What’s the travel you want to return to?

Nearing two months of self-isolation, I'm not sure how to respond when people ask how I'm doing. Honestly, I don't even want to ask how people are doing anymore because it seems like we're all thinking the same thing, restraining ourselves from snapping, “Not freakin’ well!!”

Still, I’ve managed to find a few scapegoats for fluffy travel content to pull me out of the abyss, so I wanted to first and foremost share these with you: 

Here and There
Newsletter: Last year I traveled to Peru with photographer Kyle Frost. He started a newsletter all about outdoor adventure travel (his expertise). You’ll love it for articles with depth, persuasive visuals and even newsy angles within outdoor travel. Subscribe here.

On The Pass
Podcast: While attending the Cayman Cookout, I met the team from The Art of Plating, a talented, young bunch obsessed with all things food and wine. Their recently released podcast features some of the hottest names in international cuisine, from Daniel Boulud to Dominique Ansel.

Dark Tourist
On Netflix: Though he’s no Anthony Bourdain (I’m biased, sorry) David Farrier travels to the less-visited corners of popular tourist destinations to uncover the dark history events, from Africa to New Orleans. It’s been out for a couple years on Netflix, and subsequently on my “must watch list” for two years, but with only eight episodes, it’s an easy binge.

Now, let’s get a little deeper. Aside from all the light content I’ve been consuming, I’ve also spent a lot of time in my head wondering:

When will travel return? What will it be like when it returns? What do I even want travel to return to?

When I first attempted to navigate the crumbling walls of a career I built, I couldn’t help but think of all those affected; it broke my heart. I sat inside feeling hopeless and helpless, but I knew I wanted to continue to live by some sense of schedule and normalcy. Hence, why I continued to write about all things travel where possible, while also taking on new editorial projects and genres on the side. (Yes, I write about other things than travel—people, spirits, wine, wellness are just a few of the other stories I appreciate shedding light on; and these uncertain times allowed me to spotlight.)

There came my light at the end of the tunnel—pouring myself into projects I had otherwise placed on the backburner and didn’t just let sizzle, but realistically let burn. So I put out the flames, and recovered the ashes.

Though I understand and appreciate the productivity route isn’t for everyone, the days where I didn't keep busy began to define my sadness; therefore, I wasn’t going to allow myself to slip deeper and deeper into a depression. My route had to consist of pouring myself into work. And that I did, staying busier than I may have been if all this hadn’t happened (minus the flights and layovers and busy itineraries).
 

While I interviewed, emailed, wrote and read, I learned so much about what the state of travel had become pre-Covid-19. Hurried. Extravagant. A competition. Lacking culture. Lacking emotion. More often than not, a trip was a tick off the bucket list. 

I have to admit I’d realized all of this and had actually planned to shift some of my travels for the year to focus on slow travel, to focus on destinations where I could appreciate an innate cultural experience, to learn, to disconnect and to keep travel takeaways with me longer.

So while some say travel may not return to “normal” or to what it was—maybe that’s not necessarily such a negative thing? 

And while others predict the future of the travel industry—maybe we should predict less and form answers to the question: What do we want the landscape to look like? 

Maybe instead of all the “what ifs” we should reevaluate our travel ideals and motivations. Because as much as we hate to admit it, we have a clean slate; it’s like starting new. 

Maybe we should be asking, and seriously answering:

What’s the travel you want to return to?

As you continue to settle into this abnormal, new normal, I hope you can find your light at the end of the tunnel. And I hope you can find time to reflect on these questions that will help shape the future of what may become referred to as the new travel landscape. 

Xo,
J