Kayak Covid-19 Travel Resources Interviews

Marcy

Tell me a little bit about yourself

I am 25 years old, I live in DC, I am a software engineer, I have one dog. I like to travel domestically like maybe 3 times a year, internationally at least once. Due to the pandemic it hasn’t been as consistent but this year I will be traveling internationally at least once.

You are going to travel internationally during the pandemic, tell me a little bit about that, how are you feeling?

I feel fine, I traveled last year during the pandemic, arguably during a higher season, or I guess more serious part of it. So I’m fine with it, just have to make sure when I go if I need to take a test of if they require a test or whatever each countries requirements are so I’m really not afraid of it at all because I’m triple vaxed so yeah

How is planning for this trip differing from a normal year for you?

I definitely pick places where they are still functioning at a high level like I wouldn’t go to a country where like I don’t know Belgium... where they’re really shut down like I don’t even think you can go to a restaurant. So it’s really limiting the places that I’m going I’m usually picking tropical places, latin countries tend to be better because the restrictions are lower. And then places where you need a negative cover test to go in and out, it just makes it a lot simpler.

That’s an interesting point actually, if you’re looking at the x and y axis of where it’s safe to travel vs. where things are open, where do you fall in that?

Especially earlier during the pandemic like they were really open and there just wasn’t a lot of countries like that I just wouldn’t go just because you’re like too open but now that the pandemic — I hope we’re at the end of the hump, I honestly, it doesn’t bother me, I’m not worried. Now if they’re throwing like 40,000 person music festivals that’s maybe not a place I want to go to but you know, if I’m going to primarily be staying in a small town on the beach I really don’t see that as — how open they are doesn’t affect me.

Talk to me about how open you would want a country to be to travel there and is that an important factor in your choice.

Yeah so if I couldn’t eat at a restaurant or if there’s not restaurants open if I don’t know in Belize we want to take a day trip to one of the smaller islands. If they’re not even doing that where it’s all outdoors. Or if my friend wanted to take a scuba diving class and they aren’t doing that, that would heavily influence my trip. In fact I just would not have gone. You know when you go on vacation you want to do a lot of those vacation things and if they’re heavily restricted or just not available there is just no reason to go. Like you’re paying all this money to go somewhere that’s just locked down but tropical? For some people that works but definitely not for me — I’ll just go to Miami

How did you decide on where to travel?

Like I said before most Latin American countries are pretty open. First of all we’re closer to Latin America in North America so proximity is nice. I also pick the weather, what it’s going to be like, restrictions... like costs. If it’s really expensive I might second guess it but if it’s super cheap, I’ll consider a place I haven’t really considered before

I know you’re going to Belize, did the pandemic affect that choice of destination?

Yes. So I knew people who were going to Belize beforehand and they told me it was a very nice place to go, super open, super relaxed. They had a lot of fun. So that affected it. And the fact that it was a really cheap flight. And the fact that its only a 6 hour plane ride including the layover. So it kinda just checked all my boxes and it’s relativley cheaper to travel and stay in Belize than if you were to go to London. So it’s pretty much like Whats the flight cost? How open is the country? How far away is the country? And what is the cost of being there?

Have you found any challenges in planning that trip?

Actually no, it’s just the standard you have to have a negative test before you go in. Pretty much that’s it. And Airbnb and VRBO have ton’s of available houses and condos for rent. Shockingly the hotels are all booked out! So people are definitely going to Belize

How did you find out what the travel restrictions were in Belize?

Usually I go to like the US department of state — I did that for Costa Rica too. Then I just like google “What do you need to do to go to Belize” and usually if it’s a country with a lot of tourism they have like a notice on their official site. Costa Rica we had to fill out a heath visa — I don’t even think you have to do that for Belize, you just need a negative cover test. Yeah that’s pretty much it

With your Costa Rica trip, is there any information you wish you had beforehand?

Not really. And this was like right when people were getting vaccinated, it was a more widespread thing but not really. Like it’s pretty much what I expected

In the current climate do you think that there is anything limiting you’re ability to plan a trip?

Yeah, like how Australia, I don’t even think Australia is doing... like I want to go to Australia, I want to go to Japan but I don’t even think that country is functioning at even 50% capacity in comparison to the United States so that would heavily — it just wouldn’t even be an option. I’ve had to push back a Japan trip twice now. I want to go to Australia but that country I don’t think is even allowing tourism. I know parts of Europe aren’t allowing tourism — it’s not that they’re not allowing tourism there just is nothing for tourist to do. And then the flights are still really expensive to go to certain parts of the world jut because there’s not many.

When you’re deciding on these places, you talked about Japan, Europe, Australia — how are you figuring out what those restrictions were and weighing them with whether you would go or not?

Usually the tourist sites of the official countries will have things. So if they require a quarantine, or a lot of them now require that you get an international health plan — It’s like 30 bucks. But actually I’m pretty sure my healthcare already has it. That’s an important one. I think there’s like sites where you go by the country and they will consolidate all the info in to one site — that’s pretty nice. And then friends who have been will tell me / warn me

If there were a tool to help you travel during the pandemic what would you want it have?

I would want it to have some sort of filter where you pick area of the world, so like Latin America, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa, Northern Africa, Europe ...that kind of regional area. And then you’d have to be like okay am I willing to do a cover test? Yes. Am I willing to get a visa? Yes. Like all these separate things. I’m not willing to do a 2 week quarantine, I’m not willing to do any quarantine. So if I could filter out for no quarantine countries that would help. Then how open — is a country even welcoming tourists anymore? So Belize started welcoming tourist back in November 2021 so we’re like on their official tourist site and it says tourists are welcome to come. I want that too because that means they’re lifted some sort of restrictions. And then if you could like show me flights to these countries from my home cities already filtered out that’d be cool — or like average flight cost. But

mostly it’s just like is the country open and what do I have to do to get there? Got it so that’s your MVP and everything on top of that would be nice?

Yep, exactly. Like if I had those two things that would be great. Because I essentially go on google and I pick the map. And I scroll around the map and see what country looks interesting. And then I open up a separate tab an say can I visit Thailand right now? Is Scotland open? You know what I mean? And then I look at the flights and if the flights are reasonable and the country is open then I’m like okay.

Is there anything else you think I should know about this topic?

People are willing to travel, actually a lot of people. A lot of people are not deterred by Covid, I’m gonna say it, like at all. Hotels are really cheap right now, flights are really cheap depending on where you’re going — I think that incentives more people to travel. The fact that people are working remote makes more people want to travel. So I really — especially with young people — I hate this idea that people aren’t traveling it just simply isn’t true. In fact I feel like more of my friends are traveling during the pandemic than ever before.

Interesting, why do you think more people are traveling right now?

If they’re our age? Because they’re working from home, they have some level of disposable income, they were cooped up for so long that now they’re traveling tons and tons, they already liked to travel before the pandemic but now that they don’t have to physically be in an office anymore they’re like why spend the week in dreary DC when I could spend the week in Miami for 120 dollars round trip, staying with a friend, and working from Miami. It’s like a no brainer to them. And then if they want to go internationally, Belize is the same time zone as the east coast, all you need is wifi and you could be working remotely in Belize. And the plane ticket was 200 dollars.