Little Box of Life Treasures: 30 countries in 30 years – Is it a pipe-dream with COVID-19?

One of the reasons I started this blog back in 2017 was to document all the paces I’ve traveled. Even if no one ever read the blog – it would be a place for me to remember where I’ve visited. I had a secret goal of reaching 30 countries before the age of 30. By the age of 26 I’d visited 19 countries – and I felt like it was an obtainable goal. Nothing too crazy – 11 countries in 4 years, 2.75 countries per year, that was doable, right? But then COVID-19 entered our lives. An unknown, deadly coronavirus with no vaccine and no cure. Quarantine, Lockdown, social distancing and closed borders became our reality and the idea of 30 countries before the age of 30 seemed more impossible as each day went by.

At the time of writing this we are almost 9 weeks into lockdown (8 weeks & 4 days to be exact, but who’s counting?). The government imposed the lockdown on the evening of the 23rd March and my initial response was to cry, which is odd considering I’m one of the most introverted introverts you will ever come across. The reality was that my life really wasn’t going to change very much at all. I could work from home, workout from home, video call friends and family, and I did a lot of that in pre-COVID-19 times anyway. But it did mean one thing for sure – I wasn’t going to be going on a holiday anytime soon. The reality of the situation was that we couldn’t travel even before lockdown. I was due to fly to Denmark on the 12th of April but Denmark closed its borders to non-Danish citizens on the 13th of March. But lockdown made the no travel reality feel a bit more real. All my 2020 travel plans have pretty much disintegrated before my eyes. Denmark, our Washington D.C, Boston and Philadelphia trip in May and a family holiday to the South of France in August – all gone in the blink of an eye.

So, what does all of this mean for me and the travel and tourism industry? And, how long will it be before we can travel again? At the moment British nationals are not allowed on non-essential foreign travel. It’s unlikely that I will be able to go on a foreign holiday this year, with the UK planning to impose a 14-day quarantine period for UK nationals returning home from other counties. There are some suggestions of “air-bridges” to and from countries with low infection rates that would allow British nationals to be exempt from quarantine but this largely all depends on how the virus behaves over the next few months – and this is a big unknown. It will also depend on what other counties are doing, and how their restrictions ease over time.

Even if we do get to travel – will it really be enjoyable? There will likely be controlled access to tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants. We will have to wear face coverings and follow social distancing rules. I’m thinking that I may have to revise my travel goal slightly? And I think I’m okay with that. What about you? Are you still planning to travel in 2020?

So, what countries have I been to?