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Bloomberg
A lot can happen in a year—but 2017 was particularly eventful when it came to how we travel the world. The threats that loomed largest in 2016, Zika and the migrant crisis, faded into the rear-view mirror as talk of a United States travel ban and Brexit suddenly dominated global headlines. And that was just the beginning. Here are four significant ways the world changed for globetrotters in the last 12 months.
Mother Nature’s Fury
Three hurricanes of extraordinary strength crashed into Texas, Florida, the Caribbean, and Puerto Rico in 2017; the effects of
Harvey, Irma, and Maria continue in nearly every place that they were felt. Parts of the Caribbean have been written off the tourist map until at least late 2018, including St. Barth island and the US Virgin Islands; the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are showing slightly quicker signs of recovery. Almost simultaneously with the storms, wildfires swept the West Coast in two bursts. The natural disasters have set travellers on hunts for new places to cure their winter doldrums: Trending warm-weather alternatives include New Zealand, Bermuda, and Mexico’s Los Cabos.
Airlines’ New Lows
Travellers in the back of the plane were subject to several new kinds of torture in 2017. Passengers got physically assaulted or dragged off planes in a series of nightmarish incidents
that catapulted “airline spokesperson†to one of the most-unenviable jobs of the year. It wasn’t just the inhumane in-flight brawls that raised eyebrows: In July 2017, United Airines Inc. announced plans to resell fliers’ seats to other people for more money. Then in September, Jet Blue Airways Corp. decided to shrink its seats after years of prioritising a customer-first philosophy. And in November, British Airways announced a new policy whereby those who pay the least for their tickets also get to board last. All this, while Emirates Airline defied luxury aviation standards with their upgraded premium cabin configurations that look less like leather seats and more like someone’s living room. What it adds up to: a wider-than-ever class disparity in the skies that’s only going to become more pronounced.
New Airport Rules
Nationalist fervour in places as disparate as the US, Great Britain, and Germany made closed borders one of the most commonly recurring themes of the year—alarming to travellers who live by the credo of a borderless world. It manifested itself most prominently in Trump’s infamous travel ban, now officially in effect, barring visitors from eight countries. You didn’t need to be from those places to feel the cascading effects of “enhanced security and screening.†In airports around the world, additional safety measures included banning laptops on flights and at-the-gate pat-downs. Recently, airlines started cracking down on smart luggage with battery packs. With Europe voting to end visa-free travel in March—and Trump responding with new rules for inbound tourists in December 2017—this is a narrative that’s still unfolding.
The Effects of Over-Tourism
In destinations that ranged from Venice to Peru, local governments confronted the fact that tourism is an important economic engine, but too much of it becomes destructive. In Dubrovnik, Croatia, legislation capped visitors to the medieval walled city at 4,000 per day. And in Peru, long-rumoured limits on daily entries to Machu Picchu finally took off in a play to protect the historic site from the effects of excessive foot traffic. All this is good news, and not just for destinations at risk of being ruined.