(KNSI) – As more Americans get vaccinated against COVID-19 and new cases fall, people are eager to travel this summer.
“The demand for travel is great,” says Gretchen Winters, Head of Sales and Marketing at Bursch Travel. “We’re so busy. People want out; they want to travel for the summer. “
Winters says a trend from last year will continue into this summer: domestic travel to outdoor attractions like national parks and monuments.
“Much of it has already been sold,” said Winters. “Many of these national park campsites or resorts are already completely sold out. If you think you would like to do something like this, now is the time to book it. “
Winters says this will also be the case with travel plans for 2022, especially cruises – these trips were discontinued in 2020 and have limited availability again for 2021.
Although domestic COVID cases are declining, there are still COVID-related travel regulations to be aware of. When crossing international borders, most countries require a negative COVID test for entry, and the USA requires COVID negative test to return to the states. Winters says she heard from travelers who bought fake COVID test documents to circumvent this requirement. She doesn’t recommend it.
“The unfortunate part is that you don’t know exactly what the official document looks like, so you could probably end up buying something and then still get stopped at the border,” Winters said. “If you are vaccinated, your chances of contracting COVID are very small, so the test should come back negative and not be a problem. And the hotels and resorts offer them free of charge, so you really don’t have to buy anything. “
International travelers departing from Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport have the option of a COVID rapid test at the terminal.
Another consideration: Winters says there is a national shortage of rental cars. When trying to rent a vehicle, be careful of scams.
“You want to make sure that you are careful about renting a car that you sell through a legitimate source.”
In general, according to Winters, there are two ways to avoid travel fraud: Plan with a travel agent and read the fine print.
“If an offer is too good to be true, it’s not, and that’s why it’s really important now to book through legitimate, professional travel companies,” she said. “Of course this is your best protection as a travel agency, travel advisor. We only work with preferred suppliers. “
Winters added that reading the fine print can help you know what your liability is for in the event your car rental or AirBNB stay is double-booked, canceled, or a completely fraudulent situation. If there’s not a lot of fine print to read, that’s not a good sign – “it gives that person the flexibility to cancel or take your money and not return it,” says Winters.
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