Here at Barcelona Tours we continue with our Travel Blogger Series. Asking what our favourite bloggers have been up to during the last year. Given that travel was off the table, how did they fill their time and what does the future hold?
We talked to Chris from Aussie on the Road. We wanted to hear about his recent experiences and what he makes of it all.
Thanks for joining our Travel Blogger Series. How much did the pandemic affected your life as a travel blogger?
Both my travel blogging and my day job as a safari tour operator were severely impacted by COVID-19. My income dried up almost overnight. Thankfully, I was able to pivot into doing something different – running paid games of Dungeons & Dragons.
I am slowly starting to see offers trickle back in for partnerships as a blogger. The depressed climate means people are making lowball offers. These aren’t worth the time and effort it would take to put them into action. I imagine travel blogging will be a hobby for the foreseeable future for me.
How do you think travel might change after the pandemic?
I think we’ll see a heightened level of caution being exercised by people, especially when it comes to travel insurance. Working in safari sales, I’ve seen countless people find out the hard way that their chosen insurance package did not cover them for events such as a pandemic. Thankfully, there are some reputable insurers who did work with my clients to help them recoup their lost money, but the vast majority were left high and dry by their insurers.
I also think we’ll see a slow period of growth. Where people take tentative travel steps by visiting places closer to their own backyard, before making long-haul international trips.
We are asking everyone in our Travel Blogger series, what are your plans for future travels, where is top of your list to visit?
I haven’t seen my family back in Australia since the day after my wedding back in 2019, so my #1 goal would be getting back to see them. I’ve got a new nephew or niece on the way that I’m dying to meet!
Beyond that, my wife and I moved to Tbilisi right before the outbreak, and our plan had been to finally see some of Europe. Aside from having seen lots of Georgia, we haven’t made much headway in that area yet! My goal for 2022 would be to see as much of Europe as we can.
Do you think people during this time have lost interest in travel stories?
Not at all! I think there is still plenty of demand for escapism and daydreaming, but that doesn’t necessarily pay the bills as a travel blogger. I think as things begin to ease up, more and more people are excited to read about the countries they can visit now or will be able to visit soon. There are already plenty of countries opening for tourism with appropriate precautions- I think we’ll see these early adaptors getting a lot of attention, as cooped up bloggers make their way there and begin to sing their praises.
What is your opinion on the new travel measures that they are currently implementing in your country?
I applaud Australia’s efforts to curtail the spread of the pandemic. The swift and strict early lockdown prevented the pandemic from spreading out of control in Australia. Even if it did mean a major hit to the tourism economy.
What I wasn’t a fan of was the way my country left ex-pats stranded abroad high and dry. Between the inhibitive cost of international flights and the brutally expensive mandatory quarantine, it hasn’t been possible for us to get back home. No real support was offered to those of us who couldn’t get home before the borders were closed.
Now, our favourite question in the travel blogger series. If you have been to Barcelona before what would be your ‘must-see place to visit? If you haven’t visited Barcelona before, would you like to and why?
I’ve not had the pleasure to visit Barcelona (or any of Europe outside of Georgia and the UK) just yet, but that had been our plan for 2020. I’m definitely going to be building up a dream itinerary for a 2–3-month European itinerary once things get back to normal!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us Chris and taking part in our travel blogger series. We hope that Barcelona is on that dream itinerary! And incase Chris feels like a sneak preview he can check out some of the amazing things to do here
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