ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — If you plan on traveling for Labor Day weekend you’re not alone. While travel experts at AAA aren’t making any predictions, data collected by the travel itinerary app TripIt show millions of people plan to travel to COVID-19 hot spots with Florida ranking number one.
It reports while flight bookings are down 66 percent compared to last year, hot spots include Florida, Arizona, Nevada Mexico and the Caribbean. All are known as Covid-19 hot spots still struggling to flatten the curve.
The data comes despite travel recommendations from the CDC to stay home. TripIt found roughly six million Americans plan on flying, which brings new concerns of rolling back progress against the virus. Mexico and the Caribbean require visitors to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, but Florida doesn’t. This, as millions across the country have either recently or are about to head back to school.
Experts say it’s even more of a reason to be vigilant, wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines to protect you and others.
Popular destinations in Florida include the Tampa Bay area, Miami, Orlando and Panama City.
Tripit’s numbers only look at flight data and do not include statistics for train, bus or car.
This could mean even more people are traveling, which is why experts say you really need to be cautious this holiday weekend.