When the worst of this pandemic is over and people start traveling internationally again, they will want to make sure that they can do it safely. Besides thinking about airports and airplanes, they should probably also consider some things about the destinations that they are traveling to. So here are some things that they might consider:

Many people never consider buying any form of travel insurance and many just figure it is an unjustified expense. Young people subconsciously feel they are invulnerable, but a lot of older people realize that they or their close relatives are living a more fragile existence and that the chances of some health crisis popping up are greatly increased, so they do consider getting insurance, in case they need to cancel their trip.

But there is one type of travel insurance that is increasingly becoming more important in this day and age....

Keeping tourism revenues in the destinations in which they’re generated is one of the fundamental goals of sustainable tourism. When tourism is well managed, it enables locals the opportunity to maintain or elevate their quality of life without jeopardizing the natural and cultural treasures that draw visitors there in the first place.  The money that comes into a community-owned and operated tourism enterprise stays within that indigenous village, providing economic benefits to the entire community. From the guides and the cooks to the drivers and support staff, all employees are members of the local community. Best of all, your hosts want to share their culture and show off the iconic wildlife that live in - the ecosystems they’ve been stewards of for millennia. Your visit provides an incentive to protect wildlife habitat and preserve traditional culture. It provides travellers with the chance to enhance their experience and knowledge by connecting with and learning from the locals. This is just one of the many ways tourism is a force for good in the world today.

More and more I've been reading about problems with overcrowding at tourist destinations. While it's great that more people have the means and desires to travel, they don't all have to go to the same places. There are plenty of other magical places to visit in the world, and plenty of them are in South America. Instead of following friends to places they have been, why not go to some great places first and have the others follow you?

Two weeks ago, me and a group of agents and marketing reps from the U.S. and Canada toured Guyana, as guests of the Guyana Tourism Authority. I had talked with one of the tour operators about Guyana for years and finally got to experience first-hand what he had been telling me about.

To me, it seemed like such an exciting mix for those looking for something different. The country promotes it's amazing wildlife and Kaieteur Falls (the highest single drop waterfall in the world), but it offers much more than that. When you visit the interior, it's like visiting a frontier territory - a vast land, largely untouched, except for the natives and a few foreigners who came to carve out a life, as you can see from the video below.