Let’s summer there and then, when we could do so without fear; or let’s vacation there and then once we are able to without fear. Let’s travel to Normality, because that’s definitely not where we are Here and Now.

Voja Zanetic

If we could place an online order for sea and beach delivery, tourism would’ve definitely survived. Since that’s not the case, we should figure out how to deliver tourists to tourism. That’s not an easy task. This mass plague is societal, as much as it is medical. It doesn’t only attack the lungs and whatever else – this infectious hooligan abuses human habits, customs, rules. Meaning, culture and civilisation.

As social isolation and limited physical contact are the fuel driving this little Covid bastard all over our mobility, we now rightfully consider even grocery shopping to be a tourist activity. There was a point in time when our world was becoming smaller and smaller – thanks to transport, media and curiosity we used to visit other cities, countries and even continents for the weekend, ‘to relax’. This world has now become gigantic – the distance between where we are and any other place we could be has been permeated by the Plague. The greater the distance, the scarier and more dangerous the Plague seems to be. The more we want to go somewhere, the less we are able to do so. Tourism has never been more desired, and was rarely this unattainable.

A ‘safe trip’ literally requires a vaccine.

Or luck.

Or both.

* * * * * * *

A malicious man once suggested that tourism was created so the poor could experience the life of the rich – you have money, you’re not doing anything, and you’re being served things someplace nice. It’s a performance, really, with relatively affordable entry tickets and a wide variety to the quality of stay. There is ‘the box’, and then there are ‘standing tickets’, so it depends on what you can afford.

In that sense, both the ‘performers’ and the ‘audience’ of this tourist performance are now facing consequences of the Plague, in the same way the theatre, opera, music do… Events which could switch to a digital format are the only Corona survivors. As there are no pirate copies of tourism, and you can’t binge it on a streaming service, it seems like it will recover at the same time as plays, concerts, or exhibitions.

On the other hand, there are many more waiters, chefs, and receptionists than there are theatre actors, ballerinas, violinists, curators… Paying all of those people until this is over, not knowing when it will be over, doesn’t seem very sustainable.

So, the way to save tourism may well be to simply ignore the Plague. Our Vicinity is now trialing this tactic, at our ski resorts. Hotel beds were full of those eager to relax and have a good time, then hospital beds were even fuller with those eager to live and stay healthy.

As they say, the bed’s a shoo-in.

The only question is which one you will end up in, and for how long.

* * * * * * *

Are we going to wear masks on nudist beaches? Will travel only be available to the vaccinated? Will tourist transport exist only in controlled territories? Will resorts have Covid receptions and suites, for the God forbid situations? So many questions, and answers are often given by the obsessive-compulsive ones, rather than those who actually may know the answers. These answers depend on the Plague, and it doesn’t seem particularly interested in offering any.

As far as travel organisation, there is only one service that can really survive. A service offering not only travel through space, but travel through time. This agency could be called Thenandthere tours.

Let’s summer there and then, when we could do so without fear; or let’s vacation there and then once we are able to without fear. Let’s travel to Normality, because that’s definitely not where we are Here and Now.

What a business idea, so much potential; and not only for tourism, but for the whole of our Vicinity.