Barcelona Tours Interviews: Travel Bloggers and Covid

Here at Barcelona Tours, as much as we love the beautiful city that is Barcelona, we also love to travel the globe.  

When we can’t do that travel blogs are the next best thing. At Barcelona Tours we love to hear from those who dedicate themselves to exploration.  We devour travel adventures accompanied by amazing photos. 

Curious to find out how travel bloggers have experienced the pandemic, we reached out to ask some of our favorites.  How has the pandemic affected them, and where they plan to travel to first when they are able to do so? 

Kathy is an Australian Travel and Lifestyle blogger at www.50shadesofage.com and although has travelled all over the world, she is very passionate about her own country – Australia. When she’s not travelling, taking photos and blogging, she enjoys long walks, yoga, reading, cooking and watercolour painting.

 We caught up with Kathy who shared some of her thoughts with us. 

Interview: Being a travel blogger during covid, what’s next? 

1.  How much has the pandemic affected your life as a travel blogger? 

Covid-19 and the immediate introduction of international and domestic travel restrictions in my country Australia, have heavily impacted my life as a travel blogger. Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to travel as frequently as before and this has limited the amount of material I’m able to write about. I also believe that my audience has disappeared dramatically because no one is planning trips nor can travel since the pandemic. Without the material and audience, it has been tough, to say the least.

2. How do you think travel might change after the pandemic?

I think travel after Covid-19 will change dramatically. I think for many people they will be afraid to travel overseas again and will limit their travel to within their own country. For others, they will be super cautious about travelling and will probably take more precautions. I believe things like Covid vaccine certificates, wearing masks and using hand sanitiser, will be mandatory for air travel. It will be a changed world for sure. 

3. What are your plans for future travels, where is top of your list to visit?

At present I’m only travelling domestically within Australia. I have trips planned to North Queensland and Tasmania this year. Recently I have paid a deposit on a cruise in June 2022 to Hawaii and Alaska, but I’m unsure whether this will eventuate at present. It will depend on whether the Australian government lift the international travel restrictions that are in place at present.

4. Do you think people during this time have lost interest in travel stories?

Yes, I do for international travel, but I believe that people are still interested in travel within their own countries. Most of the Australian content on my blog is attracting a good audience. I’ve recently been writing for a publication called The Big Lap Bible about travelling in Australia. 

5. What is your opinion on the new travel measures that they are currently implementing in your country?

I totally agree with the international travel bans that are in force in my country. However, I would like to see them slowly open up some of our nearest neighbouring countries within the Pacific and South East Asia sectors. We already can travel to our nearest neighbour, New Zealand which is a step in the right direction. I was totally in disagreeance with the domestic travel bans when they were in force. It made it very difficult for families and business people to go about their lives as per normal and impacted on businesses heavily. 

6. If you haven’t visited Barcelona before, would you like Barcelona Tours to show you and why?

I haven’t been to Barcelona, but had a trip booked to Spain and Portugal in 2020. That obviously didn’t proceed, but Barcelona and Spain are high on my bucket list. I would like to see the La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and watch Flamenco dancers. Then sip on sangria, feast on paella, and stroll through the streets of La Rambla.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Kathy. We would love to see you in Barcelona soon! 

When Kathy is able to visit us, we could certainly help her fulfil that bucket list. We would suggest she starts with our Gaudi Tour , follows that with a hearty paella lunch by the beach, and rounds off the day with a stunning flamenco show with some tapas and sangria at Poble Espanyol.