Marking nearly a year since the coronavirus pandemic began, we’ve seen the world be impacted immensely, especially the travel industry. Flights and holidays have been cancelled, borders closed, hotels have shut their doors, travelling around the world has been put on hold—these are just a few aspects that have affected the travel industry in recent times.

As it’s not possible for us to travel freely at the moment, specifically with the ‘stay at home’ government guidelines in place, there are a couple of things ways to support the travel industry without leaving our homes.

Discover the list we have put together below and help support your favourite travel brands. Remember to stay positive, keep dreaming and look forward to the time when we can all travel again!

Please note: Depending on where you are in the world, travel may look very different to other countries. Therefore, please be sure to check local restrictions.

Postpone, don’t cancel!

Due to the nation's third lockdown, those who live in England are currently advised not to leave their homes, especially to travel abroad unless you have a legally permitted reason to do so (such as essential work or personal circumstances). If you have some travel plans coming up, they may be disrupted due to this. Instead of cancelling your trip completely, consider postponing or rescheduling to a later date if it is financially feasible for you. In this way, you will still be able to look forward to your holiday, while helping the hotel, airline and destination you have booked to travel to.

We understand that you may have already postponed this holiday from last year, but rescheduling or getting credit or a voucher with the hotel and airline will truly help them stay in business in order to welcome you back once this is all over. If anything, this will give you much more time to plan your dream itinerary from start to finish, so you’re ready to start your adventure as soon as the borders open up again!

Follow and share some love on social media

If there’s one thing we are pretty grateful for at the moment, it’s technology and social media. Not only has it been a great multi-platform way to connect with friends, family and loved ones, but it’s also allowed us to explore destinations, revisit our favourite travel experiences and be inspired by new adventures.

Provided that you don’t already, be sure to follow your favourite travel brands and hotels on social media to keep yourselves inspired and share the love. Go on a virtual adventure and discover some new travel locations from the comfort of your own home, post some pre-pandemic ‘throwbacks’ on Instagram and tag the locations & brands you associated with, and be sure to like and comment on their posts as it will mean a lot to them! From YouTube channels to Instagram posts, if you’re experiencing some travel blues, be sure to tag us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube with the #hiphotels hashtag so we can relive and look forward to your future adventures with you!

Support local hotels with food delivery

Let us start local when talking about the travel industry. Whilst airlines, tourist attractions and hotels are all suffering at the moment, the hospitality industry has also been forced to close again, particularly local restaurants, bars and cafes. However, some hotels and restaurants are still operating, offering a food delivery service to their local area, allowing customers to indulge in their delicious delicacies from the comfort of home. Since we can’t travel at the moment, this is a great way to support your local hospitality brands and treat yourself to some tasty treats—not to mention, it saves on the washing up to!

Buy now, travel later

Another way to support the travel industry from the comfort of your home and a buying method that proved hugely popular in 2020, is by purchasing a gift card that you can save to use at a later date. Whether it be a hotel, cruise, airline, tour, experience package or whatever gift card your adventurer’s heart desires, grabbing yourself or gifting a loved one a voucher will not only assure your next travel journey once the world is safe and open to travel again, but will also support those travel and hospitality industries who are currently closed and unable to open their doors to travellers. Most travel brands are now offering the chance to purchase a gift card or credit to use once it is safe to do so again. So if you haven’t already, get online and discover your perfect escape to look forward to once this is all over.

Take a virtual tour

One of the safest and fun ways we’ve been able to travel during the COVID-19 outbreak has been through virtual reality. Throughout lockdown, more and more people have discovered that you can travel the globe safely from the comfort of your own sofa with this fantastic technology. Whilst it may not be the same as physically travelling, this is currently the next best thing, allowing us to switch off just for a minute and immerse ourselves in the magical potential of the digital world.

There are so many places you can virtually travel to at the moment; from hiking to the top of Mount Everest, to snorkelling beside large manta rays in the Indian Ocean. If you’re looking for a little bit of ‘escapism’ at the moment and getting itchy feet, you’re spoilt for choice with the amount of places you can travel to virtually at the moment. Not to mention, this is the perfect way to get inspired for your next holiday destination. If you want to immerse yourself fully in the virtual reality world, be sure to get yourself a VR headset and explore the magical world from your sofa!

Leave an online review

Forgot to leave a five-star review for that magnificent trip you took? Now is the perfect time to do so!

The easiest and simplest way to show your support for your favourite travel brands and hotels is by leaving some positive online reviews—this will not only lift the brands’ spirits during this unprecedented time, but may also make all the difference for someone else deciding on which hotel to book. If you’ve never written a TripAdvisor or Yelp review before on your favourite hotel, restaurant, or even tourist attraction, now is the time. From your favourite hotel features to spectacular hospitality, go ahead and share a few words online about your travel highlights to help support these travel and hospitality companies. Not to mention, everyone loves to receive good feedback to help lift their spirits.

Don’t stop dreaming!

From the wise words of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'”...

Whilst we understand that you may be feeling pretty overwhelmed about this uncertain period of time, remaining positive has never been more important than at this very moment. Whether you’re stuck indoors waiting for this to blow over, an essential key worker out there saving lives and supporting others, or far away from home and your family, now is the time to dive deep into the depths of your imagination and your favourite preserved memories, and keep dreaming!

Go online and be inspired by magnificent travel destinations you’ve put on your bucket list, make a moodboard on Pinterest or a scrapbook and fill it with inspiring photos and drawings, read, research and plan your future adventures, and accept that these travel dreams will eventually come true. Be sure to keep your passion for everything that you love, alive!

As we’re all aware, right now we must stay at home and protect one another. Supporting the travel industry from your home in the meantime is a great thing to do for not only the companies themselves but to enable yourself to look forward to your future travels, whenever and wherever that may be.