Introduction
The hills are the best place to spend your vacation. With the winter sun, the fresh air from the mountains, trees, and rides in the greenery, the waterfall spraying cool water around, there is never a dull moment in the mountains.
When bored out of their normal routine and daily life activities, one can always plan their vacation, be it hills or somewhere on the coasts, this pattern becomes problematic in the view of the current pandemic. In the times when staying locked in the house is the only way to protect you and your family, packing for your next trip is not the right thing to do.
Relaxation in the lockdown
When the state and central government gave a little relaxation on the lockdown and covid restrictions, the majority living in the planes and other parts of the country made plans to travel, mostly to the hill stations.
Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand saw a large increase in tourism. Hike in the tourism number was good news for people relying on tourists for their livelihood, but it was a cause of worry for the state government since the majority of the travelers came from high contamination zones.
This worry and lack of action of authorities resulted in the increase of a number of covid-19 contamination among the people living in the hill stations, spreading contaminations to the traveler.
What is revenge travel?
Revenge travel is a surge in travel after restrictions. When people face fatigue from normal life, they plan travels in "revenge" to get out of the monotonous and mundane life.
The revenge travel phenomenon was seen in the winter of 2020 till march of 2021 when the crowded tourist spots of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand became a hot topic. Without the requirement of an RTPCR report and opened gates for tourist destinations, people flooded the streets.
The mindset behind the revenge travel phenomenon observed after covid 19 restriction removal made people take a trip to tourist locations before the government could apply restrictions again in view of the upcoming thirst wave.
The idea of revenge travel as a whole was criticized by most who did the wise thing of staying at home and following covid protocol.
Repercussion of revenge travel
As an outcome of this phenomenon, tourists traveling from the plain become a carrier of the virus to the people living in the hill stations and nearby villages. The spread of the virus itself is a reason for worry but it is especially a reason to worry if it spreads to the areas where medical facilities are not accessible quite easily.
These revenge travelers when coming back to the area with high-density population areas, become the carrier of the virus. The majority of tourists carried the virus and spread it within their community.
Vaccination is the solution to protect against the illness, but it does not stop the spread unless proper precautions are taken, and guidelines are followed.
Conclusion
Taking a break from the boredom with the trip is necessary, but at the stake of the lives of others and your family is nothing short of stupidity. The only way to stop this pandemic and get life back on track is to follow the guidelines and rules set by the authorities and vaccination.
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