In the matter of a weekend, my full tours and events calendar is now suddenly empty. When you are running a Tours, Publicity and Events business - the work dries up quickly during a pandemic. My focus has now shifted to ensuring everyone stays safe as we try to lessen the global impact of the deadly virus COVID-19.
The Merrie Monarch Festival in April has been cancelled and so has my annual tour to Hawaii. Those who had booked with me were kept in the loop leading up to and following the cancellation of the event. Refunds are now being processed.
Our Glorious tours to California & Mexico are also cancelled. The Essence Festival in New Orleans in July and the Olympics in Tokyo in August have not been officially cancelled yet but we have cancelled our tours.
As much as we were looking forward to a Glorious year of travel in 2020 - the world is no longer the place it was. We want to send gratitude to all of the guests that booked tours with us this year. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these uncertain times.
Here in Aotearoa, we are still at a relatively low risk for infection. All of the confirmed NZ cases were contracted overseas and our Prime Minister has introduced very strict measures to keep us all safe. While these measures have devastated our local tourism industry, I remain hopeful that the impact will not be long lasting and when the threat passes, people will be able to travel again.
Until then, take this time to sit in the stillness. Stay calm and enjoy a 'stay-cation' at home. Protect yourselves and spend more time with those you love. Keep a positive attitude.
My thoughts go out to those directly affected, those who are sick and those who are grieving the thousands we have lost.
I leave you with these words from Kitty O'Meara...
"And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”
Mauri ora!
Louisa
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