This was the headline of a Times story I came across today, or at least that was what I thought at first blush. My heart leapt with surprise that the Times was panning travel culture but my joy was short-lived. The headline actually said 'traveller', and it was just another bigoted piece in that stuffily odious paper, this time targeted at gypsies.
Travel is in the news because the British government has slapped a 14-day quarantine on all travelers from Spain. Naturally, the tabloids are reacting as though the government legalised crack cocaine. Try as I might, I can't muster sympathy for those affected by this decision. Serves them right for trusting this government when it urged them to go on holiday. And serves them right for participating in the ecologically ruinous, racist and exploitative travel culture. yes, maybe the quarantine was very difficult on some of them and they were looking forward to an overseas holiday. But, I will save my sympathy for frontline workers and the Covid-bereaved.
Will this be trauma enough to drastically reduce the appeal of low-cost holidays? I am not betting on it. On the radio, I heard that people had already started moving their bookings to other overseas destinations.
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