So, the coronavirus scare is almost gone; the numbers are coming down or at least we are being told that the numbers are coming down, the states have started taking down the restrictions and finally after being cooped up in our homes for a long time, we have started to execute on those plans which were made long ago to travel and tick off every activity or place listed on our itineraries. New terminologies like workations and staycations are being tossed around and the people are taking full advantage of these by packing up their bags and heading to the mountains and the beaches. We are seeing people working from mountains and beaches and having the time of their lives, all thanks to the WFH phenomenon. Honestly, every time I see an instagram post with a laptop and mountains or beaches in the background, a part of me dies inside.
Everyone is set to break the monotony of home and take revenge for the months of anxiety, of working from home, attending or conducting online classes because home is not where the heart is after all. Carpe diem and Live your Life are the slogan these days. As per reports, nearly 5 lakh people have visited Himachal Pradesh since the state scraped off the covid restrictions, you may have already seen the pictures of jam packed Mall Road of Manali and the traffic jam in Chandigarh-Manali highway on the internet recently.
Revenge travel is on rage and it has given a major kick start to the dying tourism industry, the hotels, hostels and the homestays are being booked in advance and that too for long durations. Be it a workation, staycation or a drivecation people are clearly eager to travel, determined to make up for the lost time.
The mountains, beaches and many off-beat destinations are experiencing big influx of tourists coming from various parts of the country to wear off the lockdown fatigue and that is a big blessing for the local businesses who rely solely on tourists/travelers like us but at the same time this big influx of people is creating some problems also. There is no adherence to covid appropriate behavior like social distancing and masking up but there is an even bigger issue at hand here and that is ' Over tourism' which happens when an excessive number of tourists visits to a popular destination and that results to damaging the local ecosystem of that place, excessive littering and trash, excessive construction are prime examples.
It is not being implied here that we are not supposed to travel, we are social beings and it is our innate pattern to go out, socialize and explore but we need to be responsible for it. We need to learn and understand that every place has its own ecosystem and it needs to be taken care off, be it mountains, beaches or any off-beat place. ' Sustainable travel' can play an important role here, we need to find a way so that tourism can be maintained long-term without harming natural and cultural environments and we need to learn how to strike balance with nature.
Travel all you want but take care of the place you are visiting and please follow appropriate covid protocol. Be aware, at least for yourself.
Yes! Life is short but do not make it shorter by acting like an absolute nincompoop.
Happy Travelling, Ciao!