What is it like to be a tourism student in a pandemic?

Tourism in Pandemic

Studying tourism and being in a pandemic are not things that get along very well, right? It seems to be a joke when the scene of a tourism student inspired to travel, enjoy, be free, and who, on the other hand, is forced to study in his room locked by a pandemic that has us paralyzed. I wish it were a joke, but this is the reality that we had to live.

Student of tourism

Being a student of tourism could already imply a certain “risk” of leaving the traditional, at least if we refer to the fact of breaking the pattern regarding what you want in your future and, at least for me, it could be said that it was part of the “contract” to make such a decision. That is, what could we obtain by studying this? Travel, escape from home, see other worlds? And what do we get, stay locked at home? Sounds quite ironic, doesn’t it? So it seems when we visualize that young apprentice, full of dreams and hungry for freedom, staying at home locked up.

Coming into play with the image we have of students, we can visualize a person who would consider himself a lover of adventure and freedom, as it may not be the case and this has been his opportunity to be. However, this global event has weakened our expectations and on more than one occasion, disappointed in what we thought it would be.

Pandemic Tourism Student

So what is it like to be a pandemic tourism student? This is very subjective, as there are so many different realities that it is not possible to take just one angle. But we can summarize two perspectives: on the one hand, those who started before the pandemic and were strongly impacted by the abrupt change of being in the university or in some work practice, learning from a world that was at its peak., where his role would involve learning under the motive of being the one who delivers an unforgettable experience to tourists that exceeds their expectations, to finally fall from that cloud into what seems to be a world of tourist paralysis that has never been seen before. 

On the other hand, this was a great disappointment for the “new” first years, and of course? If we were at the beginning of the career, hungry for learning and knowing the world, where the least we thought about was locking ourselves up for more than a year to study something in which the least thought is of being within four walls in front of the computer for much of the day.

But this unites both general perspectives under the maxim: “seek how to face the future in these conditions, and become aware that we will be part of this great change!” And yes, no one can deny that it has been difficult, tourism has been strongly affected: this is related through how teachers look for the most didactic ways possible to teach us, how workers have had to find a thousand ways to go out to the light in these times of crisis, how difficult it has been for those who longed to travel to unknown places and even those who used this as an escape route to start from scratch, but what can be done now? 

Maybe before we would have thought it was the worst thing in the world, but no more. Consider this as a “pause” or something similar, where we had to stop the world to analyze what we were doing, how we should improve, and assess what should remain.

This is a different world where we see reality and the impact we generated, this is a new era where our future peers are educating themselves again, analyzing their mistakes so as not to make them more and stand up strong, because it will be possible. 

In this way, I consider that being students of tourism now is an opportunity to be the change we deserve. Be the “before and after”. Learn from those who already have experience, be an example for other student generations, and perhaps this is a sign of using this confinement to learn something new, remembering that we are studying something where we must know many subjects, be it languages, psychology, economy, history, among a lot more.

So, I invite you to reflect, “why don’t we see this, being pandemic tourism students, as a part of this path that is constantly changing, as an opportunity to grow?” Although you think you are behind, you do not understand this online modality, or that you are blocked, today you are worth more for resisting to resurface in a possible new wave of tourism.