KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Summer travel is right around the corner and like last summer, that ideal trip might be difficult due to COVID-19.
"For 2021, during the summer, we had some people going to the Cayman Islands that now had to cancel," Mark Ebbitts, president of Kansas City, Missouri-based Shelton Travel Service, said.
Travel agents at Shelton Travel Service said people are booking more domestic trips this summer.
"Whether it be Florida for Disney for families, we are seeing a lot of travel out to California and into Florida like Miami, Fort Lauderdale," Ebbitts said.
Safety was the McGinnity family's top priority. So, they decided to stay in the U.S. and hit the road.
"We took nine or ten days and we did a National Park Tour," Sarah McGinnity, a Kansas City metro mother, said. "So, we went ultimately to the Grand Canyon and then through south New Mexico and we hit five National Parks on our way."
Some bookings to popular international hotspots like Mexico and Dominican Republic also are being made.
"Because there are no restrictions to go in," Ebbitts said. "You have to have a negative test to come out, but those tests are free at the resorts where you are staying."
Those who are thinking of planning a summer getaway should book the trip soon and make sure to purchase travel insurance, according to travel agents.
"Let's say you get COVID two weeks before you go, and you didn't take the shot and now you are sick and you can't go, so you want to have that credit to reuse at a future time," Ebbitts said.
McGinnity said just go, have fun and don't be afraid.
"We just really embraced what was available to us right now," she said. "We can fly somewhere in the future, but this was a perfect opportunity to take that iconic road trip."
