{"id":10097,"date":"2021-05-24T14:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T12:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=10097"},"modified":"2021-08-13T01:58:16","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T23:58:16","slug":"when-will-italy-be-ready-for-us-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/when-will-italy-be-ready-for-us-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"When Will Italy Be Ready For Us (U.S.)?"},"content":{"rendered":"
So… when will Italy be ready for US travelers? This question has been all the buzz on social media lately. There has been some conflicting information but a general consensus has emerged. The short answer: it depends. Now for some, a little later in the summer for most. At the moment, tourists must arrive on a “Covid-test flight.” And there are not a ton of those yet. <\/p>\n
Back in May of last year (that was good ol’ 2020 for those in the future reading the digital archives about the apocalypse), I created a survey regarding travel to Italy, post-Covid. Happily, almost 500 people were kind enough to give me their feedback.<\/p>\n
At the time, I was struggling with the difficult decision of whether or not to cancel my end of September 2020 tour. In retrospect, it should have been an easy decision. But I had been getting so much positive response (8 of the 12 spots were already spoken for by then), that my heart didn\u2019t want to do what my brain knew was necessary\u2014and even inevitable.<\/p>\n
There were really only two questions at the core of this survey: WHEN will you feel comfortable travelling; and HOW will that trip look?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Regarding the \u201chow,\u201d I wanted to know what type of experience people would be looking for amid the new normal. Would they still be comfortable with crowded spaces, for example? A big, busy hotel? \u201cCozy\u201d (read: tightly-packed) restaurants? Shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of strangers in front of Trevi Fountain? Probably not, but I wanted to hear it from you\/them.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
Q1: <\/strong>Once travel to Italy fully opens back up, which type<\/em> of experience might you be comfortable with? (Please select all that apply.)<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
The first thing you notice is that \u2026 well, the total responses are more than one hundred percent. But that\u2019s obviously because many people chose more than one answer, as the question allowed. Which makes sense.<\/p>\n
But the important thing for me is that I got a real sense of HOW people prefer to travel these days. <\/strong>My survey wasn\u2019t detailed enough to determine if these sentiments were driven primarily by the persistence of the coronavirus, but I think we can safely assume that it remains a major influencing factor for most travelers.<\/p>\n
The responses to the second question\u2014regarding WHEN\u2014were even more interesting, in my opinion. Note again that this survey was conducted in the middle of May, 2020, at which time Italy was tentatively emerging from its first lockdown, while the US was just about to explode big time, for its first of several surges.<\/p>\n
Anyway, this is how people felt back in May 2020. Only one response was allowed for this question.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
Q2: <\/strong>Given that travel to Italy becomes permissible and logistically possible in the near future, what would be the SOONEST you’d consider taking a trip? (One answer only.)<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
It seems that folks were optimistic about travel returning to something close to normal in relatively short order. Again, that has all changed now, as government regulations play as big, if not bigger, role than personal health concerns when booking an international trip.<\/p>\n
Now the question is not so much \u201cWhen will WE be ready for Italy?\u201d but rather, \u201cWhen will Italy be ready for US Travelers<\/strong>?”<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mario Draghi recently (sort of) answered this question:<\/p>\n
“Come visit Italy,” Draghi says after G20 tourism meeting.<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
“How” to Travel to Italy, Post-Covid<\/h2>\n
Returning to my initial survey, many are looking for a \u201csmall group tour \u2018off the beaten path,\u2019 which would include few, if any, famous sites.\u201d This seems to be what people consider the “slow road back<\/a>,” as I mentioned in a previous post about the future of Italy travel.<\/p>\n
Some of the comments from my survey confirmed these sentiments, too. This one was typical:<\/p>\n
\u201cI was lucky enough to enjoy my first trip to Italy with a Globus Tour in Sept 2019. I loved it. I’m less concerned about traveling with a group, but the sites we went to were so crowded. I’d probably be more comfortable doing an off the beaten path or outdoorsy type tour next year.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
This very much appeals to me, as well: a week at a country villa spent relaxing, cooking, eating, drinking, chatting, strolling, and appreciating slow country living, Italian style. Arguably, the \u201cbest\u201d of Italy. And social distancing is already built-in by design.<\/p>\n