The covid-19 has turned the global travel industry upside down like no other in the last decade. There have been many losses in tourism industry especially destinations that rely greatly on it. Not to mention that many workers in tourism industry around the world lose their income. Many predictions going around say that it is highly likely that revenge travel will save the tourism industry after the pandemic.
Revenge travel after the pandemic
With vaccine distribution, travel is slowly bouncing back against all odds. In some countries where covid-19 is already more controlled, tourism is slowly getting back. Domestic travel has started to be allowed for the citizen. Of course, things are not what they used to be before the pandemic because people still have to follow the protocol and guidelines to stay safe during travel.
It is predicted that once the pandemic ends, there will be a phenomenon called revenge travel. It is not actually new phenomenon in tourism industry. It happened before in 1980s when people in China back then had a concept of revenge spending after emerge from an economic recession. This kind of consumer behavior is predicted and even already started in 2020 as the result of the global pandemic.
Many people have been experienced the feel of being isolated for months. Many people have started to sue the motivation of ‘treat yourself’ using revenge travel. They try to make up for the lost time and canceled trips. In China, it was reported there was a surge of travel happening during the Golden week. The people traveled domestically after the lockdown policy was lifted by the authority. It happened in other countries as well such as Philippines, Florida, etc.
Will revenge travel save tourism industry? The answer is not that simple and clear. Of course it will bring benefits to tourism industry in some ways. However, it might not be sustainable in the long run. The surge or spike of travel around the world after pandemic can also bring negative impacts especially to famous attractions.
If revenge travel is taken from positivity and hope then it is a good thing. Many people now who are still unable to travel can start to hope for a brighter future especially with how vaccine is already distributing around the world. The need to travel and the enthusiasm can help a lot in lifting up spirit and ambition of people after suffering from many restrictions.
When will revenge travel will truly happen? It already happened in some places around the world even if it is in domestic scale. However, revenge travel in global scale is unpredictable since the pandemic itself has not ended. It takes time to spread the vaccines and for them to work. Financial resource, health risk, and safety are several factors that make some people still hesitate to travel even after the pandemic ends. It is because the impact won’t just go away in a day or two. Some changes will remain and it may take time for us all to adapt again.