Foreign travel hasn’t been high on many people’s to-do lists in 2020, so how are things looking for 2021? With vaccines being rolled out and tourism cautiously opening up, is it wise to start planning where to travel after lockdown?

As I write this, we’re still locked down here in the UK. And most countries around the world are either locked down, or have a long list of entry requirements including negative covid tests before entry.

You might be optimistically eyeing up a travel deal for summer 2021? Maybe you’re wondering if booking an early bird ski season trip for start of the season in December 2021 is an option.

Here is the totally unofficial Gone Travelling take on the subject.

The vaccine

So, we have a number of vaccines being rolled out around the world to help combat the coronavirus pandemic. At current rates, it does look like us here in the UK will mostly be vaccinated by the autumn, which is obviously great.

For the rest of the world, its a little less certain. Europe’s own vaccine rollouts have been hit by delays and numerous issues, as has the US.

But it does sound like those of us who have had our vaccine will be getting some kind of paperwork to give us the green light for boarding. Does this give you free reign to travel wherever? It’s not entirely clear at the moment, but it’s best not to assume in these situations.

It would be wise to eye up countries that have managed the infection with strict lockdowns and that are successfully implementing the vaccine.

Another thing to bear in mind is that the vaccine may not necessarily prevent you from getting covid-19, but may simply help your immune system to beat the virus. This may also mean that you can still be a carrier of covid-19, even with the vaccine, meaning you could still spread the virus.

Travel corridors

Throughout the pandemic there have been a number of nations that have managed their tourism with travel corridors. In the summer of 2020 for example, it was possible for many people to travel across Europe to places such as Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and even Spain.

We’ve also seen high profile cases of people flocking to Dubai to beat the pandemic, and even Croatia has managed to tempt digital nomads to it’s shores despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

At the moment, countries such as Israel and Greece are planning to open up to tourism. But this is by no means a green light to book that flight to Santorini or Tel Aviv.

Remember also that travel corridors can shut just as quickly as they can open, so be wise with those long term travel plans.

The virus

Yes, we have vaccines. And yes, we have been managing the coronavirus with lockdowns and social distancing, with almost everyone used to masks and sanitizing by now. But, who knows what will happen in the near future.

As it stands right now in February 2021, we have no idea what the situation will be like in the summer. Will there be another outbreak or mutation that closes borders?

Although the historical analysis of many novel virus pandemics shows us that they can burn out after two years, that would still only mean we’re halfway through this one currently.

Numbers have been on the decline with the lockdowns across the world, and we did see a lower number of covid cases in the summer of 2020. But this is still not a solid reason to book a holiday in 2021.

Countries with low cases of covid

Despite being a global pandemic, covid hasn’t had the same impact in every country. Some of the nations and territories with the lowest cases of SarsCov-19 include:

• Malta
• Norway
• Iceland
• Greece
• Carribean countries including St Lucia, Aruba, Grenada, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, Guadaloupe and Antigua and Barbuda
• Mauritius
• Samoa
• Fiji
• Taiwan
• Cambodia

In some of these countries, statistics may not be entirely accurate, so there may be more cases than confirmed. But there is something to be said for planning travel to a country with a low case rate of covid.

That being said, many of these countries have kept their rates of infection low by being locked down, or carrying out strict quaranties and testing of visitors.

If you are planning to visit any country during 2021, make sure to get up to speed on their entry requirements well in advance.

The bottom line

The world is still in the grip of a pandemic that has killed millions of people. On top of this, there is a lot of disinformation out there about how safe it is to travel, how effective the vaccine is and even doubts about the existence of the virus (I’m gonna out my neck out and say, yes obviously covid-19 is a real ting and very dangerous).

Planning travel is obviously a personal decision, but one that does have an impact on many other people. Make sure to weigh up the risks, and if you can keep your travel plans closer to home, or at least wait until the situation becomes clearer.

Patience pays dividends. And also avoids spreading the virus more than is necessary…