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Holiday travel expected to see small drop in Southwest Florida

Posted at 8:01 AM, Nov 25, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-25 08:01:53-05

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Despite health experts asking people not to travel this Thanksgiving, our area is forecasted to see the smallest drop in holiday travel.

One of many reasons our area remains so attractive to holiday travelers are the warmer weather and the relative lack of covid restrictions.

Trip Advisor even lists Naples as the fifth-highest travel destination, based on hotel interest this Thanksgiving.

Despite the warning from health experts, airports across the country are seeing more people hit the skies ahead of the holiday.

On Sunday, there were more than one-million people screened by TSA nationwide.

That's up more than seven percent from the previous Sunday, but it's a far cry from the more than 2.1million on the same day last year.

Triple-A (AAA) expects thanksgiving air travel will be down by nearly half of prior years at 2.4 million travelers.

This would be the largest one-year decrease on record.

We spoke with one Cape Coral woman who's flying out this morning.

She agrees with the health experts' plea not to travel this Thanksgiving but says, unfortunately, she has no choice.

"This is absolutely terrifying for me, especially because of why I am flying up there, not for the holidays, but an emergency family situation. So I am taking all the extra precautions necessary in terms of flying. I've got all my sanitizer and everything and made sure to book my seat and the seat next to me, so there are no issues. It is definitely a concern of mine" Jaymee springer, Cape Coral.

Road trips are expected to be the dominant form of travel this Thanksgiving.

It's expected to account for ninety-five percent of all holiday travel.

Triple-A (AAA) also notes that holiday airfares are the lowest in three years for air travelers.