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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 27, 2021 18:50:49 GMT
This is a question that just about all of us are asking. (Maybe there are a few among us who no longer travel at all, but they are the minority.)
We've all seen news reports about hotels and restaurants in various countries reaching their last gasp of existence. Tonight on the French news there was a report about Ko Samui in Thailand, totally empty of course. There were 4000 French citizens living there before this all started, many in the tourist industry. One of the people in the report is just about to sell his empty hotel and return to Europe. "Last year the occupancy was 83% this month and now it is 5%." His savings and monthly retirement of 3000 euros were enough to pay the charges up until now, but no longer. The Thai government has absolutely no programmes to financially help the tourist industry. Another French expat owns two restaurants, one of which is already closed and the other just about to do so, even though there are only 3 employees left. He will also be returning to France penniless. When the reporters went to see the French school of Samui, it had more than 100 students last year and is now down to 60. The fact that so many are still there is less surprising, since there are plenty of Franco-Thai families and you don't have to be French to enroll in the French school.
But in any case, the expat business people in all of these places are devastated, which is a shame, but it was always a risk. They just weren't expecting this sort of risk. Probably a lot of them already went through the tsunami in 2004 and have never forgotten the risk of that and had almost certainly taken precautions, but nobody expected a pandemic.
In Europe, North America and Australia (plus Japan/Korea) most places will still exist when the tourists return because there has been quite a bit of government aid. But I think a lot of us are going to be in for a shock when we try to go to some of the other places.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 27, 2021 19:41:34 GMT
I think it's unavoidable there will be a slump in many things for at least the next few years as regards hotels/restaurants. In some places the gaps will be noticeable where a business has gone bust and never came back. I think if I wanted to make money I'd be buying up some of these abandoned places for a cheap price, sitting on them for a year and then re-selling them when things are picking up again.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 27, 2021 19:58:02 GMT
I visited Indonesia just one month after the Bali bombings of 2002. I felt as though I was the only tourist in the entire country (well, with my friend Emmanuelle). It was really creepy. On the one hand, the Indonesians were all adorable in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Malang and Bali -- they clearly were ultra appreciative of seeing tourists. On the other hand, the food was pretty awful even though I had adored it on my previous trips. It was not fresh and had been sitting around too long waiting for customers. It was not their fault.
We also experienced one of the things that was reported in Thailand this time. We went to some sort of park in Bali which included monkeys, and they were very aggressive. When there are very few tourists, they practically attack you because they were starved for "treats" that tourists often bring, and also we were simply outnumbered. We sometimes had to yell and stamp our feet to make them back off.
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Post by bjd on Apr 28, 2021 6:27:17 GMT
We went to Morocco less than a year after 9/11 and the tourist industry was still not doing well. We talked with a guide who said there was a lot of competition among them to get customers because a lot of people were afraid of going to Muslim countries.
And the other day I saw a report on France24 about a French tour guide who dealt with groups of Chinese tourists. She hadn't had any work for a year and figured there wouldn't be any Chinese groups again until 2022.
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Post by questa on Apr 29, 2021 1:51:16 GMT
About those Bali monkeys, Kerouac...There are 3 places in Bali where the tourists come in contact with them -Uluwatu in the southern tip of the island, Sangeh in a large forest central west where they are the only tourist feature for kilometres and the famed Monkey temple in Ubud where the tourists get to interact with the little beasts. I am betting this is where you went.
The monkeys are macaques...long sharp teeth and rotten personalities at the best of times. The temple is built in the forest with a little shallow pool in the centre and paths leading to neighbouring villages The monkeys meet up in this central area to play around and take bananas etc from the tourists. They are very bold and will grab your bag, camera, sunglasses and run up a tree. They will bite if you try to get them back.
There are about 8 Rangers who patrol the park retrieving bags and dressing bites etc. They are armed with catapults and are fantastic marksmen, I've seen a chap hit a monkey who was on top of a tree and his stone had to pass between 2 branches. It is sometimes the only way to retrieve stolen items.
Food for them is supplied by the rangers but there were old ladies selling snacks. There were coach loads of tourists coming and going so the monkeys have learned tourist=food They don't bother local people and I always gave them a wide berth.
It is sad that they are going hungry but so is everyone in tourism.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 29, 2021 11:32:53 GMT
We don't have macaques here thank the pope - Our Vervet monkeys are not as aggressive but are getting bolder by the day. Yesterday an entire troup came through our property. I noticed the younger ones even trying to open my kitchen windows which were left on the snib with just enough air getting in. They are also starting to rip open garbage bags. So, we have resorted to shooting them with our paintball gun. The splat of yellow paint soon turns to a powder and falls off. Also, they only feel a sting and no other damage. Time will tell if they move off for new feeding grounds and my brinjals and other vegetables will be left alone.
When I hear that many are planning holidays in 2022 I think there will be so many tourists that the travel experience will not be good.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 29, 2021 15:22:52 GMT
When I hear that many are planning holidays in 2022 I think there will be so many tourists that the travel experience will not be good. Totally agree, Tod. Really, it appears that so many people already have tickets for September 2021. I just envision a huge glut in every single tourist destination. |
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 29, 2021 15:41:07 GMT
I am bracing myself. Or perhaps I will flee Paris and irritate people elsewhere.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2021 17:14:34 GMT
Convalescent, I'm just hoping to be able to walk normally around Montréal. Wrote to a friend in Argentina yesterday (Balcarce, a town in Buenos Aires province, in between the major cities of Bs. As., La Plata etc) and this morning to friends in Ghent. My health is rapidly improving, but my walking is still rather limited.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 29, 2021 17:17:19 GMT
It has been announced that France will accept foreign visitors starting on June 9th. Probably not from everywhere.
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Post by fumobici on Apr 29, 2021 17:28:26 GMT
As it's likely that's around when I'll likely be taking my first long trip, to Italy of course. I like to make a point of visiting at least one city that I randomly have a plane transfer in or near. I usually transfer in London, Schiphol, Paris, or Frankfurt. Haven't camped in Frankfurt yet and I'd like to get out of the airport at Copenhagen, but probably will instead just head straight into Hicktown, Tuscany when I go this year* rather than visit any of those transfer cities.
<edit> *to clarify, in September rather than June
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2021 23:26:33 GMT
Schiphol isn't a city; it's the airport suburb of Amsterdam. You could do a stop-off in any city of the Randstad.
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Post by lugg on May 1, 2021 18:12:53 GMT
My health is rapidly improving, but my walking is still rather limited. That's good news Lagatta , hopefully as you continue to improve you will be able to walk further. My travel this year will be very limited , even as Covid restrictions lift , my knee just makes me not want to spend any money on travel when I just can't do what I normally would do.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 2, 2021 2:53:14 GMT
My health is rapidly improving, but my walking is still rather limited. Good to hear that, LaGatta. I imagine you miss your bicycle very much, especially as Spring is arriving. my knee just makes me not want to spend any money on travel when I just can't do what I normally would do. That's understandable, Lugg. But if you are like me, you agree with everyone here who thinks travel will be problematic, uncomfortable, and probably crowded in 2021, so you & your knee might as well wait. |
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Post by mich64 on May 2, 2021 20:01:47 GMT
My health is rapidly improving, but my walking is still rather limited. Very happy to read that you are recovering Lagatta. Our hope is to travel in the spring of 2022 to perhaps Costa Rica and then on our delayed holiday to Austria/Slovenia in the fall of 2022. |
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Post by lagatta on May 2, 2021 21:41:48 GMT
I have just barely been inside Slovenia; unfortunately not yet Austria. I believe there are some worthwhile rail journeys.
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Post by onlyMark on May 4, 2021 16:49:48 GMT
After a very long saga and very long and tortuous train rides, including two buses (no matter the reputation of Germany, the trains are frequently late and/or cancelled) - I received my first AstraZeneca jab today.
Twelve weeks until the next, they say.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 4, 2021 16:58:25 GMT
My second dose is scheduled for the beginning of July, but I am hoping to move it up a bit.
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Post by lugg on May 4, 2021 18:49:36 GMT
That's understandable, Lugg. But if you are like me, you agree with everyone here who thinks travel will be problematic, uncomfortable, and probably crowded in 2021, so you & your knee might as well wait. Absolutely. Just booked a week in August that I am happy about - fairly locally in Wales, with Enzo and his mum and dad and his great grandma. Staying in an house in Laugharne - the one associated with Dylan Thomas . Good news Mark and K2 re vaccinations. Mich - happy days - I would love to visit Costa Rica one day. |
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Post by fumobici on May 4, 2021 19:59:22 GMT
I won't be in Italy during August, that's established. I'm letting friends of the neighbors use the house for the month. I'm having two nice Romanian ladies who I've hired before clean the house. Apparently there are lots of dead insects and some dust to be expunged. They charge 90 Euro for about two and a half hour cleaning tornado, so that's the rent for the month. Looking like the fall at this point.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 4, 2021 20:28:48 GMT
I'm having two nice Romanian ladies who I've hired before clean the house. I wonder if Romanian ladies are the secret to the extreme cleanliness I encountered in most of the places I stayed in Italy. Sounds as though you're doing a good deed and also prudently waiting until the initial post-pandemic stamped of 2021 is over. |
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Post by tod2 on May 5, 2021 8:53:07 GMT
My second dose is scheduled for the beginning of July, but I am hoping to move it up a bit. When did you have your first vaccine Kerouac? I don't remember seeing anything about it. I'm just curious to know what did you have... Astra Zeneca, Moderna or J&J, or other? |
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Post by kerouac2 on May 5, 2021 9:43:17 GMT
I had AstraZeneca and no, I did not mention when.
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Post by tod2 on May 5, 2021 12:28:55 GMT
I am so glad you have been done. I read on the news today that even people with a vaccination certificate will not be allowed into Israel.....Not that you are intending a trip - Just the fact that they are being super careful and have vaccinated at least 61% of their population. I would expect that of such a small country.
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Post by Kimby on May 5, 2021 13:13:20 GMT
Well, I am one who is vaccinated and ready to travel. My sister and I exchanged our planned (September 2020 and COVID-postponed to September 2021) trip to Peru for a 10 day visit to Iceland in July 2021.
July being peak season for Iceland, and Iceland being one of the safer and more open-for-tourism countries, I expect we’ll be dealing with crowds.
But since it’s a tour, all the bookings are Go Ahead’s responsibility, not mine, and once we hit the Ring Road, I imagine the crowds will diminish.
My biggest shock will likely be the prices for the meals that aren’t included, which amounts to 6 lunches and 4 dinners. I hear a bowl of soup or a salad costs $15-20!
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Post by kerouac2 on May 5, 2021 15:08:33 GMT
You'll just have to hope that most things will be settled in Iceland by July 2021 because for the moment just about everyone is forbidden. Travel to and within IcelandMeanwhile, I have (re)booked my first tiny domestic trip for the new season. I had booked it in March already but had to cancel. I know that some of you like to guess where I am going, but I will only tell you for the moment that it is one of the least popular cities in France, which eliminates quite a few possibilities. Direct TGV from Paris, though, which also eliminates a lot of places. |
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Post by tod2 on May 5, 2021 16:01:40 GMT
I cant wait to hear!' Are we allowed to guess?
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Post by tod2 on May 5, 2021 16:07:10 GMT
After a very long saga and very long and tortuous train rides, including two buses (no matter the reputation of Germany, the trains are frequently late and/or cancelled) - I received my first AstraZeneca jab today. Twelve weeks until the next, they say Good for you Mark! Does the Mrs. also have a vaccine jab, or have I missed that report? I know American citizens who have flown back to the USA to get a vaccine jab. Only because in France they are qualified as too young. I think it is incredible that you can book a vaccine jab in your country of origin, fly in and with 24hrs get jabbed. That has got to be a feather for USA.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 5, 2021 16:26:58 GMT
A friend of mine is in the States right now. He strolled into a CVC (chain pharmacy) & got his first Pfizer dose.
As far as the immediate future of travel, yesterday I read that Germany is canceling Oktoberfest again this year because of fears of spreading the virus. To me that seems definitive proof that it is not yet time for vacation travel.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 5, 2021 16:45:15 GMT
It is much easier to get a vaccine in France now. Anybody over the age of 50 is now eligible as well as anybody with a "health condition." But there is no longer any verification of "health conditions" -- it is now an honour system. And of course anybody in a front line or second line profession can get vaccinated, too -- health care workers, education workers, cashiers, sanitation workers, firefighters, assistants to the aged or handicapped... The final floodgates will open in a couple of weeks, but in any case anybody who is hanging around at the end of the day can be vaccinated with any leftover doses.
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