Holly O’Sullivan of Sydney’s Northern Beaches in Santorini, Greece before COVID-19 restricted international travel.
Before COVID-19, traveling in the 20s was a festival: backpacking overseas trips through Asia, bus trips through Europe and a box of sweets with working holiday visas around the world to choose from.
Travel has been more affordable and accessible for millennials than for any other generation. And while it was arguably more visible thanks to social media, it remained a profoundly transformative experience for thousands of young Australians.
Professional surfer and mental health advocate Cooper Chapman, of Kingscliff, NSW, spent five years touring the world on the Pro Circuit. The 27-year-old believes that traveling has shaped his identity a lot.
“I know how much traveling has educated, inspired and motivated me to become a better person,” says Cooper Chapman of Kingscliff, NSW.
“I don’t think there is any substitute for the value that comes from experiencing other cultures firsthand and understanding that there is much more to the world than Australia,” says Chapman.
The rise of low-cost airlines and increasing globalization meant that travel went from a rite of passage for Generation X to the norm for millennials. Then, in March 2020, Australia closed its borders and banned its citizens from traveling abroad.
“It’s pretty sad because I know how much travel educated, inspired and motivated me to be a better person because of closed borders being able to travel.
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“But then my way of thinking changed. It was a big shift in the mindset from ‘Oh, poor me, I can’t travel and surf the world’ to ‘Fortunately, I’ve been around the world and surfed for the past 10 years’ “.
Psychologist Marny Lishman believes that after the initial shock of the pandemic and restrictions, “many of us are realizing that we are more adaptable than we think”.
“In every way of life, we find out in real time how we can still meet our needs while staying closer to home. So if people still have a strong desire to do this, they will find a way,” “says Dr. Lishman.
However, the obstacles to travel for young people will most likely be higher. Several low-cost airlines and low-cost airlines such as Tiger have closed; Locally, some of the smaller, budget-friendly accommodations and tour operators have closed, and with a view to Europe, countries and airlines are starting to demand costly COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or antigen testing (or both) for all flights.
International travel will return at some point, but will it be affordable for a generation who used to be able to fly on a whim?
“I think it could get more expensive, at least at the beginning of the world reopening,” says 26-year-old Holly O’Sullivan of Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
“I definitely wish I had seen more places, but at the same time I knew I wasn’t ready,” says Holly O’Sullivan.
So there may still be travel options, but there might just be fewer options. “
Like many young Australians, O’Sullivan has traveled a lot: trips with the youth organizers Busabout and Contiki, as well as independent trips with friends in Europe and Asia, which she documents on her blog, thatraveller.com
O’Sullivan considers herself lucky: she left Sydney before the current lockdown began in early June and now works in a hostel in Queenstown, New Zealand.
“I definitely wish I had seen more places, but at the same time I know I wasn’t ready,” says O’Sullivan. “I think all of the things I have on my bucket list are still the same … the only thing that has changed is when it will be possible.”
Many operators believe that younger travelers with a strong desire to travel will look closer to home for the time being.
“Millennials have always been hungry for travel and the pandemic hasn’t changed that. What it did is demand, ”said Brett Mitchell, managing director of Intrepid Travel, which has added several domestic local trips to serve a growing market.
“While we expect millennials to catch up after the pandemic, we also expect local tourism to continue to be of interest for the next few years as Australians look to support their own local communities as we begin to recover.”
Although the pandemic is still dramatically affecting travel in many counties, Dr. Lishman that the younger generation will not hesitate to travel because of safety concerns.
“Most people have a certain ‘caution’, but I don’t think that is going to stop too many people from going abroad,” says Dr. Lishman.
“I think when things settle down there will always be some part that will give up their travel dreams, some will do it anyway, but be more careful, and some will just jump into planes happily – just like some people would Entertain you never travel from the outset (not even before the pandemic). “
Despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, the attitude of many young people towards travel remains the same: if they can travel, they will.
“I believe very, very strongly in ‘just say yes’ – and then work it out instead of not doing something because you’re afraid of what could happen,” says Chapman, who has just received a wildcard on the spot to rejoin the professional ranks of the World Surf League and set off for the United States this month.
“We are only on this earth for a certain amount of time,” he says. Not exploring the world could only be detrimental “to the soul and the body that has been given to you to explore this beautiful place”.
See also: My gap year changed my life. Now many Australians will never get one
See also: Do you have travel insurance for COVID-19? It may depend on the airline you are flying
