We are now seeing country-wide vaccinations taking place globally, but what does that mean for your next vacation?
Recent trends show a rise in travel searches, especially with COVID-19 vaccination distribution on a national and international basis. Interested travelers are conflicted with new travel restrictions and are questioning how the vaccine will affect their next trip.
Opposed opinions are arising to whether the travel industry should require travelers to provide proof of vaccination before flying. Some industry leaders claim that the vaccine will cause more damage to the industry as they are not widely-available at this stage. They advise airlines to rely upon PCR tests for the coming months. However, some countries already announced the elimination of quarantine requirements for vaccinated travelers as long as they provide proof.
Here’s what travel trends have in-store for you this year, your questions have been answered!
Are vaccinations mandatory for travel?
Requiring travelers to present proof of vaccine is currently in question among some official organizations around the world. The UN World Tourism Organization is calling for the global adoption of vaccine passports as the industry starts to recover. However, the WHO advises countries not to rush into opening borders just yet for several reasons. Vaccines are still not widely-available and the possibility of COVID-19 transmission to non-vaccinated individuals is still in question.
At the pace that the vaccination campaign is rolling out on a national level, 75% of Americans are expected to receive their first dose by November 2021.
To date, the only airline to announce that proof of COVID-19 vaccine is required to fly is Qantas Airlines. Other airlines predict to follow in the future for international travel. However, industry officials claim that this will most likely be decided upon by International authorities.
With some countries shutting down their borders amidst fears of spreading new variants of the virus, it is still early to tell when vaccines will be marked as mandatory. Several countries worldwide only require negative PCR tests for entry as well as some quarantine restrictions upon arrival. Make sure to check those restrictions before traveling!
Are countries removing the quarantine restrictions for vaccinated travelers?
At the time of writing this post, countries started lifting quarantine restrictions to vaccinated travelers; these include Seychelles, Romania, Denmark, Poland, Cyprus and Estonia. Some countries such as Singapore are considering eliminating restrictions for vaccinated travelers, as long as the study of vaccines promises low transmission rates post-vaccination. Most countries will soon follow this trend, especially in Europe.
Will my personal information be in jeopardy when vaccinations are mandatory at borders?
With talks of vaccinations across the globe, some fear that personal health data will be at stake with the implementation of software and apps that record your health history.
Several Health Passport Apps such as AOKpass, CoronaPass and CommonPass are on the horizon and act as online certifications for COVID-19 test results and vaccine status, while still securing the privacy of personal health data for users.
A Non-profit called The Commons Project is leading this trend with CommonPass in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. Some governments such as in Aruba have already enlisted on the app and are ready to welcome travelers to the sunny beaches of the Caribbean by February 2021.
When is travel most likely to pick-up within domestic and international destinations?
Business travel should resume in the summer while leisure travel should spike in the fall of 2021. This is due to the slow roll-out of vaccinations taking place nationally and internationally.
Travel research shows that 69% of Americans are not comfortable getting on a plane yet and 80% claim that they have no plans for international travel at this time. Most domestic travel currently taking place mainly include road trips and scenic drives to lakes and beaches. In these winter months Americans are heading to the top ski destinations while some choose to enjoy the weather in sunnier states.
Studies show this trend to continue on in 2021 with peaked interest in international travel by the last quarter of the year.
Stay tuned on travel updates with Triphop by subscribing here.
Sources:
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/vaccine-passports-summer-2021/index.html
https://www.cntraveler.com/story/your-questions-about-the-covid-19-vaccine-and-travel-answered
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/25/covid-vaccine-travel-seychelles-is-open-to-vaccinated-visitors.html
https://www.insider.com/covid-19-vaccine-travel-requirement-2020-12