Words Ruby DaviesDate 16 December 2020
2020 will long be remembered as the year our collective pace slowed. And while that’s brought with it a set of unforeseen challenges, the stillness has also allowed for new depths of reflection. It’s the call of our time to see more clearly what unites us and to be more deliberate in our care of this place and all its peoples.
As we look to 2021 with an abundance of cautious optimism, we are passing the proverbial mic around the globe to our well-traveled—and much-missed—community of adventurers. We’ve asked our very own in-house experts, our hoteliers (Originals) and creatives, and are asking you:
After all, to travel is to embrace humanity—it’s to hold onto the millions of moments that form our imprint of that one particular place in the world.
Image by Lena Giovanazzi
“...I mean just imagine feeling the ocean breeze, hugging that friend of yours, or surfing that wave you have been craving. It’s like we are finally aware of our privilege to be able to travel, to experience, and to share!”
Partner, Soeder Collective, Zurich
Yev Kazannik
Founder & Creative Director Green Lens Studio, London
Founder and managing director of Anónimo, Mexico City
“2021 will make us a much more mindful race. In every aspect but very much within travel. I believe COVID made us realize how much we were taking for granted and how ridiculously fast we were living our lives. Every outing now, from an afternoon coffee or restaurant, to a trans-Atlantic trip, has so much more value and weight. Travel will become a very intimate luxury. Part of us still wants to go back to “normal” because that’s what we know, which only proves that the transformation is not yet complete.”
Alejandra Martínez
“2020 has certainly given us a lot of time to reflect. It has compelled us to consider our priorities, to rediscover what really matters, to embrace a health-first mindset and to reassess what is essential for happiness. It has also fuelled our wanderlust, and while we are all aware of how badly the travel and tourism industry has been affected, I do think it will bounce back. And when it does, we will approach it with the same renewed sense of what is important. Whether it's opting for sustainable hotel brands, choosing to take less flights, traveling locally, or visiting destinations we can give back to, we will want to take things slowly and immerse ourselves in the moment. We will want to travel better.”
Journalist, London
“There are two wonderful words in German: heimweh and fernweh, meaning homesickness and wanderlust respectively. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that these two feelings are two sides of the same coin. We have learned to treasure and appreciate home-grown and home-made food basics: making our own bread, yoghurt, and beer, or growing our own tomatoes, chilli peppers, and herbs in pots on the windowsill. But, at the same time, we have longed for far-off places; beaches, mountains, and forests; jostling through the scents of markets in unknown cities; striking up conversations with strangers in packed little bars; roaring with delight in a packed auditorium to a performance on stage in front of a thousand pairs of eyes.”
Writer & Editor in Chief of Directions 2021, London
“The challenges of 2020 have made us re-evaluate the necessity of transportation. Traveling to work or for work became a rare opportunity. That new reality made us realize that, after all, to travel and physically be somewhere is essentially a product of desire rather than obligation. We think that in 2021 there will be an important switch in priorities, and people will now travel when they really want to, and this will give a unique opportunity for design: designing places for people who are so intentional about their need to ‘be there’.”
Architects & Designers, Athens
Dimitris Karampatakis & Konstantinos Karampatakis, K-Studio
Dimitris Karampatakis & Konstantinos Karampatakis
“We will travel again. Travel is natural to humankind. We have been nomads since the very beginning and are all eager to be on the road again. But there will be a change. It’s been beautiful to see people rediscovering their own countries, and I think this sense of being ambassadors of our own regions will continue into the future.”
Owner of L’Ovella Negra, Incles Valley
Prisca Llagostera
“If things are looking good for 2021, I expect a surge for travel around the world. Too many of us crave and thrive on exploring other cultures or just need to get away to decompress. For me, travel is essential, so I desperately want to see the world reopen. As an art dealer I represent artists from around the world and need to stay connected to their studio practice, visit their exhibitions, and nurture relationships with curators and collectors. Art fairs have also come to a halt so their re-emergence will initiate travel for a majority of the art world.”
Director & Owner of bitforms gallery, New York City
Steve Sacks
“As creatives running a small community-driven storefront project space, we have to remain in constant dialogue with culture. For design, something is definitely lost through digital mediation. Creatives need to travel to stay inspired, meet with clients, and work with collaborators. When the world reopens, we’ll get as far away from Brooklyn as possible! And fly straight to Malika’s (my partner) homeland, Cambodia! I’ve been dying to go and can’t wait to visit the floating villages along the Tonle Sap and the Angkor Temples in Siem Reap, as well as explore the riverside town of Kampot. And the fact that we can now work from anywhere means we may not come back.”
Contemporaries project, New York City
Stephen Burks & Malika Leiper
“I don’t know when/if travel will be much of an option in 2021, though I certainly hope it will be—I miss the excitement of new places, people, sights, smells, and experiences. I hope that all of us will begin to travel more intentionally—slowing down and really immersing ourselves in places and cultures.
I have two travel needs: first, to visit a new place that I most want to see; and second, to return to a place that is calling me back. In this case, it means making my first trip to South Africa to visit the country, the culture, and a dear friend.”
Artist & Designer, Amsterdam
Alysha Naples
Senior PR Manager, Design Hotels, London
Editor in Chief, Cereal Magazine, Bath
“I will personally go everywhere I can go... by train! The worst thing we can do after the pandemic is to return to old habits. Compared with climate change, the pandemic is just a little bump on the road, and that’s a realization we can no longer avoid. On the positive side, COVID-19 has also taught us that we can change our behavior if we really have to. If we approach climate change far more informed, stronger, and with a more realistic view of what will happen if we just sit back and do not act… then this time has an enormous potential for change.”
Journalist, Copenhagen
Marie Graunbøl
“This year has changed our lives and has forced us to reflect on what matters to us most; a necessary halt from action and a time to appreciate what is important to us: dreaming. 2021, will bring light, hope, and action for things that matter to us most. And travel will be a priority because it answers a deep need. It will be less about the perfect picture and more about transformation. Travel answers a profound need to discover new things, to get inspired by what others have created, and to connect with nature and with other people in meaningful ways.”
Owners of Cretan Malia Park, Crete
Architect, Bangkok
“We will be very selective of the destination. Research and study of transportation will inform how we move around and avoid mass populations. Privacy and isolation will be chosen over bigger social gatherings. Small hotels will be the first choice.”
Vasu Virajslip
“We will make more conscious travel decisions about how, where, and with whom we spend our time. Travel will not be limited to school holidays or office vacation days anymore. We are more in control of our own time which enables us to learn, belong, and contribute to a community while we go.”
Senior Vice President, The Americas and Business Innovation, Design Hotels, New York City
“I expect that people will want to feel more grounded in a certain place, instead of being on the constant hunt for a new environment. The global travel restrictions taught us to appreciate our friends who live close by, and we re-discovered our neighborhoods which we thought had nothing new to offer.”
Brand Manager, Design Hotels, Berlin
Cleo van Geest
Cleo van Geest
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