Thanks for watching. I’m excited for the new travel. I think in the end it will be smarter, more local, and better for all of us. As always our big focus is on making travel more about learning and expanding your understanding of the world. Go check out our travel courses where we demystify places and their context: brighttrip.com/courses/
I think the major downside is that all of these factors you've shared seem to mean a higher cost to travel. Except road tripping, doing things the sustainable way or the "private" way after typically going to be more expensive than before.
Yknow sometimes local travel may surprise you. You'd be surprise how culture differs even in places where you think as "familiar". I attend uni in a different province than mine, people speak a different language there and clearly a different way of life so yeah~
@@crznoatml sounds Canadian? :D (but I agree regardless of home nation, people speak radically different dialects just a few dozen miles away where I'm from in the UK)
1. Emphasis on healthy travel 2. Renewed focus on domestic travel 3. Renewed awareness of the true cost of tourism 4. A surge in personal, private, and self-guided travel 5. Sustainability within travel 6. Slower travel
Honestly these are all trends that have started before and I'm happy that more attention is being brought to them now. Maybe we will start living more conscious
hell yeah, I did that once and it was pretty cool. seeing a ton of cities, taking buses between them, staying with friends - not just getting a hotel in one major tourist city
I WANT TO DO THIS! I had the rare opportunity to stay in Costa Rica for 2.5 months because of Covid, and I definitely took it. I figure going to school in a country would be an easy way to extend the visa even further. In certain places, school is cheap...
I mostly travel for work and it is obvious at this point that much of our work travel was really vanity travel. In March I was going to fly to Ibadan, Nigeria and then Addis for like a week trip. Three full days of flying. We did the meeting remotely and it was so obvious that the trip was unnecessary. Instead next year we may go for two months and really work with people instead of jetting in for a conference and then out.
@@BrightTripTravel I'm all for video calls replacing business trips whenever possible but a lot of brainstorming and eureka moments happen when people are in close proximity. Conferences are a great example of this. Maybe companies and organizations could do long workshops instead of fly-in-fly-out events.
In the recent past corporations used travel and conferences as a means to build morale and team building. A lot of the travel was a tax efficient way to give a bonus to middle ranking employees and encourage corporate loyalty. Now these companies use zoom and teleconferencing applications so that the need to travel is no longer there, except for people who need hands-on training with large cumbersome machinery not easily transported or not good to transport for security reasons. Only tech people will travel for minimal times and probably in cabin class. Medical people will probably also still travel but most other management types will no longer have the easy access to travel they once enjoyed.
I’ve travelled internationally my entire life, and yet have barely seen the US. So now listed my house for sale in Portland, bought a Winnebago Revel and am hitting the US roads for 1 year+.
I agree with this so much, especially your third point, the cost of tourism. I've lived in Amsterdam all my life, and I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon. But for the past 5 years or so, I've started avoiding certain parts of my own city, the most beautifull and historical but most crowded parts. I might have lost my job and seen friends and family struggle aswell because of the pandemic, but I have used this time to re-experience en explore the city I love so much.
So glad you mentioned the sustainability aspect! (obviously I'm biased) but I think that focusing on sustainable travel can make your travels more interesting too! Let me know if you want any help with that sustainable travel video!
I think someday we will look back on the past decade and ask ourselves why people waited 3 hours in line to go to a museum just because everyone else was going there. For the past few years I think people just travelled because they could, not necessarily because they were interested in a specific place. I think tourism and travel can do a lot for the world but it all starts with intention and people understanding why they are going somewhere and what they want to experience in a new place.
Also low budget airlines increase this urge of travelling just for sake of it and not because you're really interested in that place. Like in Europe people travel because was so cheap how can you avoid it. Like people flying from Milan to Germany in the same day for no particular reason. Just for the selfishess to do it and post it on the instagram. I was so pissed with this kind of "tourism".
Living in Norway we’ve been spending our vacations travelling and exploring locally for almost nine years now. Not because we’re not interested in learning about other cultures, but because it’s better for the environment. And we’ve found it’s the perfect way to wind down and enjoy spending vacations together as a family. Basically our focus have become local adventures where we spend more time at each place. What we’ve found is that you don’t have to travel far to be an explorer and there’s always more to explore locally.
Really interesting ideas! But as an Australian (outside of Melbourne) who experienced a several month lock down and then basically normality now - things return to (almost) normal surprisingly quickly. I still work at home but can freely go to retaurants and dont at all feel stressed. That feeling when watching tv and thinking 'wow they're shaking hands!' That has left. And i am grateful it has. It feels so free here despite some restrictions. I guess it feels safe albeit not normal. Love your work and cant wait to see more! PS I've made some very amateur travel videos from The Stans and Iran if that's of interest!
@@mandycook8196 I must admit - I do feel bad when I realise how bad the pandemic is overseas. It really doesn't feel like it's going on anymore in Australia and hasn't for a while. For something that dominated my life so heavily for several months it's really become just a minor annoyance, not being able to travel etc. it really feels like it's over here. But then I realise it's far from over in most of the world - I can't imagine what it would be like for it to drag on, those few months were scary enough let alone over a year!
I'm somewhat worried about the new way in travelling. Financially, travel was always privilege (obviously) and we were grateful everywhere we went. But the 11-14 days we spent anywhere took a full year to financially prepare for. And while living in Ireland has some benefits for domestic travel, we are also very limited. Ireland is expensive to live and travel in, and if you want to leave, the most affordable way is by flight (mostly monopolized by Ryanair, thank you Capitalism). Sustainable travel would mean flying to France, and getting a bus from there to wherever, which still involves flying and would rack up a hefty price for just a return trip. And then trying to find affordable accommodation in the destination. I doubt prices will change much for the better. Overall, while I'm happy to see a new environmental and locals awareness growing, I'm worried it will become a thing that only the rich can do.
Take the car ferry to France from Dublin, Rosslare, or Cork. Get a nice cabin. Enjoy the trip slowly. Either bring your car or get a Eurail pass. I’ve done both and prefer the trains. Can go all over Europe over time or all at once if you have the time and money. Ireland is a gem all on its own though. Explore it first!
As a part of the slow travel society, we appreciate this particular video. One of the reasons we are on our adventure across America is to stay safe while enjoying the travel lifestyle. It helps that we can be location independent as well. We think that there will be more people doing the same type of travel as us in the future, finding the best place to get some work in while enjoying the most out of life.
I work for a company that supports the air travel industry and have traveled domestically throughout the pandemic. Most of what you've said is spot on from an industry perspective too. Just look up some reports from IATA. - Increased focus on health or at least measures that seem to passengers to show increased concern for their well being and psychological comfort when flying. - Lost jobs that will never return. - A significant drop in business travel as the necessity of adoption of digital collaboration platforms increases. - As long as the economy as a whole does well, personal travel demand will continue to rise. Just look at the increasing flights to Mexico. - A focus on sustainability and net zero emissions, mostly through carbon offsets.
Slow travel, absolutely! I have done the whole Rome, Florence, Venice, Alps and Milan thing and can safely say my latest trip to Italy when I parked myself in Rome for 2 weeks in 2018 was way better than that whirl wind trip I did in 2007. I discovered so much and really felt a part of that magnificent city!
Thanks for this interesting video! It’s been such a relief living in Amsterdam without the crowds. All the best with the BrightTrip platform, I’ll definitely check it out!
I live in the northern region of Italy that was shown at minute 9:15 and YES, the difference of carbon emissions was HUGE during the first wave. Skies were as blue as I haven't seen them in years, air was clean and not heavy on your lungs. I am a travel vlogger myself and this points are the results of a reasoning I have done as well, especially the one about self guided trips. Good one Bright Trip
Since moving to Barcelona 3 years ago I made it my mission to discover Spain. Now due to the pandemic, I spend more time than ever in Cataluna and I'm blown away. It's so beautiful here and all I was doing was searching outside. Number 2 really spoke to me :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us! It makes me really excited about the future of travel :)
My husband and I don’t stay at resorts because of how convenient they make everything. We love to explore and interact with the locals. We have found great people along our journeys and can’t wait to see how much more things will change. Great video!
The local travel thing is so true! Last year I went to all kinds of different countries. Either by Car, Train or by Plane. This year I visited some family and went on a multi day trekking and camping trip with two friends... We started at home with the goal to see more of the place we grew up at and it was so cool!
This is something that gets me excited, but also a little scared, or rather, apprehensive. My mom and I had a trip to Europe planned where we were going to go from Edinburgh to London to Paris over the course of two weeks. We had all of these locations and events booked, but since COVID hit, none of it has happened. A part of me still wants travel to be the same when this starts clearing up, but I know this new way of travel can be so much more enlightening and refreshing. I just hope I’ll be ready for the shift when it comes, and for the unfamiliarity it will bring. Thank you for the great video!
love this video! just a comment, carbon neutral doesnt mean no footprint - it just means net zero emissions. this means they buy RECs and/or carbon offsets to make up for the emissions they do produce, which include things like electricity, heat, and landfill waste. actually think that would be an interesting video idea on your main channel - lots of companies have set carbon neutral goals for 2030, 2040, 2050, etc
I think as covid numbers get smaller it’ll mostly go back to the way it was in terms of how people interact and travel. In Australia in a lot of parts it’s very easy to forget everywhere else is in the midst of a pandemic.
my worry about travel is the inevitable endless beurocracy each country would have, instead of having a uniform system in place for when travel starts to pick up 😪
This was one of the most informative and accurate videos about traveling I've watched in a while! Thank you, super informative especially for a small travel channels like me
I would really love to see that course about how to travel sustainably! I am inquisitive about traveling more sustainable. As a travel lover, I got to explore things I would never have experienced if I didn't commit myself to stop flying. I am excited about what I could learn from you!
This summer, I learned about camping and tried it for the first time at Catalina island , Bryce Canyon and CA beach. It's not bad, still cost more than traveling to different countries with cheaper logging. For example, the same budget for me to travel all over Turkey or Cambodia for 3 weeks, can only allow me to travel to Lake Tahoe for 1 week or to Zion National Park Grampian, $100 just to sleep in a modified ⛺!
The moment when you mentioned ‘slow travel’ I instantly thought about Nathaniel Drew. Hope you’ll make that course happen, Nathaniel is such a talented creator!
This was super insightful! I am a tourism major and this topic to me is really interesting. I loved the silver linings you talked about coming from this tragic pandemic. It really has put every aspect of life into perspective. It will be interesting to see how everything unfolds with the recovery of tourism.
I have been slow traveling for a while now in Latin America. I spend three month in a country and then go to the next one. It’s the best way to deeply experience a country and it’s culture.
I disagree on your analysis that no flights equals to no emissions in maps. Although it has an effect, the main polluter are cars and factories. Today there are also much fewer flights but the contamination is back, mainly because the car traffic and factories are also back. Per person/km travel aeroplanes are more carbon-efficient than car/bus/diesel trains.
www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49349566. Unless you are driving alone, which most people don’t do on vacation road trips, driving is quite a bit more carbon intensive. Plus even if it was similar, a round trip flight across the globe is equivalent to over 100 one hour road trips (distance wise).
As someone entering the healthcare workforce soon, I’m intensely jealous of people who will get to slow travel! Will have to save that for retirement haha.
One of our last trips we took prior to Covid (fall 2019) was a month long escapade to Thailand and Japan. We took our 10 and 12 year old. We walked mostly everywhere, ate at all the local food carts within the neighborhoods we stayed in. My children would go around bowing and greeting the locals in their own language. We are definitely starving to experience that again.
Thanks a lot for his video! It was really inspiring to hear you talk about the future of travel and how it is not dead-it’s just going to change. It’s taken me a long time to reconcile with this, but this is indeed an inflection point of the world economy and society and whatever travel will become, that will be the new normal. I grew up in the post-9/11 world and these airport rules have always been the norm to me, and you’re right there will be a new normal and I’m ready for that change
We thought a cabin in Yellowstone the last week of September would be a quiet low-keyed vacation where fewer people in the "off season" would give us a relaxing 😷 break from all the stress. Evidently so did 80,000 other people. On the same week. The NPS was amazing in following CDC guidelines! No mask? You were offered one free. Not wearing one? You could not access any service in the park without one. All food was hot, cooked to perfection but take out. Every building you walked in had counters counting how many walked in and how many walked out. And lines were spaced 6ft apart. The cabin rentals were reduced by 25% capacity. All communal lodging ( shared showers and baths ) in campgrounds and in the lodges were canceled. The visitor center building was closed so outdoor talks and small group or self guided tours were substituted. But there was still 80,000 visitors that all had the same idea that week.
Social distancing was just a sign at Zion National Park in August. After going through hell to book the shuttle bus, planning 2 hours in advance to get there,the bus driver still made a total stranger set next to me . The 99F heat, the crowd, was not a enjoyable trip compared to Bryce canyon without the hassle
I think you may be right with some of the travel trends that you see coming. We have been slow travelers for almost 10 years now (3-6 months in a different international location per year). In addition to gaining a deeper experience of the area, we find the economics of extended stays can be beneficial depending on region chosen. For example the cost of 6 months away for us can often be the same or less than our friends 10 day "resort" holiday. The other trend you touch on (increased domestic travel), we experienced this, this past summer (full time in a motorhome). We spent more time exploring (and really enjoying) our home province than ever before. Thanks for sharing the video!
@@BrightTripTravel But the people wanted that before COVID-19, why wouldn't they want it in the future? What if what tourism was before COVID-19 was the right direction for tourists? People wanted to make those choices, they wanted to go to overcrowded destinations, and they wanted to see the same sights everyone else had seen. I get the idea from the video that you think there is the right and wrong way to travel. Bad tourism and good tourism. I see this as a bit biased view, as you yourself identify. Good and bad, right and wrong are dependent on the perspective. So from your perspective, the sustainable direction is the right one to go, but from the perspective of many tourists, it is not interesting for them. This is why the tourism industry cannot wait for the demand for sustainable tourism to grow big, but the existing supply has to be developed to be more sustainable.
I agree with you, I think some of this is the perspective of a hipster Millenial, and doesn't really reflect the reality for most Middle class families. Resorts are popular for a reason. The Louvre is popular for a reason. People want safe, predictable experiences, aside from a small minority of avid travellers. BUT, you can't discount everything. I think the rise of local travel and the fear associated with COVID-19, as well as the economic issues that will linger will make international travel less possible for a greater number of people. Imagine in late 2021-early 2022, when travel demand rises. I bet a lot of people won't be able to afford it.
My mom got a job in Hawaii so I’m going to stay with her for winter break from school and they have a thing where if you test negative for COVID-19 you can bypass their mandatory 14-day quarantine.
@@BrightTripTravel of course! I think the islands big enough for the both of us!
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I so miss traveling and can't wait to do it again when it is safe. Yeah, you gotta do the tourist monuments. Gotta do it once but the real reward is leaving that area and exploring. The city that comes to mind for me is Istanbul. The amount of disovery and the friendly locals we meet in the small shops and cafes is what made that trip so memorable.
I've been travelling like that for years. I started exploring my own neighborhood 30 years ago - and expanded from there to ever increasing circles round the world from Canada where I live to Australia, Tierra del Fuego, Iceland etc. I find it just as interesting to get off the beaten track in my neighborhood and learn the history and geography of the place as being 1000 miles away. People complain they have no money to travel - and when I say you can start by exploring your own backyard - there is no interest. They want to go to a "warm" place and sit by the beach. We have gone to resorts where all the beach chairs are taken and people sit all day by the beach - while we hire a taxi or car and explore little towns and markets. (We usually have to speak the local language). Or they sit in swimming pools, ordering drinks from the bar. In fact, the irony is that we purchased a house 35 or so years ago and the owner had built a swimming pool in his yard and proclaimed - now we don't have to go on holiday - we can just go out to our pool. Maybe I'm wrong but most people are just content to go see the "sights" and sit by the beach, never getting off the beaten track. Our recent trips: Red Lake and McKenzie Island (we were the only people on the ferry), Ontario; seeing 5000-year old petroglyphs in Gabriola Island (met 2-3 other people), 150 mile schoolhouse (we were the only visitors apart from 3 in the morning for the whole day) - both in BC and further back swimming in "Airplane Lake" (we were the only people there) near Caramat (Ontario).
Our trips the last 15 years have been six week ones where we explored more slowly. We have friends who beach it only or cruise travel and we have nothing in common with that type of so called “travel”. We plan to travel close to home in Canada. We are from the gorgeous East coast .
Big YES to more slow travel and sustainable travel. 🙌 I'd love to see more videos about both of these (and participate myself however I can)! I've also appreciated Nathaniel Drew's videos on slow travel. Perhaps a stall and then major overhaul/transformation of the travel industry is something we really need to preserve our planet. 🌎🌿This is a solid roundup of many changes ahead-thank you very much!
@@BrightTripTravel I'm beyond excited! These topics/discussions give me liiiife. Thanks for spreading the word about some of the very important things impacting the travel industry and global communities! 🌿🌎
You guys should travel to West Virginia! It’s a beautiful state and pretty close to where you guys live. Little towns like Davis, Thomas, Lewisburg, Elkins,etc., hold little gems for food, shopping, and amazing hiking trails with hidden waterfalls and views that take your breath away. People are friendly, roads are curvy, and it’ll be a trip to remember!
I shut down my travel business in May after I came to the realization that the pandemic will take awhile to be brought under control. Hope we will get past these hard times
At 5:30 you dropped a truth bomb! I live in a very rural agriculture place and was completely shocked at the large number of people who came out to our area since March.
Thank you so much for connecting the dots: slow travel. I’ve done this a few times and haven’t found a concise way to explain what it is and why I’ve done it. Definitely going to follow Nathaniel Drew.
This is a great video, thanks for putting it together. Some feedback or perspective… I’m an experienced traveler, spent the last 15 years traveling at least twice a year to different countries. Before it was fashionable or before there was an Instagram. Lol. I agree that people will look at more local options… But even a comment here says many times you wanna experience a different culture. So, what you’re going to have is a lot more regional travel. I am already seeing it. I was just in Puerto Vallarta three weeks ago and I am going to Puerto Escondido in a month...an increasing number of Americans are booking trips there as well. That means the US will likely travel much more to Latin America. Europe will likely contain itself to other European countries and Asia to Asia. Wasn’t it New Zelandia & Australia that formed a “travel bubble” recently? Additionally, while I agree that tourism boards are looking for ways to minimize the impact on locals, it’s becoming very clear how incredibly dependent many areas that are high tourism spots depend on tourists from an economic perspective. So there will always be the push and pull between making sure that you have enough visitors to support the local economy and not so many that locals can’t really live in that area. But I don’t think that they’re going to limit tourism in any meaningful way because for many of those places it’s a primary source of revenue & sustenance.
I’m not so sure how much of this decrease in travelling will last. When distancing measures are less strict and people are given the opportunity to go somewhere they will take it asap. Experiencing a place or meeting someone in real life simply can’t be matched by a video or a zoom call.
120m travel jobs lost! 😱 Great vlog! Really thoughtful and considered. I like how balanced your viewpoints are and that you emphasize that not all changes will be bad and that this is an opportunity to make tourism better going forward. We locked ourselves down in Nicaragua when the pandemic hit and we're not sure when we'll be able to return to our home of Australia. It's been an interesting time and we're keen to see how travel changes in future.
Personally guided travel is the best in my opinion. I do believe also less crowds *think big traveling groups* will be less popular in the future as you said.
Woah, thanks for this thoughtful video. I've been thinking about this a lot and it's great to have your insights. Totally agree and slow travel is the way to go - it has always been ❤️ looking forward to Nathanial's videos.
I’ve been an advocate of slow travel for years. Some great ideas and I agree with most of them, though I fear our memories are short and green washing is everywhere.
The massive reduction in CO2 emissions over Northern Italy aren't because of the lack of airplanes but the full lockdown Italy experienced in March/April. A lot of industries also closed and there were no cars, truck etc on the road. Of course flying causes huge emissions but not on this level.
I live in Charleston SC and between the cruise ships and everyday tourist I hated going out in my own city. Now I actually like going downtown and buying clothes and acting like a tourist in my city every other week. It’s clean and less noisy. I love it. I feel bad for the businesses but you see a lot of the locals now stepping up and spending more in these businesses to keep them solvent. It’s going to be a sad day when Charleston becomes a top tourist destination again.
A good thing about local travel is also climate protection. If you compensate for your flights, good, but it's better to not cause damage in the first place (and then pay someone else to make up for it).
Slow travel, I didn’t know there was a word for it! This is what I’ve been wanting to do for so long now, and it seems like Covid is really paving the way for a lot of remote work possibilities in the future. Silver linings!
Switzerland released an "autumn foliage map" that locals can check which colors the trees will have in which regions on which date. They'll release more of such data-driven tools in the future. Making travel planning even easier. Especially for those who just want to see something new around the corner.
I'm not sure if it's considered slow travel but every summer my family used to spend a month of vacation in our country usually camping and another month abroad and really becoming a part of the society we visited and I find that wholesome of us
Thank you for this very interesting video. I could not agree with you more on all your points. The more we have travelled (we live in Canada) the more we have seen the good and bad of tourism. One of our favourite places is Bali and in talking with the locals we learnt about their water shortages. We then became keenly aware of the number and size of swimming pools in every hotel. Your point about the locals and the effects of mass tourism is so correct. Having done both private and group travel, you learn so much more about a culture travelling private. I guess people’s reason for travelling will change and with those choices the amount you are willing to pay for a different cultural experience.
My heart is broken about this covid-19 situation. For many of the years, I procrastinated world travel . Because , in the past it was an affordability issue period in 2019, I thought I would take the big leap and travel to the UK which was at the top of my bucket list. My flight was scheduled for March 15th of 2020. You can imagine my disappointment when all the borders. My dreams were crushed and somehow are no ways in sight. But, I agree. Travel will never be the same! And I've missed my golden opportunity to see the world the way that it was!
I agree with a lot of this, but my wife and I love art; we happened to be in France last year for work and went to the Louvre not because other people thought we should, but because we love art. We visit the 4 major art museums in SF at least once a year since we live an hour away. I try to do this in every big city I visit for more than 2-3 days.
If there become any sort of limits on the number of people in places, that will have some positive impacts but the downside is that it becomes more exclusive. Travel, especially international, is obviously already a very privileged activity. However, limited capacity likely means paying for access to things that were previously didn’t have an entry fee. Some of these historic and special places around the world need to be accessible for a handful of reasons but this could impact already marginalized groups more than others.
I think another factor to consider is cost. As the industry sees smaller competitors get eliminated, larger companies (particularly airlines) will have more monopoly power and push prices up. The competitive landscape that allowed flights from Toronto to Saigon for $600 are likely to be gone, even with lower fuel prices. Scarcity in all things will mean higher costs.
I really like the sustainable travel video idea! I live in rural CA where there has been a significant rise in eco-tourism. I wonder, with the rise of U.S. domestic travel (by I.C.E. RV etc...) if there will finally be some action regarding lowering camping footprint - the recent switch from full-size RVs down to vans is a good start.
I guess what's missing from this video is something that has actually shaped tourism: fulfilling ambitions. As long as travelling remains a sign of social position, people will keep on following others to popular places, just to take that one blurry picture with Eiffel tower and post it online. It makes people happy, we just want to be like others and share their experiences. And ambitions don't seem to be going anywhere.
One thing I learned early on, specifically during college, was the value of going to a place and staying there for a long time. I spent a summer in Paris. I went to both Japan and Italy for 10 days each. Guess which of those trips means more to me all these years later.
I really enjoy your videos Johnny. And this one is no exception! So Many great points you discussed, as now more than ever travellers really need to ‘THINK’ about the consequences of our actions. For the world to become a better greener place. There really has to be more quality information like in this video. Thank you
Fantastic info and observations for us all to reflect on. I’ve enjoyed traveling off the beaten path for decades. As much as I’m glad that there more be more people exploring this at the same time I ‘d hate to loose that quiet peaceful way of travel I’ve been enjoying 😋. Yep I’m a little selfish that way 🤣
So I have some experience with slow travel, my fiance and I spent a month in the town of Mossel Bai South Africa so that she could to research and honestly the difference between that and a conventional few day trip was incredible. The amount of depth of feeling that you can experience for a place grows exponentially as you are able to live the culture and create strong bonds with the people who live in that place. for anyone who has the time and the resources to take a multi-month trip I would say it is a life-changing experience.
Thanks for this! So interesting and I agree with all these, love how we can all use this time to make positive changes in so many areas of life, economy, etc.
I literally cannot describe, as someone who lives in a town where tourism destroys our natural beauties and beaches every summer, how great this pabdemic has been for helping my town fully recover from tourism. Its like a diffrent place.
On the over tourism point -- I'm from Edinburgh (live in Canada now). Edinburgh is buckling due to lack of tourism. The city is so over reliant on Airbnb's, festivals and tourism. A large part of the reason I left Edinburgh is because of the toll it took on my physical and mental health working for the month of August every year when the city's population *triples* overnight for an entire month. It's so unsustainable and businesses were/are increasingly reliant on the income of that one month of the year to stay afloat. It's awful and I really, truly hope that the tourism industry is restructured after COVID to something healthier and more sustainable.
I’ve been a flight attendant for the last 13 years. Travel has always needed to change. I always thought American Airports were cesspools because it’s just open seating in the terminals. Where as in other countries some of the gates are sectioned off so at least you have that separation. Also the planes weren’t being cleaned. When I can go overseas with my son I plan on staying for a few weeks or a few months instead of jetting right back. I want to experience the culture instead of just seeing the touristy spots.
