Chatting with Globe-Trotting Civil Servant, Sandrita!

While we continue to spend a lot of time indoors or locally this summer, it’s been refreshing to see how people across social media are passing the time, especially with such strict guidelines and barriers to travel right now. So meet Sandrita, a civil servant with a serious case of wanderlust whom we met on Instagram. Normally travelling at least five times a year purely for pleasure, globe-trotting Sandrita started posting a photo a day working through countries in alphabetical order, sharing her favourites and photos or videos from her time there. We love this idea to stay motivated and to take mini-virtual escapes as often as possible during these times! Enjoy this chat with Sandrita and living vicariously through her travel photos!

You are obviously an avid traveller, can you share some of your favourite destinations with us?

One of my favourite places in the world is Italy. I’ve been many times and every region is so different you can go back again and again and still have a completely new experience. I highly recommend Florence (Tuscany) for the atmosphere and the Amalfi coast for the views. Both of these areas have so many options built-in.

But for a quick budget-friendly beach trip from the US, I would suggest Cancun, (really anywhere in Mexico) and Punta Cana or Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) will do the trick!

How do you think travel will be affected by COVID-19 in future?

It’s going to be a different world for sure. Knowing that there is a vaccine on the horizon, we can be more optimistic about making future travel plans. But also, I think more people will take the time to appreciate what a privilege it is to travel and appreciate the services that come together to make it happen. Just being more mindful and thankful.

We’re already seeing a lot of new creative ways for contactless or minimum contact experiences, such as having strictly timed tickets to enter and exit museums to limit the number of people in an enclosed space. Customer service will certainly improve as customers and the vendors need each other to survive. Better customers and better vendors equal better services/experiences.

I think people will lean towards more private curated experiences with their families and friends vs large group tours and perhaps lean towards more open-air activities and places vs closed spaces. I think that’s why the cruise industry will suffer, and a private yacht provides an excellent alternative.

A huge factor we saw at the start of COVID-19 was how companies altered their cancellation policies. Hopefully, more companies will provide more flexibility to bolster consumer confidence. The same can be said for insurance companies that never factored in pandemic coverage before – will this soon be the norm? I don’t know how profitable that will be for the insurance companies but I’ll leave that to the actuaries to figure it out!

Some of the most beautiful places also have people in dire need of basic items. This will only get worse with this pandemic. Include a philanthropic activity/day with your vacation, pack some items to give or donate your money.

What’s next for your globe-trotting plans?

A very long trip where I appreciate every part of nature and people. But the top ones are Maldives, Zanzibar, Thailand, Bali & Cairo.

Be sure to give Sandrita a follow on Instagram @travelseerepeat!