When will Americans feel safe traveling again, and what factors will drive that moment?

We are definitely living in unprecedented times, as every company that has our email addresses has told us in emails lately. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its arrival in the West, we have seen unimaginable things take place in our country. On January 21^st, 2020, at the start of a hopeful new year, the first “travel-related” case of the novel coronavirus was detected in the United States. At the time, there was still so much that we did not know about the virus, and there is still a lot we don’t know about the virus. By mid-March (8-weeks later), every US state had declared a State of Emergency and within a few more weeks in early April almost every state had some level of “Stay at Home” order issued by their Governor. Ramping up and changing quickly during that time were the guidelines and suggestions on interacting with other people outside of our homes. We learned a what “social distancing” means and were instructed to wash our hands diligently and with vigilance, to stop seeing our extended family members, to work from home if possible, to only go one person at time into grocery stores, and to generally not leave the house unless it was absolutely necessary to our wellness or in order to go to work in an essential business. Our living rooms became our offices, our kitchen tables became school rooms, we went to Church on our phones and computer screens instead of being together. Everything about life had changed…. Everything about life remains changed.

So, as our health care system becomes more adept at treating and caring for coronavirus patients and testing becomes more widespread and available, people are feeling more comfortable venturing outside of the house and yearning to travel again. Some people have gone back to work in offices while others are realizing they can be efficient working remotely or from home. We are spending more time outside and finding ways to engage with friends and family at a safe distance and learning to be creative in order to hug them! After being at home with our families three or so months now, people are ready to get out of their houses and start exploring the world again!

But will the world look the same? Will the way we engage with the world be the same? Will the way we travel look differently? How about booking travel? There are a lot of lessons that we as a people have learned about what is important while working through our experiences in these last few months. Travel insurance is ever so important, as is booking with an experienced Travel Agent who can help you navigate these changes.

Some decisions about travel have been made for us, in that the US borders are still closed and the State Department has a Level 4 Travel Advisory issued for ALL travel outside of the U.S. Luckily, we live in a large country with beautifully diverse landscapes and cultures within our own borders. There is SO much to see in our 50 United States (and included territories), that even without using that passport you can have an enriching time of adventure OR relaxation with your family and loved ones.

In this series, I want to explore how venturing out into the world again will look different, take a look at some awesome places to visit in the US, and talk about how Chi-Chi, LLC can support you through this transition back into traveling and enjoying the world around us! Check back each week for a new post on this topic!