Travel gets Complicated as the CDC changes the rules!

The Travel Industry Afterparty

The delta variant is just beginning to spread to other countries outside of India. All the while, the CDC has lowered their risk assessment for over 100 different countries. But did they really? Turns out, no, they just changed the rules, making post covid travel even more complicated. (https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/cdc-eases-travel-warnings-level-4-countries). How much of this is politically motivated? How much of this is to support the upcoming Olympics? We don't know because we are not political analysts! However, we are travel experts! Instead, we dive deep into what this means for people planning to travel and discuss how people can stay informed, what information matters, and what does not. There is a lot of interest in traveling to Europe this summer and fall. It is now more important than ever to be informed before you travel.

Speaking of international travel, just ahead of the G7 Summit, everyone's favorite airline CEO made a bold statement urging leaders to reopen borders and allow travel between the UK and USA. This statement hinged upon the claim that airlines have followed the science and done everything to keep passengers safe. This statement came just weeks after the very same CEO was refuting scientific studies done by the CDC and claiming that closing the middle seat was just "a gimmick." So apparently, in the world of Airline CEOs, following the science comes with the asterisk of "only when it is convenient".

The National Parks are turning people away and guests are outraged! Many people are making inflammatory statements about how it is their right to visit the national parks and it is unconstitutional to restrict access to the parks. It would seem that many of these people do not understand that the National Parks were created for the goal of preservation and conservation, not tourism. We do want people to visit the National Parks and we also want to protect these places. Over-tourism is becoming a massive problem for the National Parks system as revenge travel is in full swing here in the United States. A few of the National Parks are limiting guests during peak times in order to not cause damage to the already delicate ecosystems. But fear not, these limitations are temporary, applied as needed and often lifted after a few hours. (https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/national-parks/national-park-reservations)

Covid has sent massive ripples through all of human society. Travel especially is being forced to evolve. We take some time to talk about some of the ways we think that travel will change in the coming years. Some of the changes will come slowly, but many are inevitable like vaccine passports, mask mandates, pricing structures, escrow, and travel insurance just to name a few things. These are all going to be very interesting within the industry.

Finally, on a lighter note ,we drop the news and talk about where we want to go and what we want to do. Travel has always been something that stirs the soul but what specifically stirs us is often different and always changing. For Tad, it's always things rich with history with a lot of adventure. Tad loves WWII and the Cold War in particular, so some of the old decommissioned military installations in Normandy are on the top of his list. For Brian, it is all about beautiful views, cultural experiences, and luxurious relaxation. Two very different perspectives that meet in the middle to gush about the the Egyptian River Cruise that Margaret wants to do.