The coronavirus pandemic has led to a severe setback for the travel industry globally. Due to the need to restrict the spread of the virus, governments around the world have imposed travel restrictions on a local, national and international level. When the outbreak began in China the country imposed a Level I Emergency Response which resulted in “suspending public transportation, closing schools and canceling mass gatherings” as reported by scholars.
The pandemic resulted in more than just travel restrictions as people developed a sense of fear and anxiety surrounding the virus. This fear has also negatively impacted the travel industry as people are afraid of traveling because they are afraid of putting themselves into a position in which they are more likely to contract the virus. For example, 35 months after the ebola epidemic in West Africa, international travel to the region was at 50% of its peak before the epidemic. This is a demonstration that the travel industry needs to respond to the fear which the virus creates even after mass vaccinations have created the herd immunity necessary to suppress the virus.
The aforementioned scholars have suggested certain measures which the travel industry can put in place to reduce the fear which people have of coronavirus. The first solution which the scholars propose is effective measures to enforce social distancing and reduce the risk of spread as much as possible. Secondly, they propose effectively communicating the extent to which cautious behavior acts as a means of protection against the virus. Finally, they suggest that the travel industry should increase the resilience of the public in relation to the pandemic through either “problem-focused” or “emotion-focused” communication. This could take the form of providing information to travelers about how they can best take action to avoid spreading the virus.
Adam Vaughan on yearning for travel
Adam Vaughan is a retired service member of the Air Force having been a part of the Air Force for 20 years. He joined the Air Force when he was 21 in 1998 and very quickly realized just how vast the world is. He grew up in the suburbs of Omaha, Nebraska and did not have a desire to travel at all. His experience of foreign countries was limited to the stories of Ireland which his uncle would tell him and the movies and TV that he watched. He preferred to spend his time playing sports with his friends from the neighborhood and pretending to be at war in the forest behind his house.
All of this changed once Vaughan entered the Air Force as he immediately caught the travel bug. He describes this as receiving a “major dose of wanderlust driven deep into my soul following my entrance into the Air Force”. The Air Force would take him all over the world as he has visited every Asian country and almost every European country over the course of his hundreds of missions and storied career. He feels tremendous gratitude for the way that these experiences awakened “a yearning for exploration of culture, history, and pure experiences” which he did not know he had.
After his time in the Air Force, Vaughan got a job managing global operations for the tech giant Meta. This position suits him perfectly as he needs to travel frequently all over the world to meet with members of his team to collaborate on projects together. He is also able to visit his favorite city which is London which he considers a second home. He frequently travels to London for work and loves everything which the city has to offer. He also has particular fondness for Prague which he considers the most beautiful city in Europe due to its Gothic architecture.
Final thoughts
Adam Vaughan developed a profound love for travel, culture, history and new experiences thanks to his time in the Air Force. This is the passion which drives and motivates him and thanks to his position in Meta he is able to travel as a job requirement. He loves the experiences and sense of wonder which he gets from traveling the world and will soon be releasing a travel blog. In the blog he will be sharing his vast experiences with others so that they can feel the same sense of joy which Vaughan feels thanks to travel.
Story by Virginia Sagal
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