In light of Covid-19: Changing my travel plans

What once seemed like a distant threat has now come to Europe in full force. Hundreds of covid-19 outbreaks are registered every day with more and more people dying from the virus, resulting in country after country closing their borders and banning all unnecessary travel. Life has been turned upside down for most of us. We’re isolating ourselves in our homes, limiting contact with others and having to cancel travel plans to keep ourselves and other people safe.

Denmark, my home country, is in lockdown. Schools are closed, people are working from home and large gatherings have been banned. Our borders are closed to all non-resident foreigners. The government has advised us all to return home from abroad immediately and to avoid all unnecessary travel for the next month (at least). This is a severe consequence that none of us could’ve imagined just a few months back.

Changing my travel plans

It took a long time for me to realize the dangers and the impact of covid-19. I was happily unaware while working and travelling in Scotland, and it wasn’t until I got home on March 13th that I realized how serious this is. Not for me as a young and healthy person, but for the vulnerable people of our societies. It wouldn’t be fair on anyone if I were to continue my lifestyle with the possible risk of spreading the disease to other countries.

So for the first time in my life, I’ve had to cancel a trip. I’ve cancelled my upcoming trip with my mum and younger brother to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as my solo trip to the Faroe Islands in April. Depending on the situation in late April, I might also cancel my trip to Norway. For the first time in many years, I will be spending at least a month at home in East Jutland in Denmark.

While I can still travel if I absolutely want to (or need to), I have chosen not to. It’s not responsible to travel at the moment, and especially when going from a high-risk country to a low-risk country. During these times, I wouldn’t go anywhere near less fortunate countries whose health systems wouldn’t be able to handle an outbreak, and I wouldn’t dream of going to places like Greenland that currently have no cases, because I could very well be the one bringing the virus in without me even knowing it. I also don’t want to risk bringing the virus back to Denmark. I have loved ones that are at serious risk if they catch the virus. And so does everyone else. It would be selfish of me to prioritize my own pleasure over the lives of others.

Instead, I’m going to stay put until this global threat is over, and I urge all of you to do the same. Enjoy a free month to be with your family, explore your own country’s outdoors or do those projects that you’ve always wanted to do but never found time for. Now’s the time to get those things out of the way so your life will be easier once this crisis blows over and you can start travelling again. If you get itchy feet, head over to Renates Reiser and get inspired from her great article on alternative ways to travel (the article is in Norwegian, but google translate does the trick!).

Personally, I’m going to enjoy this month, spending time with my family, exploring Denmark’s beautiful nature, getting up-to-date with the blog, painting, walking my cat and doing all sorts of small projects that I’ve long wanted to do. I will do my utmost to limit the spread of the virus to protect the weakest in our society, and I hope you will too. The best thing you can do right now is to isolate yourself in your home and out in nature. As much as I LOVE travelling, I will survive a month or two without it – and so will you.

My future travel plans

As soon as it’s safe to travel again, I will be back on the road. This is naturally because I love travelling so incredibly much, but also because the travel industry desperately needs tourism, now more than ever. Businesses need support to stay afloat and local communities that depend on tourism will need help to recover. The best way to do this is by booking trips and excursions, especially with smaller businesses that might not get any help from their governments. Covid-19 will die down eventually and when that happens, we should all return to our travel-hungry lifestyles to support as many businesses and communities as possible.

I’m still planning to spend the summer working and travelling in Greenland, and if all goes well, I’ll be going on May 4th. My trips to Switzerland and the Faroe Islands will be postponed to the autumn and on top of that, I’m sure I’ll book a few more trips to compensate for this month of no travel. A month that will be difficult for my adventurous heart, but so much more difficult for many other people around the globe, people that I and everyone else must consider first and foremost.

Have any of your travel plans changed due to covid-19? What do you plan on doing instead? Let me know in the comments!