Florida is still a COVID-19 hotspot, but hey, don’t let that stop you.
I mean, you should let that stop you, but according to a new survey by TripIt, Labor Day vacations are trending toward the Sunshine State.
The travel site recently analyzed the top 100 destinations for U.S.-origin roundtrip flight reservations made from Jan 1 – Jul 30 with a travel date between Sep 4 – 8.
Last year’s top five Labor Day vacation spots were Denver, Chicago, Las Vegas, Boston and New York. This year? Vegas is tops (again, that’s a coronavirus problem for everyone), followed by Denver, Orlando, Chicago and Seattle. Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also made the top 25.
Other interesting notes from the survey:
- Honolulu, which is basically not letting in visitors, made the list at #11.
- Cancun made the biggest leap in expected visitors; New York had the biggest decrease. Again, based on travel restrictions and quarantines, these choices were probably made earlier in the year and maybe before March.
- Florida claims the plurality of Labor Day flight reservations, with 12 percent of all travel plans including a destination within the state (that number was four percent in 2019). Given that the governor there just announced “no more COVID-19 shutdowns,” people may find a relatively normal pre-2020 scene there (where that state will be in two weeks … that’s not our call).
Suggestion? If you’re going to travel, stay close to home, go somewhere (preferably by car) where you can social distance and stick with the people you’ve been hibernating with. And use your travel savings now to think ahead to sunnier times.
“The best science suggests that we remain vigilant and use this time to plan for our future trips,” as Melissa DaSilva, president of the guided travel service Trafalgar, tells Fortune. “When we do begin traveling again, it will be imperative that we choose to rebuild the cultures and structures that have been so decimated in this time without tourism, so do your research and choose wisely.”
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