It’s late 2021. And we are honored to be able to resume offering Global Routes summer programs for all the eager high school students out there ready to re-engage their sense of curiousity in the world. There will be pragmatic modifications to programs this summer to ensure we can operate transformative programming in the midst of the shape the pandemic holds this coming July. If you’re ready to travel this summer, we hope you join us.

We want to give you a look behind the scenes so you can feel confident in your decision about travel this summer, whatever that decision may be. We had a date of January 15th to decide which tack to take based on the status of COVID-19, travel regulations, and vaccination rollout. We’re making the assumption that widespread vaccination will not be widely and reliably available for all healthy 14-19 year-olds. If things change, it’s much easier for us to let go of some protocols rather than tightening up but we are preparing to run programs in a travel environment that is similar to current conditions.

We have developed robust covid protocols for our summer programs which include having all students take a covid test and pre-quarantining before departing for their program, modifying our programs to be more ‘pod-based’ while still exploring the destination responsibly, wearing masks when we are not in our immediate pod, and making arrangements to get students tested before their return home in compliance with new federal guidelines. You can see our protocols below.

We are confident in these protocols because they have been field-tested. We ran a successful gap semester this past fall in Colorado in collaboration with Western Colorado University where we put our covid protocols in action, adjusted when necessary, and delivered an incredible 11-week program for students who wanted to travel in a covid-responsible manner. We look forward to doing this again this summer.

We are monitoring the situation in all of our destination countries and adjusting our itineraries accordingly. If it looks like we might have to close a destination because governments are changing or implementing restrictions that would make travel unrealistic, we will notify families as soon as possible so they can choose an alternative program. We have also opened two new domestic programs in Hawaii and Colorado for families who are ready to travel, but prefer to travel domestically for the time being.

• All students must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, with the most recent dose received more than 2 weeks before departure. Booster shots may be required based on CDC guidelines in the spring.

• All students will be required to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure.

• All students will minimize high risk of exposure activities the week before program departure.

• All students may test again, if practical, 5-7 days into the program

• The group will be it’s own pod or family unit all together beginning on day 1 of the program. In-country partners, host families, and collaborators will join the pod based on testing and vaccination status.

• Groups will follow local guidelines as they relate to masking, social distancing, and other policies.

• Pre-return testing before returning home based on current pre-travel guidelines and best practices

We are confident in these protocols because they have been field-tested across the student travel industry with incredibly low rates of positive infections during 2020 and 2021.  We facilitated successful programming in summer 2021 in Hawaii and Costa Rica and also ran a successful gap semester pre-vaccination this past fall in Colorado in partnership with Western Colorado University where we put out covid protocols in action, adjusted when necessary, and delivered an incredible 11-week program for students who wanted to travel in a covid-responsible manner without any issue. We look forward to building upon travel industry knowledge and professional guidance from risk-mitigation organizations that has accumulated in the past 20 months.

We are monitoring the situation in all of our destination countries and locations, adjusting our itineraries accordingly. If it looks like we might have to close a destination because governments are changing or implementing restrictions that would make travel unrealistic, we will notify families as soon as possible so they can choose an alternative program. The trajectory appears to be improving and normalizing for travel while integrating appropriate safety policies.