When international flights resume and people can enjoy traveling again, of all the types of tourism travelers can engage in, mountain tourism is the best option to get away from crowds. Even after the vaccine is developed, fundamental aspects of mass tourism and “pool” based business models will have to be rethought since they may not be sustainable. After this, who would want to join a tour where they put you in a bus, with 30 other people from anywhere in the world and take you around all day sight seeing.

Tourists will look for more private services, groups and transportation where only their group of friends or family is together on the tour and they are exposed less. They will look for other routes that are away from the crowds, higher quality and innovative trips where you get a more exclusive experience for your money.

Hiking and climbing in the mountains, being active in the outdoors is the best place to stay away from contagious viruses like Covid 19. Being in the sunlight with UV rays that kill coronavirus, receiving plenty of vitamin D and having a healthy immune system from being physically active are the best defenses you can have. Cusco and many other Andean cities have had much less Covid 19 infections because of the favorable sunny conditions and thinner air at higher elevations.

While this year was put on hold for travel, it may be a good thing in the end. Many of the worlds archeological sites and natural places got a rest from the mass tourism they are used to seeing. In this new normal we have to find the opportunity reconnect with nature and mountain environments, with the sacred mother earth that we depend on for life.

For us at Sky High Andes we have bio-safety protocol to ensure that your safety is our top priority. We are working on projects out in the mountains during this down time, and are excited for people to come back to trek and climb in Peru in 2021!