Helen Tait, who has led international tours for 20 years, spoke today about travel life post-Covid. We need to accept there may never be a post-Covid era, so what was being discussed was travel with Covid, or maybe despite Covid. Travel has certainly become more complicated these days. I liked her saying: “Not all who wander are lost.”
Helen emphasised the importance of thinking carefully beforehand what it is you want from travel – Where? When? How? Why? She spoke about different kinds of travel, Escorted tours, Package tours, and Tailored travel, which can be organised through a travel agent. It’s vital to carefully check out what is included and what is not, and it’s good to be able to pick up opportunities as they arise. If a tour is very regimented you can’t take advantage of events you come across. Small group tours are best because they have more flexibility.
She suggested using a travel agent, having a Plan B in case something goes wrong, and doing your own research about insurance. There is a useful website where you can compare different travel insurance policies. You also need to print everything out beforehand and have a hard copy rather than relying on your phone or laptop.
Since Covid, tourism in Aotearoa has more of a focus on sustainability: economic, environmental, and that of host communities. Travellers enjoy meeting local people, and this needs to be sensitively managed. This reminded me that in past years we used to host groups from NZ Historic Places Trust at our cottage. I remember one woman from Japan who was absolutely thrilled to be able to pick an apple from our tree and eat it. The Tiaki Promise is a commitment to sustainability subscribed to by some tourist ventures.
Helen showed many enticing images of trips she has taken and especially recommended Sicily, South Croatia, and Japan. She has visited glaciers in Chile which are more spectacular than those in Alaska, and not receding as rapidly as those in Aotearoa. These days most people speak English, but it’s useful to have a few words and numbers in the language of the country you are visiting. Asked about the single supplement, where lone travellers pay extra to have a room to themselves, she said that after taking tours for twenty years she has experienced only two or three occasions where there’s been a problem with a forced share. Discover Travel in Christchurch have a Solo Travellers’ Club, where the single supplements are small.
It was acknowledged that consideration of our carbon footprint precludes overseas travel for some. It’s unlikely that Stephen and I will go overseas in the forseeable future, but Helen’s talk affirmed our good choice in taking a Murray River cruise and The Ghan in Australia in 2019.
We have no plans to go away
but memories are here to stay
Ruth's Reflections 
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