The slow return of travel

I used to take the right to travel for granted. Working in the travel industry certainly intensifies the desire to travel often and discover new places. Before the pandemic, no one could have predicted a scenario whereby travelling would be banned, taken off the menu - our right to go on holiday removed!

I am somebody who would always have more than one trip planned at a time, so that upon returning home from one, I’d have the next to look forward to. The concept of having no trips in the diary was alien to me, as like so many others travel is and always has been my passion; I became a temporary armchair traveller.

A glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel appeared as travel corridors were introduced during the second half of 2020. I was very fortunate to visit Rhodes in September, wearing my mask of course but without the need to take a covid-19 test before boarding the flight! When I look back it feels rather strange that I was able to travel so easily back then before there was a vaccine, compared to now, but things are changing.

Travel is returning...albeit slowly but surely, and there is a lesson to be learned from this slow return. Namely to be grateful to travel again, taking time to appreciate the journey. Sometimes being forced to slow down is not such a bad thing, because tourist burnout exists! Let’s swap whistle-stop city tours for laid back living. Take real time off, don’t check emails, turn off social media notifications and travel mindfully instead, I know I will.

Small moments like drinking a piping hot cortado in a Mallorcan village square, sampling fine wine in the rolling hills of Tuscany or watching the sunset over the sea from your Greek villa’s terrace, should all be enjoyed with pleasure and without distraction.

Travel should never be taken for granted. Each experience should be savoured, appreciated and stored as a precious memory, not simply crossed off a bucket list and onto the next. Whenever your next trip may be, spend time savouring it and carve out some time to slow down.

If you need some help planning your next trip, our team of Villa Specialists are here to help. Give us a call or enquire online today and let us do the rest.