This has become the new travel mantra. For us working in tourism the line itself already gives hope and motivation.
Quarantine – DAY 30
Now that I have gone through all the stages: Denial – Anger – Bargaining – Depression – Acceptance – I can finally think again 🙂
The last thirty days have been everything but ordinary. A strange mixture of TV shows re-runs, going into a store like going to a battlefield where germs are your enemy, watching numerous of webinars and having video call dinners with my friends and their dog. On some days my mind would be like – BE PRODUCTIVE. IMPROVE, but my heart would say – STAY IN BED. EAT. Guess who won most of the time…
In all of that, none of us forgot their friends and family – but also, I did not forget about my job. It is a job that I love so much, which gives me the opportunity to have a different experience almost every day and to work with people from all around the world. Yes, world – the same world which was hit with a new, unknown, weird, sad situation giving it a slap in the face and a reality check.
Being a travel agent and a tour guide in a world which screams #stayhome is like eating a pancake with a spoon – difficult but possible if you are hungry enough
When I travel, I do not only remember the place, but also the people – kind receptionist, wacky tour guide, hot waiter, the lady in a souvenir shop who gave me a bit more of wine “to taste”, surf instructor that did not gave up on me or a stewardess who gave me an extra cookie – those are the people in my industry – people making your vacation a bit better.
Hopefully some of my guests remember me and my colleagues in that same way.
I read somewhere that 10% of world population works in travel or close to travel industries, but when you think about it, it is actually so much more – a random local in a bar that you met during your pub crawl, a taxi driver taking you to the airport or a lady at the food market selling you the tastiest strawberries you ever tried.
You see – travel is not an industry; travel is an experience!
People will travel again but to get back on our feet, some time has to pass and we have to stay in the business so when the dust settles and things get back to normal (or #newnormal ) you will again be able to talk to kind receptionist, laugh with your guide, get drunk in a souvenir shop, get whacked on your head by a surf board and eat cookies.
THIS IS WHY WE ASK – DON’T CANCEL – POSTPONE YOUR TRAVEL!
The saying “we are in this together” should be taken seriously and trust me when I say, all of us travel workers will welcome you back with our hearts wide open.
Now, what about this “new normal” everybody is talking about… I still did not think it through, but one thing is for sure – there will be a new level of percussions. For example – maybe at first, people won´t feel comfortable joining a big group or being indoors. No problem – private tour to an of the beaten path location having a picnic with food bought in an open food market.
Nice, right? – I would have done this without a pandemic
Croatia is great for an outdoor vacation filled with local experience. I am not just saying that because it is my country but hey, I know places where not even a covid19 virus can find you
We were doing this before, so hopefully we will again: CROATIAN ADVENTURE TOUR.
And when it comes to Zagreb – our capital – it´s waiting for you, with a bit of a different face. A month ago – 22nd of March, in the middle of a world pandemic,
an earthquake woke us up at 6.30am, Sunday, shaking us with a 5.5 magnitude. People running out from their homes in PJs to find out that it’s snowing on the second day of spring. Hey James Cameron – want to buy a movie?
But we are fine – just a little reminder from the good old Mother Earth not to forget about her.
All in all the situation that we are in right now will pass. And we will get on with our lives – hopefully smarter and more aware of what we have and what we love. For a lot of people what they love is traveling. Governments, hashtags, bank loans, marketing specialist – all of them are helping, but at the end – YOU CAN SAVE TOURISM!
