Greetings from Thailand!
Last week's video where I explored the broader picture of vaccines and travel brought a torrent of feedback from the community, and I'd like to begin by thanking all those who shared their input.
While it's a controversial topic and certainly one that produces more questions than answers, I feel it's important in this followup to be unequivocal on the issue as far as travelling with Wheel & Anchor is concerned.
To travel with us at least in the short to medium term, you will need to have had your vaccinations.
We have debated and explored this internally at length, and I believe it is what is best for our community, so that we can go forward living our mission - to bring travellers together. It would be extraordinarily risky to try and do that without being definitive on this issue, and I believe that our position is in sync with who we are and what we stand for.
If we were an FIT travel company that put together trips for individuals or families or what have you, our position might very well be different; but we are all about the joy of the shared experience of travel, and that difference makes all the difference. We have to do our best to keep you safe both as individuals and as part of our group, and thus I think this decision is resonant with our guiding principles.
Are we making this up as we go along? Yes, just as governments and businesses and communities around the world have been doing in these unprecedented times. Do we have all the t's crossed and i's dotted on how this will work? No, I don't have all the details on how we will logistically sort this out at this moment, but you can rest assured we will keep you abreast of how it's all going to work as we move forward.
Right now this is about sending a signal through the noise, so you can make the right decision for yourself about travelling with us in the future.
Also, to be clear, I'm not here to litigate, judge, or argue about your individual rights or views - I respect those, but to travel with us you will have to be congruent with the group and understand what we have to do to keep everyone as safe as possible.
I really appreciate all of the feedback I've received to date on the issue - both those who agree and those who don't - and I encourage you to share yours should you feel so inclined. We are a community and we ARE all in this together, and I do take your voices and views into account as I make decisions about how and where we travel.
Now, since we are a travel group and not a vaccine group, allow me to end with a few quick updates about travel! I'm delighted to release the full itinerary for our Germany & the Benelux 5x5 program this week, which you can find in your newsletter. We've also added the next webinar to the schedule which will be one part of a series of programs through France...you can also find the link in your newsletter for that, along with our upcoming Tuscany LiveAway webinar.
Lastly, we've also added a bunch more 'In Development' trips to the website if you're curious about what else is in the pipeline - you can check them out here.
Thank you for reading this far, and thank you for being with us this far...I'm grateful to have you with us in what has been one of the most challenging years of my life and perhaps yours as well. Here's to great conversations and connections in the months and years ahead 🙂
Cheers!
Gordon Dreger
Founder, Wheel & Anchor
Gordon Dreger is the founder of Wheel & Anchor and has been in the travel industry for over 30 years. Travel is a self-expression for him, and there is nothing he likes more than talking about travel and sharing all of the joys of it with others.
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