Hi @Bjane. That’s a great question: why travel by people, particularly those who live in Asia, is down. Euronews published an article last week on this very topic. Here are the highlights.
More than 16,000 adults across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific were surveyed for business intelligence firm Morning Consult’s 2022 State of Travel and Hospitality report. The report found that, after experiencing a sharp rise, intent to travel within the next year plummeted in July. Here are some of the underlying reasons they cited.
COVID-19 is still a health concern for many people, particularly with testing and mask mandates being dropped.
Economic uncertainty due to months of lockdowns, rising fuel costs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation, and fears of recession are all key factors.
Business travel has also taken a huge hit as people continue to communicate online instead of in person.
Travel chaos caused by strikes and staff shortages has also eroded trust in airlines.
Respondents from Japan were the most averse to travel, with 35 per cent saying they never plan to take a leisure trip again. South Korea came next, with 15 per cent never planning to travel, followed by China and the US, both with 14 per cent.
Not part of the report, but I would also guess that exchange rates being what they are might also be deterring people in some regions from resuming travel at the moment. The rise of RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) may also be a contributing factor for people who take a more spontaneous approach to travel planning.
So there are many factors that are contributing to the perceived reduction in pet sits in various regions. As @Els said,
One day this lull in travel will pass. Until then, we’re enjoying traveling where we want to go with fewer other tourists around. We’ve also not had any major issues finding sits, although, to be honest, we’re not looking in Asia at the moment.
Best wishes for an increase in pet sits in Asia in 2023!
I haven’t noticed fewer sits but in the last few months I’ve definitely noticed that the sits are getting scooped up quite fast! Just in the last few months I’ve started actively scrolling through the sits and it seems like when I see one that appeals to me, it already has at least three applicants. As a sitter, I personally really like the 5 limit application system. I know other sitters aren’t keen on this but I think it’s fair to close the listing once it reaches 5 applicants and the homeowner has to post again if they don’t want to pursue the existing applicants.
Growing up in Indonesia, I’d speculate that one of the reasons there are fewer sits in South East Asia is because help comes cheap over there. Lots of people have live-in help (maids, gardeners, chauffeurs, etc) so less need for sitters.
I see this here also in Uruguay. There is a very strong sense of community. People know each other fairly well. You may not at first glance notice but they know who you are and if you manage to integrate, connect with a few people, the inner world opens with warm arms once they see that you are genuine, truly interested in their community.
Saw and felt in Bali and now here in Uruguay, trust and referrals is via word of mouth, very much who you know, but home and pet sitting Is very much alive here.
It’s a gift to be treasured.
Uruguay is so beautiful. I took Spanish 101 as an adult student at the local college in 2014 (I was the oldest student in the class! ) and there were pictures of Uruguay in the textbook. I hadn’t known it was such a stunning place before that. Enjoy your time there.