Returning to Wanderlust
Written by Professor Sean Price
Our world is showing slow signs of recovery. For some, it’s almost imperceptible, but in our beloved aviation industry there are indications that confidence, however muted, is returning to travel.
Major airlines like Air Canada and WestJet are both reporting increases in summer and year-end bookings. Travel is on a slow but steady uptick with the hope that by summer our hunger for adventure will, at least, offer domestic satiation.
As we look to brighter times, we can start to dust off our Lonely Planets and begin to dream afresh (or pick up where we left off). When I teach, I desperately try to find that spark for each student who, often reluctantly, found themselves in a college geography class. I admit to being fully aware of the collective dread the majority of my students feel when they sign up for my class. It may trigger memories of high school assignments on the ‘western cordillera‘ or the mind numbing ‘water cycle’ and suddenly you become both bored and anxious at the same time. I get it.
Alas, geography in Flight Services is different. Yes, I get excited about rain shadows and climatic variations. True, I can read a map for an hour like most read a book. But what I get really excited for is the spark I often see when we discuss new places. Whether it be the splashy image of modern Dubai or maybe the serenity of a boat floating in Palawan, at some point in the course each person has a moment where they drift away into an image of a far-flung locale and wistfully daydream.
Now, in most courses, daydreaming can be problematic. And yet, if we allow even a minute of blissful escapism, perhaps to an African savanna, are we not all the better for it? Don’t get me wrong, I’ll need to wrangle your attention back to rain shadows and airport codes eventually, but seeing these brief moments of wanderlust makes me feel both proud and fulfilled.
As guardians of the travel industry, now is the time to take those daydreams and start making plans. While springtime in Paris may be overly ambitious, autumn in Rome may not be. A Caribbean beach could be just the antidote to next winter’s inevitable February blahs. And by some unseen magic maybe a trickle of geography knowledge will help guide you in your planning. So, keep wearing that mask, keep following public health guidelines and the hope of gelato in the piazza might not be as far away as we think.