Nothing in the modern human memory could transform the meaning of the word ‘travel‘ like coronavirus pandemic. Not only were we locked inside our homes for over a year but when came out of it carrying a constant paranoia and fear of catching the infection, especially while travelling. However, simply killing the traveller inside you won’t help, rather make use of indispensable tools and research to make your post-pandemic travel safe, which starts with listing the safest destinations to travel. 

Also Read: 5 pocket-friendly destinations in Europe

 The Economist Intelligence Unit has recently released the Safe Cities Index for the year 2021. The list ranks 60 cities prepared on the basis of 76 safety parameters across infrastructure, digital life, personal security, environmental factors and health in terms of pandemic preparedness and COVID-19 mortality included this year.

Here’s a look at the five safest cities in the world to travel to in the post-pandemic period.

1- Copenhagen, Denmark

Ranked at the top of the index, Copenhagen did particularly well due to the index’s new environmental security pillar, which measures sustainability (including renewable energy incentives), air quality, waste management and urban forest cover.

Also Read: World’s 50 best restaurants: Denmark’s Noma tops list, an Indian cuisine delights

The latter parameter undoubtedly had an impact on how well the city was able to cope with pandemic restrictions, which were completely lifted as of September 2021.

2- Toronto, Canada

Scoring exceptionally well in infrastructure and environmental security as well as proper vaccination adoption measures, Canada’s largest city was ranked second in the index.

Canada has successfully vaccinated 80% of its eligible population, aged 12 and over.

3- Singapore

Singapore’s digital security, especially in terms of health infrastructure is tremendously advanced, which largely affected the way it handled the pandemic crises. The country moves fast during the early days of the pandemic, rolling out digital monitoring and contact tracing quickly.

Singapore also is credited for the world’s highest vaccination rates currently at 80%, but still requires strict monitoring and contact tracing in the face of new variants.

4- Sydney, Australia

Sydney ranked fourth in the Economist Intelligence Unit and in the top 10 for health security. It is basically because of Australia’s stringent pandemic measures. It was one of the first countries to completely shut its borders during the pandemic and has maintained strict lockdowns in the face of rising cases – to positive effect.

In fact, the per capita COVID death rate in Australia continues to be one of the lowest in the world.

5- Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo‘s inclusion in the list was somewhat a shocker owing to the gradually rising numbers we had witnessed in the past months, however, Japan’s capital ranked fifth in the overall index and at the very top of the health security index, which measures factors like universal healthcare, pandemic preparedness, life expectancy, mental health and COVID-19 mortality.

Tokyo also scored in the top five for its infrastructure security, which includes transport safety, pedestrian friendliness and transportation networks