Mes: marzo 2020

Honestly, we have no idea. 

As this novel virus makes its way around the world, it’s almost impossible to make a fair assessment of how everything is going to look when September rolls around. What we can say however, is that there is a lot of time between now and then, and you better believe that the world’s top officials are doing everything they can to stop this thing. 

As far as it stands now, the Munich authorities have not cancelled Oktoberfest, nor the upcoming Springfest. We like to think of ourselves as the experts of these beautiful festivals, but the reality is the guys that reaaally know what they’re talking about wear suits and work for the government, and they have deemed both safe enough to continue business as usual, both in the beer halls and for our Stoketoberfest campsites and campsite parties – and we’re not planning on changing any plans until the authorities advise us to do so. It’s still very much game on. 

Is the Coronavirus in Germany?

Yeah. 

It’s also in America, Britain, Australia, Spain, France and Italy too. In fact, it’s everywhere. 

At this point though, Germany poses no more danger than anywhere else (at the time of writing 0.00020% of Germans had contracted coronavirus), and considering its status as Europe’s strongest economy, it’s likely the best place to be if shit hits the fan. The other thing is this – it’s not often that Stoke Travel and viruses can agree on anything, but this time there is – we both believe in no borders. Just like Stoke, the coronavirus doesn’t care for lines drawn up by old dudes hundreds of years ago and is more than happy to cross those lines in order to keep the party going. The thing is, this virus is global, and it doesn’t matter where you are, if it’s going to find you it’s going to find you. It’s going to find you travelling, it’s going to find you at home. In saying that though, as of time of writing, Munich has not confirmed a single case. Good news for beer lovers. 

Is the Coronavirus Dangerous?

Well long story short… it can be. 

Just like catching the common cold, getting in your car, swimming in the ocean, walking down stairs, and every other unavoidable thing you’ve got to do to live your life, it can be dangerous. However, assuming that you’re reading this as an adventurous traveller under the age of 40 (rock on if not though!), you’ll be happy to hear that you’re ridiculously unlikely to find this thing fatal, like, 0.2% chance unlikely. Go buy yourself a lottery ticket if you back those odds. Now that we’re on the subject of statistics though, try this one on for size: 80% of ALL cases experience mild symptoms, ranging from asymptomatic (no symptoms at all) to common cold level. If you’re booking Oktoberfest with Stoke Travel, the coronavirus will be a walk in the park compared to the gnarly hangovers you’re guaranteed to experience. 

Can I Get Health Care at Oktoberfest?

Absolutely! 

At Stoke we will always encourage our fellow travellers to organise health insurance before their trips. We of course will do everything we can to make our fun safe, but the reality is when unlimited beer and sangria is involved, unexpected consequences are almost guaranteed at some point. That’s why we always have security and public safety professionals stationed at all of our festivals, with the medical services on speed dial should we need their assistance. Regardless, Germany itself prides itself on having some of the world’s best doctors and nurses, and with comprehensive health insurance, you better believe that you will have access to them. 

Yeah it’s business as usual for Stoke Travel. By the time Oktoberfest, or Springfest, or anything we do, rolls around the coronavirus scare will have mostly evaporated and the media would have found something else to obsess over. Don’t let it change your life, keep travelling, keep exploring and never stop filling your young, travelling life with all the experiences available to you. If you want to read our full statement on coronavirus and travelling, jump over here, and to book your Oktoberfest trip with Stoke Travel, light this up.

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Sure, we’re worried about coronavirus. We’re in the travel business, and for the most part people travelling is what’s edging the world toward pandemic status. And this affects us, because while we don’t have events in any of the affected regions, when the shit hits the fan like this people’s plans can change, and they can find themselves feeling less confident about moving around the world, seeing the sights, meeting new people, enjoying themselves, and learning. 

As coronavirus spreads through Europe we’re noticing that some travellers are reconsidering their plans to party with us. We think that you should reconsider reconsidering.

Epidemics aren’t new. We started this company just as SARS was petering off, and operated without incident during swine flu. What is different this time around is the rate by which coronavirus is spreading, and the media saturation that the crisis is causing. 

People are being led into a panic, and seem to be expatriating themselves to bunker down at home. Rice and hand sanitiser are impossible to find in supermarkets in areas barely affected by the virus, if at all. The more conspiracy minded amongst us are bracing for the apocalypse, while hypochondriacs avoid all human contact for fear of death. The rest of us are more worried about running out of Netflix shows to watch if we’re forced into a two week quarantine. 

As a tour operator and travel agent, for Stoke Travel it’s business as usual. We rely on advice from experts and health professionals and government agencies at a local and international level. Based on their recommendations at writing none of our upcoming events, tours or trips will need to cancelled, or even modified, nor does it look likely that they will be. 

As far as the Stoke Travel calendar is concerned, our upcoming trips to Munich’s Springfest, Ibiza Spring Break, Andorra Ski, and the various Barcelona Boat Parties are all going ahead, and will be until local or national government advice recommends the contrary. 

At the time of writing this, the coronavirus has affected zero people in Munich, and 0.00015% of Germans across the country, with no deaths. Similarly in Ibiza and Andorra, there are no confirmed cases, and in Spain 0.0002% of the population have been infected. 

The coronavirus concerns us, but we most certainly aren’t freaking out. 

Furthermore, the vast majority of Stoke Travel guests are well outside of the danger zone for this particular influenza strain, with people between 18-40 years of age having a 0.2% chance of dying in the off chance they contract coronavirus, as opposed to a 15% chance for people over 80. While we do advise being prudent with your virus prevention so that we can better safeguard more “at risk” members of our community, at this stage we don’t see this being a great threat to the average Stoke traveller. 

Coronavirus is popping up in new countries and regions every day. It can find you wherever you are, and as the disease moves around the world being at home will be just as risky as travelling. We don’t see the point in denying ourselves the endless delights of pursuing pleasure around the world and living a travelling life full of new experiences as long as the coronavirus doesn’t present a real and tangible threat to our wellbeing. 

Stoke Travel operated without incident through the H1N1 epidemic (swine flu), and in the wake of other events that created concern among travellers, such as terrorist attacks in Germany, France and here in our home in Barcelona. We always weigh up the risks, but do so knowing  that we can’t let unrealistic fears and media panics negatively affect our overwhelming need to live a life full of experiences and meeting new people. 

This will pass, so we strongly advise that you continue living your life as you were before you even heard of the coronavirus, but always be prudent with the advice of local governments and international authorities on health, like the World Health Organisation. We will not be cancelling our events unless we’re advised to do so, and our terms and conditions regarding cancellations and refunds will remain as is throughout this developing situation. 

Stay safe, but don’t do so at the expense of living your best travelling lives. Wash your hands, cough into your elbow, don’t kiss strangers with high fevers, and keep travelling the world, going out at night, partying, attending concerts and enjoying yourself. As warmer weather approaches and governments and health professionals work to contain the outbreak, soon the coronavirus will be relegated to history and we’ll wonder why we were so worried at all. 

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