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TAMPA, Fla. — Ready or not, Thanksgiving week is here, which means holiday travel is back in full force.
With the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines for people as young as 5-years-old, travel experts say people are feeling more comfortable and more confident in traveling again.
“Expect congestion on the highways, long lines at the airports,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesperson for AAA.
The Auto Club Group predicts 53.4 million Americans will travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, which is up 13{e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a} from 2020. And here in Florida, they expect travel numbers to come within 2{e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a} of pre-pandemic levels.
“I think it’s music to people’s ears that we’re gonna see a Thanksgiving very similar to what we saw before the pandemic,” said Jenkins.
Travelers at Tampa International Airport are already arriving at one of the holiday hot spots for the winter season.
“Last year I didn’t get to come for Thanksgiving, so I kind of spent it at home with my friends. We had kind of a Friendsgiving, but I missed my family, and my family’s down here,” said Alyssa Delvalle, who is visiting family in Tampa from New York.
Families are feeling more comfortable gathering this year as more and more people have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Now they’re looking forward to spending the holidays together.
“We want to spend Thanksgiving together and have a bunch of turkey and stuff like that and just have a good time with friends and family,” said Johnny Sanchez, whose wife is flying home after spending six months in China.
Health experts say celebrating with friends and family is safe this year, especially if you’re vaccinated.
“Obviously, if you’re not vaccinated, you’re in a situation where you’re more vulnerable to getting infected, but for the people who are vaccinated, the people who can get boosted, enjoy your holiday season with your family, indoors, grandparents, children,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief Medical Adviser.
And when it comes to traveling, travel experts just warn people to hope for the best, but plan for potential delays.
“You’re kind of at the mercy of the airlines, and then the weather. Staffing has been a problem as of late, and there’s been a lot of talk that they’re gonna try to shore that up in time for the holidays,” said Jenkins.
Experts expect next Sunday to be the busiest travel day of the year. So as usual, they’re recommending people arrive three hours before take-off to ensure time to get to your gate.
Holiday travel is back in full swing after over a year of pandemic restrictions that left last year’s trips uncertain and even canceled. This year, however, airports are seeing many more passengers, so you’ll want to have a plan to cope with the crowds. Phoenix Sky Harbor …
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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A group of international university students arrived in Australia from Singapore on Sunday after nearly a two-year pandemic absence, as a travel bubble between the two countries came into effect.
Fully vaccinated travellers from Singapore are now allowed into Melbourne or Sydney without the need to quarantine – part of Australia’s gradual reopening of its borders that began this month. Australia closed its international borders in March 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Catriona Jackson, chief executive of Universities Australia, which represents 39 universities, said the flights from Singapore saw the first international students enter Australia since small numbers returned in November last year.
“We understand these initial numbers are small, but they are a clear signal of the intent to allow many more students to return to classes and our communities soon,” Jackson said.
There are about 130,000 international students remaining outside Australia, she added.
Before the pandemic, international students made up 21{e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a} of Australia’s tertiary education students, compared to 6{e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a} on average across countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Australia’s closed borders have also intensified a skills shortage across sectors, forcing firms to start offering sign-on bonuses for the first time in years.
The closed borders, however, together with quick lockdowns, strict health measures and public compliances with the rules, have made Australia one of the most successful countries in managing the pandemic.
Despite the Delta outbreaks that led to months of lockdown in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia has had only about 760 confirmed cases and 7.5 deaths per 100,000 people, according to data from the World Health Organisation, far lower than many other developed nations.
On Sunday, there were 1,460 new infections across Australia, most of them in the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital. Six more people have died. A cluster in Northern Territories grew to 31 cases after nine infections were reported in some of the Territory’s remote communities.
As of Saturday, 85{e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a} of eligible Australians over the age of 16 have been fully vaccinated, health data showed.
There were 149 new community cases reported in nneighbouring New Zealand, which is also learning to live with the coronavirus through high vaccination rates. Some 83{e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a} of the Pacific nation’s eligible population have been fully vaccinated.
($1 = 1.3824 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Michael Perry)
Copyright 2021 Thomson Reuters.