May 7, 202016 min read

Impact of COVID-19 on Future Travel Behavior: Thoughts from 20 Frequent Travelers!

Updated: Jul 24, 2020

Catching ALL feelings and no flights these days? #catchfeelingsnotcorona Will you be the first person at the airport when #quarantine is lifted or will you be the person watching everyone else catch those flights before taking that leap?

Either action is not wrong. It is a matter of personal comfort. As a person who was a frequent traveler before the #pandemic, this is having me think through a series of things before booking my next trip.

To understand the CURRENT impact of #COVID19, let's look at some statistics from Bloomberg and CNN:

Seeing the numbers and being inundated with news from television and social media had me wondering: “How will COVID-19 impact your travel behavior over the next year?” According to a survey from the International Air Transport Association, 40% of recent travelers anticipated waiting at least six months after the virus is contained before flying again. Will you be part of this 40%?

I decided to ask some of my favorite travelers their perspective on this major question! To break it down further, I asked:

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel?
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19?
Will you be doing more domestic travel?
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation?

Check the responses from

20 of my Favorite Frequent Travelers!

Curious on my own personal thoughts? Read till the end! :-)

Traveler 1: Kate from Detailed Journeys

Instagram: @detailedjourneys

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? I will go back to my normal frequency once it's safe to travel again, for sure.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? Have - yes, had - no. It's all about the present. One thing that will change is doing more pre-trip research on the current COVID-19 situation. It's not just about my safety, it's also about not wanting to spread it either.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? Honestly, living in the US and with the number of cases we have, I'm not sure. In Maine, we don't have a high number, so it may not just be domestic, but very local.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? Car to start with as it will cut down on the chances of spreading the virus. When it comes to plane travel, it will be about making a change to how I handle my carry-on and my seat back pocket. I've already invested in the Beis seat back organizer to help keep things from falling down in the pocket. I'll travel with hand sanitizer and wipes (if I can find them) easily accessible as well.
Other Thoughts: Being a tour operator that was about to launch my business, the thing that will change the most for me is in regards to monitoring health concerns and working to find places that make my customers feel comfortable. Part of this will also be learning about new policies that airlines and countries may enforce for entry requirements, health screenings, and vaccines. I will be continuing my search for a robust insurance policy as well since the travel industry is so volatile right now. I don't see COVID-19 just disappearing, I see it as something that we will have to learn to live with.

Traveler 2: Wes from Coconut and Concrete

Instagram: @coconutandconcrete

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? I definitely plan to go back to my normal frequency of travel.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? My travel is mostly to the Caribbean, but yes I would avoid areas of high COVID-19 contamination.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? I don’t plan to do any additional domestic travel - I’m honestly not very interested in exploring this country.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? I don’t plan on changing my mode of transportation - I’m sticking to my planes!

Traveler 3: Tia from Tia Takes the World

Instagram: @tiatakestheworld

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? I’ll still travel.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? I’ll only avoid countries with more cases if they aren't controlling the spread properly.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? Definitely more domestically at first. The UAE has been so dope with the way that they are flattening the curve, so definitely domestically.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? More road trips!

Traveler 4: Nicole from Nikki World Boss

Instagram: @nikkiworldboss

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? Eventually, I trust that I will go back to a normal frequency of travel, but probably not until next year. I'm giving the world a bit of time to heal. The silver lining in all of this is that the Earth is truly repairing itself. There are dolphin sightings where they weren't before... polluted areas are now clearing up....this is exciting for me as a traveller. We've done a lot of damage to the earth.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? For right now, yes. I will avoid places with higher COVID-19 rates. I'm not only thinking about my health, but also thinking about what germs I could be unknowingly bringing there.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? I need a beach! I'm going international lol .... And to be honest, it will probably be cheaper to fly internationally, than domestic in Canada.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? Because my plan is to take it easy for the rest of the year, no. I will continue to catch flights, not feelings. I also want to support the struggling airline industry as well. I've had 2 flights cancelled, so I'll be sure to take advantage of my flight vouchers when the time is right.
Other Thoughts: To be honest, I'm terrified to start travelling again. For me, Canada is taking really good precautions to contain the virus, but when travelling, you have to think about the other countries’ initiatives to curb COVID-19. Has it been contained? Will there be a second wave?

Traveler 5: Jo from Journey with Jo

Instagram: @journeywithjo

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? So myself personally, I don’t think that I will go back to my normal frequency. I have no desire to travel anywhere for the rest of 2020. To be honest, I would have spent so much money now planning for trips ahead, and a trip that I had already planned. I’ve been able to reach some serious financial goals just from not spending on travel. So I think this whole situation has me reevaluating a lot of things, because now I have a desire to spend my money differently. At this time, I am mainly focused on getting my hand on some property.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? I don’t know if I necessarily will be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19 because I honestly think that when it is said and done, the United States will be the one with the highest number, if we don’t have that highest number already. I suspect that travel will be limited for those of us coming from the United States to other countries.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? Possibly domestic, but right now that’s even a far stretch for me, given everything that is happening.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? In terms of future travel, I see a lot more road trips happening on my end.

Traveler 6: Niqua from Traveling with Niqua

Instagram: @travelingwithniqua

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? Once it is deemed “safe”, I will continue to travel at my normal frequency because that is my preferred travel pace. However, I do think that at the beginning, travel will start off slow, so I am planning to gradually ease back into the travel space.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? Initially, I would be interested in understanding how the state/country is handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Is there still a high number of deaths? Positive cases? Recovered cases? What are the entry requirements / restrictions in place? These would be the important questions I would ask prior to traveling domestically or internationally.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? As an advocate for domestic travel, I will continue on with my journey to 50 states, allowing me to accomplish this goal sooner.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? I won’t change my mode of travel, as I still prefer flying.

Traveler 7: Ashlee from Will Drink for Travel

Instagram: @willdrinkfortravel

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? I still plan to travel as normal, eventually.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? Before booking any trips this year or next, I will look to see what the infection rate is. I think it’s important to be a smart traveler. A smart traveler, but not a scared traveler.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? I will go wherever the deal takes me, whether that’s internationally or domestically. We have more deaths than anywhere else in the world, so I’m not sure it really matters lol.

Traveler 8: Kamau & Selena from The City Beyond

Instagram: @thecitybeyond

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? Yes, but not right away. We had no scheduled trips for June to Dec before everything unfolded.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? That's hard to say, but considering that we work and live in cities within the country that have the highest cases of COVID-19, probably not.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? No, probably about the same as we usually do.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? No. We would likely continue alternating between them. With that said, while traveling on a plane/train/bus, we'd also continue taking similar precautions to what we are all doing now

Traveler 9: Trudy from Trudy on the Move

Instagram: @trudyonthemove

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? Yes (I survived Ebola in Liberia), I will go back to normal travel, but with caution and better planning.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? I will not be traveling to China because of the discriminatory practices against blacks during the Pandemic.
Will you be doing more domestic travels? I travel three times a week for work domestically. So that will probably stay the same.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? No changes to mode of transportation, but will definitely clean/sanitize my seats and wear a mask.

Traveler 10: Winter from Savory, Sweet, Neat

Instagram: @wshanck

“I love these questions. I've been thinking long and hard about getting back to feeling comfortable traveling post-pandemic.”

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? Next year, my traveling will be severely informed by any residual COVID-19 impact. Right now, I am planning on moving the 2 trips I planned for this year to a similar time next year.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? This is dependent on the rate of cover decreasing as well as the development and release of a vaccine or some form of preventative measures.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? I harbor no opinion on domestic versus international travel. If a place interests me and I have the finances to go, I would go both domestic and international.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? I don't drive, so any car trips would be dependent on having a travel buddy who enjoys driving. I would like to take more road trips, but I am hampered by my inability to drive.

Traveler 11: Ruby of Beyond Eden

Instagram: @iamrubykhan

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? I will most likely go back to my normal travel frequency. I tend to travel to really far places that usually require weeks, if not months of planning. For example, I've had Borneo on my mind for some time. I believe that the time it takes to plan would suffice in allowing me to really assess any changes occurring in the country, and make any adjustments as needed.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? I think I will certainly have to avoid certain countries with higher numbers of the virus. This is upsetting. However , I personally feel that we have no choice. It will really boil down to whether or not we are able to find a vaccine or successful treatment that could be normalized/ utilized in multiple countries across the board. This is of great concern to me, because not every country could have the exact meds you’d need in the event of an incident or exposure (I had personally learned this after having an accident in Myanmar). I came out quite lucky.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? Oh no. No domestic. Haha, I'm all about international travel!
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? Oh yes, I will definitely be changing my mode of transportation. I usually only stick to public transportation, but I will certainly be renting a car if need be, and/or getting a guide for the duration of my trip.

Traveler 12: Abbie from Abbie Goes Places

Instagram: @abbie.goes.places

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? Ideally yes, some day! Currently, my work has banned all work-related travel through the end of June. I’m generally taking my personal travel cues from this, since I know our HR team works with travel risk experts. My husband is a teacher and we celebrate our fifth anniversary at the end of May. We were hoping to celebrate with an international trip over the summer. Ideally, I would love to fit something in (whether domestic or international) before he returns back to school in the fall. However, I’m holding off on concrete plans until I know what is feasible.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? Not necessarily, no. If anything, that means a higher rate of immunity and lower risk of resurgence in the future. I’ll be paying attention to a number of factors: (1) Where have governments done a great job of responding to the virus? (Basically, where would I not mind getting stuck for a couple week quarantine, worst case scenario!) (2) Which countries/regions have a strong enough health system to care for both citizens and travelers? Basically, I wouldn’t want to be a burden if I ended up sick somewhere, or where I am accidentally spreading the virus as an unknown asymptomatic carrier could cause major issues. (3) Which countries’ economies are really hurting at the moment because they rely on tourism? (4) Can I safely travel there and support the local economy as a tourist? (Hard, because many tourism-reliant countries have weak health systems!
Will you be doing more domestic travel? I’m waiting to see. It’s hard in the US, because traveling to places where you can easily social distance (like national parks or wilderness areas) seems like a natural option. Unfortunately, this puts rural communities that are otherwise relatively unexposed at higher risk. Also, if anything were to happen to me health-wise while in these areas, I would be a burden on a more limited healthcare system. Given current trends, I also get the sense that the US will be fighting this for a lot longer than countries with smaller populations and/or countries that have been much better prepared to tackle this than the US.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? I don’t think so, no. However, for work travel, I will think about my flight routes more strategically, in terms of risk-level and the possibility of getting stranded en-route.

Traveler 13: Katrina from Global Midwife

Instagram: @globalmidwife

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? Girl we have the highest rate here lol, but I’m still hoping to get back to my usual travels. We still have trips booked for August and November, which I haven’t given up hope on. I will definitely be wearing a mask and carrying disinfectant wipes, which I didn’t do before. Besides those two international trips, I won’t plan any more international ones for now. So that’s different for me since I usually do 4-5 international trips a year.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? I will look more into domestic areas that weren’t heavily affected.

Traveler 14: Sandra from SJ_Torres

Instagram: @sj_torres

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? I'll be spending more $ theoretically, so I'd have to take less trips overall. For example, with lodging. Uff...I've been staying at AirBnBs and small business B&B's for years now. However, without a guarantee that they're cleaning appropriately, I will feel safer in hotels... but then, they're more expensive.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? Given our federal government’s atrocious management of this pandemic, it might be safer to travel to a country with robust & affordable (even free!) testing, than going to a US state that didn't even bother with a stay at home order.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? Depending on travel restrictions, I see myself probably doing more domestic instead of international travel.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? I don't know if there will even be many flights available for leisure/tourism travel (all the major USA airlines already cut like 90% of their international flight routes for this summer) and if their pricing will be affordable. Will there be a lot more road trips to different states? I don't know. But I'd look to cities/states that have VERY robust AND affordable COVID-19 testing to even consider it an option as a place to travel to. I'm hoping that I can do road trips in the spring of 2021 (with my car, no rentals) because doing that in the winter is not fun (at least for me ), and I don't feel safe to do so anytime earlier than that. It's going to be a LONG year!
Other thoughts: Even then, given my professional industry (biotech), I've been super busy as we've developed environmental testing for SARS-COV-2 (what actually causes COVID-19) and I don't see myself taking PTO for a vacation anytime soon... The timing works badly given that I do feel a moral obligation to supply businesses and hospitals with the tools to ensure their environments are safe & clean. With my work, we're also providing research labs with a lot of services and tools to study COVID-19 related things, which is not going to let up anytime soon. So if I do end up taking a proper vacation, I'm guessing that I can't realistically do that until the spring of 2021. I might take PTO this year, but just as a mental health break and stay home/hike around the forests near me.

Traveler 15: Vanessa from Latino World Travelers

Instagram: @latinoworldtravelers

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? If it was up to me, I would go back to normal frequency of travel in a heartbeat. However, knowing that I have to be cautious and not put my loved ones in danger, I will probably choose to do less risky kinds of travel.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? I will most likely do quick weekend trips. I live in California now, and there are a lot of options here. I can breathe fresh air, stay active, and witness breathtaking views. I can maybe stay in home rentals, which would allow me to cook my own food.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? I will most likely travel by car to less populated destinations, such as national parks

Traveler 16: Sandra from Gemini Queen Travels

Instagram: @geminiqueentravels

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? Yes. I’ll just take more safety precautions. I’ve been wearing masks and wiping prior to this.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? Yes, I will.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? I will most definitely do more domestic travel. I had planned on doing that before COVID-19 hit. For example, I had already been to Miami, Key West, Nashville and Memphis this year. I’m trying to make it to every state. So many beautiful places here to see!
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? I will still fly, but drive some too!

Traveler 17: Saundra The Chane Traveler

Instagram: @thechanetraveler @sy_chane

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? I will probably go back to my normal frequency of travel once they have a vaccine or shot for COVID-19.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? I would need to avoid the US, my own country.....LOL. I will travel to countries with less cases first.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? I would like to do more domestic travel.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? My mode of transportation will not change, but I will have travel Lysol and wipes in my carry on.

Traveler 18: Elise from Elise Explores

Instagram: @elise_explores

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? No, at least not right away!
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? Yes. I will be continuing to work with seniors so that I won’t put myself in a situation that will put them at a higher risk of getting the virus.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? Yes, that was my plan for this year anyway. To visit more US states. So I will follow through with that plan when it’s possible.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? Yes, in fact, if it’s at all possible to drive, I will.

Traveler 19: K & P from Two Carry Ons

Instagram: @twocarryons

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? To be honest, I do not think we will be traveling as frequently as before when this is first over. It will take time for us to get comfortable again.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? It's kind of tough to say that right now because the U.S. is leading in positive cases and, unfortunately, that’s unavoidable. I think for us it's moreso what safeguards are countries putting in place to reduce the risks.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? More domestic traveling was the plan prior to the pandemic. Therefore, I think we will keep with that plan. After Yellowstone, we realized that there were a lot of places we have not explored in the U.S. and wanted to tackle them. This has just given us more motivation.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? Another really good question! We are on the East coast and many of the places we wanted to visit were in the Northwest and Southwest (As you can imagine, a super long drive!). I think it goes back again to the safeguards put in place for mass transit. I can see us starting out driving to most places and then feeling this is getting old very quickly! LOL

Traveler 20: Franny from Franny the Traveler

Instagram: @franny_the_traveler

Will you go back to a normal frequency of travel? To be honest, not any time soon! I am terrified to travel right now. Being a STEM educator who has a thorough understanding of how germs work, I am concerned about putting my students in danger, my mom in danger, and of course, myself in danger. Over the past few years, I was traveling at least once a month (and sometimes multiple times a month)! Last year, I traveled to 7 new countries and 3 new states and many cities I have been to in the past. I do not foresee that level of travel happening for me over the next couple 2-3 years, at least. If I shift modes of transportation to Amtrak and road trips, (which take longer and Amtrak may cost more money), I would naturally take less trips as well. Travel will look differently for me, for sure.
Will you be avoiding countries that have higher rates of COVID-19? For sure! Doing these throwback posts of countries that I have traveled to in the past, it’s been interesting seeing the HUGE range of confirmed cases among countries. Before choosing a spot, I would want to know: 1) What is the current confirmed number cases? Current death rates, and current recovered rates? 2) How has a country been handling the pandemic? Have they managed to keep it under control? We also need to consider what will be the policies moving forward for traveling. I am sure many places will require a vaccine or proof of immunity. Also, we have to consider which countries will actually open up their borders. I am sure many countries will be very hesitant to allow us through their borders with an American passport.
Will you be doing more domestic travel? Yes and no. The USA has the highest rates in the world and I live in the epicenter of the virus (NYC/NYS). Therefore, it cannot get any worse than that. However, I would like to know how other states have handled the virus (looking at rates and stay at home policies) as some states have been very reckless. I am interested in exploring areas outside of NYC -- taking day getaways to Long Island or Upstate for example.
Will you be changing your mode of travel transportation? For sure. I think that I will be reducing the amount of flights I take. I do not foresee taking a flight until 2021 looking at how things are doing now. Unfortunately, I do not drive, so I will continue to depend on public transportation both for commuting and traveling. For day getaways to Long Island or upstate, I would take trains such as the LIRR and MetroNorth (hopefully there are less people traveling this way). I am dependent on friends for road trips so I am able to get a friend to agree. I would love to take road trips to other states such as West Virginia (which I have never explored before) or Rhode Island (which I have not explored enough!). I am more likely to take an Amtrak train instead of a Greyhound/Megabus. Just think about the space within those modes of transportation. That would allow me to make a trip to DC or Canada for example. Trying to travel smartly around my constraints!