things will be safe. For us here in Canada, with the way government policies and positive economic growth are advancing right now, we believe that by the fall we will be able to safely take a road trip through the country. In terms of air travel, however, we personally do not believe this will be safely available early to mid 2021.
For more details, check out our video!