CORONA shaming in our unappealing “new normal” has become so common that it’s losing any effectiveness.
Glares for not wearing your mask while standing outside, jabs for coming a touch too close lining up for lunch and now judgmental sneering at folk who decide to go on holiday — whisper it — overseas.
Well I’m done with that nonsense. I am proud to “confess” that I have been on two foreign holidays in the past month, utilising legal air bridges, and I am far from ashamed.
The myth in coronaphobic Britain is that overseas trips are for the elite, rich and powerful: If you dare get on a plane to low infection-rate locales such as Italy or Greece (my two destinations) you’re not showing solidarity to the Covid cause and risk spreading the damned virus.
That rhetoric hasn’t been helped by the Government’s feeble air bridge policy, which puts any country with a region experiencing a minor outbreak at risk of being added to the quarantine list.
The reality is the total opposite.
If you and me are shamed into staying home now, travel WILL soon be limited to the elite, rich and powerful.
GHOST TOWNS
The democratisation of tourism has been one of the most pleasing developments of this new millennium, with the explosion of budget airlines causing price wars and a move towards all-inclusive package deals.
Yet our ability to keep seeing the world is now in real peril.
Airlines are on their knees. Hotels are closing at an alarming rate.
Many popular European tourist destinations remain ghost towns.
Goons in the Extinction Rebellion movement have already talked weak parties including Labour into backing the introduction of more travel taxes.
All for a virus that, albeit nasty, killed just a fifth of the number of people who died from run-of-the-mill flu and pneumonia in the final week of July in the UK.
If you’re one of the many people currently tormented over whether to take the risk and book that break, I implore you to go for it.
On a practical level, both my week-long trips to Europe were pure ecstasy, with responsible and reassuring safety measures that never came close to overshadowing the glorious experience of being overseas again, something unimaginable just a couple of months ago.
Yes, the airport is a little more torturous than usual and you do have to keep the mask on at all times.
When I arrived on the Greek Island of Mykonos last week, I was random Covid tested at immigration, causing a touch of nervousness while I waited 24-hours for the result.
And you’re not going to be able to dance or listen to loud music at night.
But the benefits are endless.
Your favourite tourist destinations are emptier than they’ve ever been during peak season, you’ll always get into your favourite restaurant, and the staff on British Airways have never been happier to see you on board.
Most importantly, if more of us choose to fly now, we will help keep affordable travel and tourism viable for years to come.
