Re-taming the stranger | The Press

The borders are reopening, the restrictions are falling and the planes are full… yet travelers who have been chomping at the bit for two years are struggling to go abroad again. Pandemic fatigue and exhausted coping skills could explain these hesitations. Which doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to stay cloistered at home…

Simon Chabot
The Press

A seasoned traveler, able to meet friends in Europe or set off to discover a new country with a week or two notice, Alexandre Lépine feels he has lost his good pre-pandemic reflexes. “It’s as if the cog was broken. For the moment, it’s over, the spontaneous departures. »

Even if foreign travel is no longer advised against by governments, the logistics remain quite complex, he observes: “I have a new anxiety that has fallen on me… It has become colossal try to know all the rules of all countries. »

But there is more: after long months of pandemic, the ordinary hazards of organizing a trip – reservations, travel, etc. — have been transformed for him “into little mountains”. “In front of all these walls, where I felt very comfortable before, my exhaustion came much more easily. »

A completely normal phenomenon, believes the D^D Christine Grou, president of the Order of Psychologists of Quebec, who evokes the famous “pandemic fatigue”. By continually coping with new realities, “the vast majority of people have exhausted adaptive reserves.” Basically: the elastic was stretched too much. “Since the start of the pandemic, she specifies, the brain has been in hypervigilance, that is to say very reactive. After two years, he is therefore very tired. »

take it easy

So, too bad for a trip to another country? Especially not, answers the psychologist. “The only thing you shouldn’t do is stay locked up at home. »

The key, when in doubt, is to take it slow. “It’s better to start with small movements and where you have control,” she suggests. Traveling by car is less stressful than by plane. We are able to come home on our own if it gets too stressful. And no need for screenings to cross the American border or to return home… by road.

After more than two years at home, or nearby, some travelers still have a considerable budget at their disposal as a third pandemic summer approaches. To the point of considering, for example, going on the safari in Africa during the summer that they have always dreamed of. It would be too big a bite for a first post-pandemic trip, believes the D^D Group. “The trip of a lifetime can be the best memory, but it can also be a source of disappointment if you’re ill-prepared,” she says. You have to make sure you’re able to tolerate the imponderables, the things you can’t control…”

For Stéphanie Bordeleau, for example, managing strangers while traveling now seems possible… but not with children. The possibility of having to deal with flight or accommodation changes, or even falling ill abroad in their company, is too much stress. “If I only left as a couple, that would be fine with me, testifies the mother of two school-age children. But with my children, it seems to me a very unpleasant puzzle at the moment. »

Break-in in progress…

Travelers aren’t the only ones who need a break-in period as travel resumes. The whole tourism industry is in the same boat.

Air carriers, which have laid off many of their employees in recent years, are struggling to meet soaring demand. Earlier this week, Sunwing experienced misfires with its computer system, grounding thousands of passengers. Long queues also formed at major US and European airports over the recent Easter holiday, many media reported, citing in particular a labor shortage.

On April 15, Air Canada flew more than 100,000 passengers in a single day for the first time since March 13, 2020. And the volume continues to grow, the company said, which is redoubling “recruitment efforts and training”, in order “to operationalize the commercial request as quickly as it materializes”, writes Pascale Déry, director, media relations, at Air Canada.

Air Transat also believes that it is able to meet the strong demand that is emerging for the summer. “We have made several hires in recent months to improve the processing of requests at our Customer Contact Center,” said spokesperson Pierre Tessier by email.

Alexandre Lépine works in a Montreal hotel, where visitors return quietly. “We are rusty, too! “, he observes. But the recovery is welcome. And little by little, everyone will eventually come out of their torpor. Moreover, after having postponed it at least twice, Alexandre is thinking of making a trip to Europe at the end of May, if the virus does not come to spoil his plans.

The price of rental cars has tripled, that of accommodation has also increased, he does not yet know if he will be able to see all his friends, from Portugal to Switzerland, but the love of travel finally seems to take over the worry. “The stress of planning everything is still there, he says, and I’m going to have to travel differently, but now I’m really looking forward to it! »