Asian-Canadian millennials talk about travel during Covid, living through the pandemic and future overseas travel plans
- Five millennials from Canada describe the positive and negative effects of the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic
- They are all excited about travelling again, mixed with concerns about a resurgence in Covid-19 and the reintroduction of restrictions
Like citizens of many countries, Canadians are emerging from Covid-19 isolation. Mask mandates were lifted in late March, other public health measures were loosened in February, and after a gruelling two years of uncertainty, it feels good to contemplate overseas travel again.
Across Canada, the coronavirus restrictions sparked conversations about social responsibility and how the pandemic had “stolen” precious years from people’s lives. We spoke with a number of well-travelled Asian-Canadian millennials as they reflect on their pandemic experience and explain how they’re feeling now that the world is opening up again.
Matthew Cheung, 29, engineer in the fintech industry, and partner Mika Tsoi, 28, planner in the manufacturing industry, both living in Mississauga
Cheung: “We had plans to travel to Portugal [in 2020], then Belgium for Tomorrowland, a music festival – but it was postponed. We also had booked flights from Toronto to Portugal that had to be cancelled. Thankfully, I used reward points and they were all refunded in full.
“At the time I was happy that it was postponed because the pandemic was rampant. I didn’t feel comfortable even going to the grocery store. Near the end of 2021 I started to feel more comfortable travelling.”
Tsoi: “We went to [Canadian cities] Vancouver, Calgary and Banff, brought some Lysol wipes and sanitised everywhere we went.”