Early in 2020, the impacts of COVID-19 began to be seen around the world, and all of our lives have been impacted in one way or another. The repercussions of lockdowns and travel restrictions have hit the tourism sector especially hard and I know many guides around the world who have temporarily lost their livelihoods. My hope is that once things go "back to normal", whenever that may be, tourism will take off again and these people will have their jobs back. 

As a tour guide, I take the risks of COVID-19 very seriously and while I am still running tours, I am taking precautions to minimize the risk of transmission. Luckily, being outside and exploring nature is a relatively low-risk activity provided that precautions are taken, including social distancing.

For the moment, I am requiring that clients drive in a separate vehicle as me when out traveling for a day tour. This is unfortunate since traveling together provides a great opportunity to connect with clients, while it also minimizes emissions, but minimizing transmission risk is very important to me.

In addition, clients are required to bring their own hand sanitizer and face coverings / masks. While face coverings are not mandatory while we are outside and able to socially distance ourselves, they will be needed if we are ever indoors or in a situation where we may be in close quarters with each other, or with other people.