Goodbye 2021, Hello 2022

The start of a New Year is always a time for reflection. Looking back at the year that’s passed and looking forward to the promise of what’s to come.

Never for a minute did I think that arriving home from South Africa in February of 2020 would mark the start of a worldwide pandemic and an extremely difficult and challenging time for the travel industry. It is such a privilege to be able to travel even though, let’s be honest, it’s now a royal pain in the ass. I have just returned from an Italian ski trip and because the lateral flow test I had ordered didn’t arrive, I ended up taking the test at an Italian pharmacy on Christmas morning, not the best start to Christmas Day. Saying that, hats off to the poor man who was working on Christmas Day, literally sticking swabs up strangers’ noses so they could get home. It’s now an endless routine of paperwork and testing with your heart in your mouth in case you test positive but even with the 12 hour delay at Turin airport it was still a fantastic week and I don’t regret it for a minute. Neither do I take it for granted. I was also lucky enough to make it out to both Mallorca and Ireland last year, both of which are big favourites of mine.

So what about 2022? A brand new year where I have a blank canvas with absolutely no travel booked at all. I can’t believe I’ll be celebrating my silver wedding anniversary in July, how can it be 25 years since I walked up that aisle. A reminder that life really is short and time waits for no man, pandemic or no pandemic. A couple of big birthdays also loom large in our family this year. So we’ll see what life brings. To quote Jacqui Gifford, editor in chief at Travel and Leisure magazine, “If you have family, friends, your health and the gift of travel then there’s not much to complain about.” I couldn’t agree more.

In the hotel world, there are a number of new openings that excite me which I am in the process of adding to the calendar. Let’s hope that they can open on time and better things are coming for travel in 2022.

Wishing you a very happy and healthy New Year. Bring it on!