2020 was not the year we wanted but it made us appreciate what we have

Typically, 2 January is a busy date in the travel calendar. It’s when the lucky few who managed to get away for an exotic New Year’s Eve celebration start on their journey home, and when those of us who stayed put for the long winter start looking for somewhere warmer and sunnier to stave off the cold.

This year, so far at least, has been comparatively quiet and, like much of the preceding 10 months, dogged by uncertainty.

Before the new variant of coronavirus was discovered, I was quite upbeat about the travel industry’s prospects. After all, with vaccines on the way, and borders reopening, things were looking the best they’ve been for months. I even managed to escape to the comforting warmth of Dubai – further than I thought I’d travel for a year – for a few days of sun.

But just a month later, we returned to the dark days of March.

Tier 4 restrictions came into effect in England, banning international travel for all but essential reasons such as work. Wales had already introduced an international travel ban. Scotland has also done so for areas in higher levels, while advising the rest of the country to stay local. And Northern Ireland has been similarly telling its residents to avoid travel.

With the new variant came travel bans imposed by other countries – no one wanted this new variant on their shores. Suddenly, the UK was the world’s loneliest island – and that’s before the solution to Brexit was in sight.

It’s easy to dwell on the negatives that have come out of this pandemic – they stretch as far as the eye can see, and even beyond to where it can’t.

But that doesn’t help anyone when it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Instead, as much as we’d like to forget 2020, I’d like to take a moment to embrace the positives from this long and troublesome year.

It was the year that triggered a welcome growth in the sustainable travel industry. More and more start-ups are looking at ways we can reduce our carbon footprint and appreciate the travelling experience more by giving back to the communities we visit.

It was also the year we learned to truly appreciate the joy of the staycation. With great anniversaries and new openings coming in 2021, there are even more reasons for that to continue.

And some of us finally learnt to love and make peace with our hometowns and the solace that’s available right on our doorsteps.

It was the year no one expected, or wanted, and 2021 may well serve up more of the same – but instead of fretting about the quietness of this January and what that means, let’s appreciate what we have and look forward to the positives yet to come.

Yours,

Qin Xie

Acting travel editor