It has been more than one year since everyone across the globe was told we wouldn’t be able to go to places of work, that some of us had to make appointments to go somewhere as simple as the grocery store, and that we must stay home. We all thought, “Okay, this will last, what … two weeks? A month? We can handle that.” And yet, roughly 15 months later, we still find ourselves coming out of lockdown. It doesn’t make it easier that every place — every country, every state, every county and every city — is handling it differently. Overall, of course, things are the same across the board, but the nuances are there, and they can honestly be hard to keep up with.

Photo 21186157 © Steve Allen | Dreamstime.com

I was speaking with someone this past weekend who thought that, now that things are returning to “normal” levels, people aren’t going to want to travel internationally again or, at least, not yet. On one hand, travel around America increased significantly. As places begin to fully open across the United States and the world, people are planning getaways. Rental homes are seeing historic booking rates, the selection of rental cars is being picked through, flights are full, and airlines add new destinations to their flight routes.

I don’t think increased American interstate travel is a reflection of people wanting to avoid international travel; instead, I think it signals the fact people do want to travel, regardless, and they are doing so with the means available. The same could be said for those on other continents. European travelers are already flocking to places such as Spain and Greece because they finally can again. As more countries around the world begin to fully open or release plans for welcoming international travelers back across their borders, I think we will see a major return to international travel. Places like Italy, long a favored destination for American travelers, will finally be able to share their love of food and culture with us once more. The demand definitely returned, and it’s here to stay.

— Amanda Jones, account executive