Damn

Well. The coronavirus/Covid-19 drama has, as predicted, stymied the travel industry, which is now actively promoting backyard destinations. Initially at least, that's hardly a penance, really - so many people never properly explore their own countries or even cities, despite seeing foreign tourists pouring in eager to do exactly that.

What's more dismaying from my point of view, as a travel writer/sponger/freebie-grabber, is the real possibility that newspaper travel magazines, which are my main market for stories, may shrivel up and die for lack of advertising. My inbox is full of cruise lines announcing they're shutting up shop till May at least, and hotels offering generous cancellation deals - with such huge cuts in their income, paying many thousands for ads that won't see a return for months and months makes no sense at all. And without advertising, the supplements simply can't exist.

Also, of course, I won't be travelling myself for who knows how long. Already I'm squeezing stories out of trips I did sometimes quite a while ago - hooray for my trusty 3B1 notebooks, photos and this blog - but that can't go on forever. Don't we all wish we knew how this is going to play out? Will it be over in a month or two? Or is this just the start of something that will change travel/life forever, like 9/11? It's a grim comparison, but I suppose it provides a glimmer of hope. All those restrictions and rules and inconveniences that 9/11 imposed on everyone around the world for, presumably, ever after sure are a pain - but they haven't stopped us travelling, have they? Those of us still here, that is...