AFTER lusting after a return to international travel for so long, it will be interesting to see how quickly Australians resume the practice.
The international travel of our memories - the favourite trips that would have sustained many a wanderer while their national, state and then town borders closed - was the international travel of packed planes and airports.
Apart from those who sought out isolated resorts on tropical islands, the whole point of travel was to mix and mingle and interact with strangers in a strange land.
No one ever visited one of the great cities of the world to spend their time hiding in their hotel room or crowded hostel, watching the teeming streets through their window. But will that still be the point in a COVID world? And one where case numbers and deaths are still rising, in total, as our graphic, below, from the Johns Hopkins University dashboard shows.
How will Australians feel about moving beyond the safety and security of their home base?
Will we still choose to take long-haul flights on planes, sharing the air with dozens of strangers for a visit to a country whose health system may or may not be the equivalent of ours at home?
As well as the travel itinerary, there'll be vaccination rates to consider, curves to scrutinise, mask mandates to mull over. But perhaps we're looking at this issue the wrong way around.
Travel has always had an element of unpredictability, of a step into the unknown, of leaving behind the safe and familiar - sometimes for months on end, sometimes for only a week or two.
And Australians have long been known as enthusiastic and adventurous travellers - as at home on a cramped Qantas flight to the northern hemisphere as we are on an east coast beach or an inland river.
With the final restrictions lifted and people in NSW dreaming of travelling again, they are also being promised simpler regulations if their plans are dashed.
Better Regulation and Innovation Minister Kevin Anderson said during the pandemic the government received thousands of complaints from people who unknowingly agreed to travel cancellation policies they were not happy with.
New information standards will clearly outline key terms and conditions of travel contracts relating to cancellations, refunds and credits, processing fees and any other important exclusions.
COVID TRAVELOGUE:
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Malaysia reopens to tourists
- Germany 50,000 cases and 250 deaths a day
- No Queensland cases but confusion over reopening rules
- Vaxxed visitors back in Thailand
"With many of us booking travel across metropolitan and regional NSW, there's never been a better time to ensure consumers are clear about what happens if they need to cancel or defer travel," Mr Anderson said.
Hunter residents will again be seen at airports across the country, scanning the departures board and clutching a boarding pass in one hand and the handle of their luggage in the other.
There's no doubt about that.
The question is how many will be seen and how soon will they be there.
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