This article explores how the COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered global travel, impacting cargo ship tourism, residential cruises, and visa policies, while also highlighting the rise of niche experiences like 'dark tourism.'
The article provides a roundup of travel stories, detailing how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped various forms of global exploration. It specifically focuses on the near demise of cargo ship tourism, a niche industry that allowed paying passengers to travel on freighters. While many operators ceased business due to health/safety issues and increased maritime dangers, some companies are now expanding cargo-passenger services to destinations such as Namibia, Iceland, and French Polynesia. The article also covers significant changes in visa policies, noting Australia's dramatic cut in working holiday visas and Japan's tightened immigration rules despite a tourism boom. It touches on the reality of living on a permanent cruise ship, exemplified by the Villa Vie Odyssey, and explores 'dark tourism,' where travelers visit war zones, radiation sites, dangerous countries like North Korea, or sites of notorious events such as Jonestown. Additional content includes the international expansion of CNN All Access and an old Anthony Bourdain episode in Libya.
