Travel takes on a new meaning in this post covid era as the New tourism Policy is underway.
There was a time when travel was borne out of necessity and holidaying translated into a yearly trip to our maternal grandparents. Those in school looked forward to summer camps, government servants waited for their LTA for that annual family trip, and corporate employees saved up to visit their relatives abroad.
To travel was to come back with one good picture of you and your family at each place so an album could be filled; as digital cameras came with memory cards, Facebook started collecting our memories, and that was when we transitioned from the 90s to the 2000s.
At the very beginning of this decade, we celebrated the 2020 New Year with corona, no, not the beer, the virus, unfortunately. It’s only when our agency to go wherever we pleased was squashed in the wake of this pandemic is when a lot of us realised what we had taken for granted, time, time to travel, explore, be happy, fall in love, get married and also rush things.
The tourism sector was one of the worst affected all over the world with n number of lockdowns, sanctions, airports sealed, trains stopped, and movement curtailed and we as ardent consumers are helping it make a comeback in full swing.
Travelling is so in vogue just as dalgona coffee was during the lockdown. And it’s attracting all kinds of avenues. Nobody is using travelling just for leisure anymore, as the songs predicted, it has become about the journey than the destination. With doom looming over us, it got people to rethink life choices and lots have chosen careers that support a travel-friendly work environment, jobs that allow them to have flexible schedules and whatnot.
Documenting travels is a whole new lucrative option, the last few years have produced more travel bloggers/vloggers ever since aestheticism is on the rise.
The Perfect Clickbait
Social media has played a major role in promoting travel and tourism. It gets you to scroll endlessly for hours and drool over celebrities giving you a peek of what you can never have and your friends spreading their lives on social media and enticing the FOMO ( Fear of Missing Out).
The thing about social media is it leaves the bad part out of its profile or the people on it do and what consumers get is the ever-yearned for, an unmistakable picture-perfect life. Social media is that vengeful neighbour that keeps comparing others’ accomplishments to make you feel small.
Travel in India
But this has proven to be a boon for the tourism sector along with all the industries that come under the umbrella. The Incredible India campaign has caught on to the trend and rolled out new advertisements and posters of an already inviting country.
India is widely renowned for being discovered by Vasco De Gama than just being stumbled upon. India house one of the World’s Wonders and is home to diverse culture and heritage. We boast of centuries-old art and architecture that’s revered over the world, so much to offer, you just can’t get enough.
In the recent SCO meet at Samarkand in Uzbekistan, Varanasi was declared the tourist and cultural capital for the year 2022-23.
Travelling, in my opinion, liberates you and opens you to new places and experiences. That wouldn’t have happened by staring into a phone. The essence of travel differs at all ages, a kid is reminded of their Nani’s rooftop, a teenager replays the memory of sneaking out with your cousins at night, an adult is found waiting for that one goa road trip with their friends. It becomes an individual experience no matter how filled your caravan is.
To paraphrase a song from the movie Swades: “just go on how beautiful is this world, forget all the troubles, see the fair of flowers this world is very colourful”
Read more: Caravan trips are the latest covid approved travel trend
