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15 Aug, 2020

As countries all over the world implemented a strict lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19, international travel, unfortunately, became the first casualty.

Many wondered, what impact this loss of mobility will have? Would we all stay cooped up in our houses indefinitely? More importantly, will we ever be able to travel again?

50+ locals around the world give you reasons to visit their hometowns, post-quarantine, in a fun video.
50+ locals around the world give you reasons to visit their hometowns, post-quarantine, in a fun video.

But with more people increasingly stressed about the virus, potentially losing jobs and a worldwide travel ban still in place, Queenie Shaikh —a travel journalist with an Instagram handle and a YouTube channel under the moniker The Poor Londoner— started racking her brain for ideas that’ll help everyone destress. And so, the concept for ‘Visit Us” was born.

Queenie Shaikh —a travel journalist with an Instagram handle and a YouTube channel under the moniker The Poor Londoner
Queenie Shaikh —a travel journalist with an Instagram handle and a YouTube channel under the moniker The Poor Londoner

She asked people on social media to email her a 5-10 second video clip giving one specific reason why people around the globe should visit their hometowns, starting with the phrase “Visit Us”.

This was to serve as motivation for future travel bucket lists, once normality returned.

With an overwhelming response, Shaikh wished to deliver content that represented diversity, unique cultures, beautiful accents and unheard-of travel spots.

"The idea behind the film was to portray my obvious dismay at the international travel ban, but in the form of a dream sequence. I wanted to depict the power of creative imagination and filmed myself accordingly. There’s a line in the video that says, “how cool would it be if I could just disappear into a map and travel the world?”

Comments

GreenOracle Aug 15, 2020 01:53pm
Quarantine really does not matter. Pakistani passport is in perpetual quarantine even before or after Covid19.
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RationalBabu Aug 15, 2020 08:08pm
Good idea but strangely most people in the video seem to be living away from their home countries and inviting others to visit them!
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OH Aug 15, 2020 08:51pm
Any ideas for "smelling the sweet fragrances of the gardens" without being their?
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Prapur Aug 15, 2020 09:22pm
There are numerous travel channels on YouTube, so giving importance to just for COVID is not so special.
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Ahsen Imran Ali Aug 16, 2020 09:56am
This didn’t want to make me go to any of these places. It’s nice that these people wanted to do this but a little bit of a view outside their windows would make it more believable where these place were like one of the girls has done Everyone else looks and speaks like it could be from anywhere. I could have participated from my bedroom and named a fake country. Maybe that way these would actually be 50 countries. Which these are not. There’s a difference between countries and cities, people. Whoever made this probably someone who got all their friends together to do a tictok challenge but lacked the talent for that. And this is the result.
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Aqeel Aug 16, 2020 12:00pm
for a travel journalist this poorn londoner is sure happy with mediocre reasons to visit various places
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Dawn Aug 16, 2020 12:02pm
does this person understand the meaning of poor...? is this meant to make people who are actually poor feel bad about their finances?
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Dr. Moin Uddin Aug 16, 2020 07:51pm
Queenie Shaikh is doing a great job. Keep it up.
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Ray Aug 17, 2020 04:32pm
@Aqeel: you clearly missed the whole point of the video. It was to showcase a particular aspect of their home cities that is not found anywhere else in the world. Please read the whole piece before reaching a poor conclusion.
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Ray Aug 17, 2020 04:34pm
@RationalBabu: everyone in the video is IN their home countries, therefore inviting people to visit them. Nobody in this video is an expat - kindly read the full piece before reaching a conclusion.
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Anum Aug 18, 2020 04:22pm
@Ahsen Imran Ali: hi. I'm one of the people in this video. If you would have paid closer attention, you would notice there are at least 15 people who filmed their parts outside to show their hometowns while speaking about them. Some people in this video weren't even allowed on their balconies, due to the strict rules and covid restrictions implemented by their governments. Most of us don't have a TikTok, and nobody in today's day and age has 55 friends who'll readily agree to be in a video. It's about being creative and experimenting with different ideas which is the concept you failed to grasp. I also don't understand where you read it as "50 countries"? It either states "50 hometowns, 50 cities or 50 places". Please point me in that direction. If you didn't enjoy it, that's fair enough. However, please learn how to properly view content before leaving a well-thoughtout review. You obviously lack talent to critique others' work as an audience member. And that is the result.
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Aqeel Aug 19, 2020 10:31pm
@Ray yeah, maybe the video should have been produced better for people to get the point of the video?
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Ahsen Ali Imran Aug 19, 2020 11:52pm
@Anum I quote from the article "with an overwhelming response..." Honestly, the woman who made this had an overwhelming response to her asking for assistance so an excuse of "no one in this day and age" can find 50 people from 50 different countries is a bit dead on it feet. Don't cover mediocrity on the helms of useless excuses. This video wasnt as bad as the people defending it have made it out to be. Its ok to highlight amateur photographers/videographers, and I hope these creators produce better content in the future.
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