Months after lockdown, countries are slowly reopening their borders to travellers. OTAs are also seeing a surge of search in the past few weeks.

While people are itching to travel overseas, more people are probably considering to travel locally for it is cheaper and easier. Below are some of the reasons why some travellers will be hesitant to book a flight overseas.

Level of risk to destination

While there is a pent-up demand in travel, one of the main things that travellers consider this post-COVID era is the level of health and safety in their destination. Tourists are probably not looking forward to travelling to China, the epicentre of the coronavirus, and to the United States, the country with the highest number of reported cases. Meanwhile, Taiwan, New Zealand and Vietnam received positive feedback and favourable rating based on how they contain the spread of the coronavirus.

14-day quarantine

When the United Kingdom has announced that it will impose a 14-day quarantine to arriving travellers, it was met with criticisms from the travel sector claiming that it will deter travellers that are needed to restart tourism and the economy. From the perspective of the traveller, 14-day quarantine would mean additional cost. Moreover, they will be holed in their hotel room.

Additional travel requirements

Aside from visa and passport, countries may now require additional requirements like health certificate and travel pass from tourists. Countries may make travel insurance compulsory to cover medical cost. This is to ensure that travellers are fit to travel. For some tourists, although it is important, this could be too much hassle to get.

Prices may go up

Airlines and hotels need numbers. However, due to physical distancing, a lower number of guests will have to cover the whole cost. In flights, social distancing could mean leaving the middle seat empty. It is speculated that the fee for the middle seat will be split with the passengers on both sides. Cheap tours are usually the product of huge numbers of consumers splitting the cost. In hotels, our favourite breakfast buffet will probably a thing of the past as studies reveal that infection spread fast in normal buffets.

Testing

Some countries have announced that a COVID test upon arrival as part of their new travel regulations to ensure the health and safety of travellers and residents. Again, this could mean additional cost for travellers.