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May 18, 2021

Travel is Slowly Opening Up. Now What?

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We are a little over a year in since global travel shut down. Many places still have closed borders, and though more privileged nations, such as here in the United States, are feeling a little relief – for the most part, there are still some pockets not progressing as quickly as others – there are still countries (such as India and Brazil), that are really suffering and others who do not yet have reliable access to vaccines (i.e., many Caribbean nations). Nonetheless, people are planning their trips.

But the pandemic has changed us. And by us, I don’t mean everyone, but a lot of us. We can see it in people’s lack of response to the callbacks to work and offices. People have genuinely had a moment of self-reflection and awakening and in many cases have chosen a path that they believe is better for them and far more fulfilling than when this whole thing started.

We are seeing this shift the most in the service industry. Restaurants and other hospitality-driven businesses are struggling with low applications. That’s not to say that the people who would have chosen to work as servers, or cooks, or wait staff, etc., are not working at all. It means they have chosen to no longer work in environments where they are overworked, underpaid, taken for granted, and unappreciated – not just by their employers, but by us, the consumer.

A lot of this sentiment came about in many ways during the pandemic itself while restaurants and bars and others tried to balance mask mandates and maintaining the comfort and happiness of their customers. While management and owners did the right thing in implementing safety mandates, they also have left the burden of enforcing these mandates to their minimum-waged, overworked staffs, many of whom deal with belligerent, abusive, and in many cases dangerous customers – an incredible ask, often with very little support from the higher-ups.

And for some, it has gotten to the point where they don’t see that path being worth it anymore. And now business owners are left at a loss, though truthfully, it is a loss for all of us.

There is no doubt that this is an opportunity for corporate heads and managers and business owners, large and small, to really take a hard look at the business model standards and leadership examples they have set and the ways in which they have failed their teams.

A person’s dignity, self-worth, and entitlement to respect are not included in the price of your steak special or airline ticket.

But it is also incumbent upon us to listen and reconsider the ways in which we treat those invisible and not so invisible workers who truly complement our hospitality experiences, whether we are dining out for brunch, or wine tasting for the afternoon or traveling on a plane. Local voices matter. We as travelers and as consumers have to also rethink – and maybe for some of you, relearn – what it means to be a customer, what we are entitled to, and what our money really affords us, and start to understand that a person’s dignity, self-worth, and entitlement to respect is not included in the price of our steak special or airline ticket. These things are not negotiable or dependent on our mood.

Personally, as someone with Caribbean roots, who grew up seeing abusive, entitled, and over-privileged foreigners freely take from and mistreat members of my community whose job has been to cater to them during their vacation, I am truly delighted in seeing the industry workers speak up and demand better. I am proud of those who have spoken up in their own countries against governments who have been too lenient with travel restrictions and tourists’ bad behavior.

If this pandemic has taught us anything is that we all should be better and kinder, not just with ourselves, but with others around us.

We are not entitled to our trips or our vacations, especially to destinations whose communities are still struggling to recover, but as travel opens up and more of you return out into the world – whether it is on a road trip or to a tropical beach, use this opportunity to see the humanity in anyone and everyone who works to make that trip a pleasant one for you and yours. Be respectful of the rules in place, whatever mandates are still being followed, and of the fact that these people have left their own families and home to make your travel experiences a comfortable and pleasant one – sometimes at the risk of their own health.

It is time to go back into the world with the goal of being better humans, or face accountability when you are not. It is time to reimagine hospitality and give power to the voices of those who are the backbone of the industry. Because while it may feel like we are slowly going back to normal, there is no going back to the ways things were. And for that, we should all be grateful.

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Carol Cain

Brooklyn native Carol is happiest when on an adventure, whether close to home or farther away. She is a small business owner and travel writer. In addition to creating Girl Gone Travel, she is the Founder and Principal of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. She's mom to three wonderful sons and wife to a handsome Irish/Scot. She lives, works, and plays in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of NY.

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About me

Hi! I'm Carol! I am an award-winning travel blogger, a keynote speaker, and the Principal and owner of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. I a wife to a handsome Irish/Scot and a mom to 3 sons. Welcome to my blog where I share stories of my travels and professional public relations insights and advice. Thank you for reading and for your support!

Carol Cain

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  • caincarol@gmail.com

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A message about yesterday’s event: Happy Monday A message about yesterday’s event:

Happy Monday, y’all. Woke up in time to enjoy the soft glow of sunlight that shines its way around our house in the morning, and sipped on a cafecito without being rushed for anything. So already today is a win. 

Yesterday we worked our longest day yet for our little coffee cart that could (7 hours!!!) at the Heritage Fiesta in Ithaca, NY. 

Though we were ready for a crowd, the reception was also unexpected because there was a popular coffee shop just steps away. 

But we had Cómodo Fam stop by, family (who also fed us 🙏🏾), and soooo many members of the Latinx and BIPOC community who were just excited to see a small business like ours representing. 

I want to share that we were ALL worried about potential harassment and assault by 🧊and fliers were handed out to prepare us. And you would think that it would’ve intimidated the community enough to not come out…BUT WE DID. In numbers. 

And for hours that little parking lot next to Press Bay Alley was packed with all sorts of Latinx and non-Latinx community members, eating, laughing, dancing, singing, and drinking all the cafecitos and refreshers we had to offer. Literally. We went home cleaned out!

All this to say that we are all aware of the threats but we also understand the power and importance of coming together as a community and a people. By no means are we all the same, and Lord knows a lot of Latinos have a lot of self-reflecting to do based on the choices they made, but yesterday was a testament to the best of us, and I thank @yenospina and @lcatompkins for putting together such a wonderful event, for inviting @cafecomodony to be a part of it, and to all the friends, old and new, who came out to support us and la cultura. 

#fingerlakes #newyork #cafecomodo #coffeelover
Finally taking a break to enjoy one of my favorite Finally taking a break to enjoy one of my favorite lazy day pastimes of the season: market shopping for fall goodies - which in the Finger Lakes is especially bountiful. 

📍Joseph’s Wayside Markey, Naples, NY

#fingerlakes #newyork #octobermood #fallday
Our neighbors are harvesting the grapes. The proce Our neighbors are harvesting the grapes. The process is busy and noisy but also exciting and fun to watch. 

This cloudy morning seems to have calmed things down a bit, but not for long I am sure. These families work hard!

Bonus: they set up roadside stands so we can purchase and taste them 🍇 I highly recommend picking some up if you see some in your drive. 

#fingerlakes #lifeinthecountry #newyork
The rain has been so good. More, please. ❤️ The rain has been so good. More, please. ❤️
I want to take moment to send out love to my fello I want to take moment to send out love to my fellow Latinx and immigrant community. 

To send strength to my community of glorious misfits who are out in the world making good trouble and emboldening us to not give up hope on our dreams, our livelihoods, our future, our country, our people. 

The country our parents worked so hard to get to so that we could fly. A country they helped build and bring to prosper. A country our communities help to feed and house and care for. 

I am my immigrant parents dream come true, and my children are a continuation of that dream. 

I just want to remind all of us who represent the targeted, of our worth. Of the value of our contributions. In our languages, our culture, our insights, our work ethic and skills and knowledge. Of the things we bring to the table.

I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, or to us. But, as someone whose family lived through a dictatorship, I have an idea of how this story will end. And all I can advise is that we remain on the right side of it, our convictions unaltered, our core values untethered. Our spirits unbroken. In these stories, the monsters might scare us, and even harm some of us, but they never, ever win in the end. 

I am living proof of that. ❤️ And every time you succeed and feel joy, you are too. Pa’lante, mi gente.
Signs of autumn 🍂 in the Finger Lakes. Signs of autumn 🍂 in the Finger Lakes.

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