Bye bye open-ended itineraries

Before 2020, I had been able to plan and book overseas trips up to Hong Kong, Shanghai, or virtually anywhere in the world within 24 hours to a week’s notice. Things are probably going to be slightly different now.

A lot of people are saying that travelers and flights will come back when a vaccine is found. After reading what’s going on in the rest of the world and experiencing first-hand the situation at home, I think this is going to be challenging.

Pent up travel demand can only go so far in driving the economic rebound. Fundamentally, both business and leisure travels are probably going to be less “frivolous”. What this means is that less people are going to be able to say:

“Let’s book a ticket to city XXX tomorrow”

or,

“Let’s do a day trip to XXX”.

Cross-border traveling is going to be subject to mandatory immigration health checks, both in the departing and destination cities. And the lead time to make any travel plans could easily be extended by up to 48 hours at least. This creates a lot of friction for any travel planning and also provides a convenient excuse for unwilling jet setters who might now prefer to stay put.

No more spontaneous trips. Going forward, there's going to be a group of people who will think twice before making impulsive or short term trips to anywhere in the world.