Passengers stand in line at the Air France ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, on February 28, 2022. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images) CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The American Automobile Association reported the 2022 travel season is off to a much stronger start compared to a year ago as bookings have increased.
The agency said a new quarterly survey showed that traveler confidence is on the rise. Sixty-three percent of Floridians reported feeling comfortable traveling now – a significant increase from 40% in early 2021, according to the agency. RELATED: Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival cruise lines to ease mask mandatesBased on the responses, AAA cites the boost in travel confidence is due to the COVID-19 vaccine, belief that the risk of contracting the virus is the same wherever they go, people are more knowledgeable and less afraid about the virus, the implementation of enhanced safety measures and reports that COVID-19 cases and deaths are declining.Aviation photographer Ryan Patterson talks with FOX Television Stations about how we captured the striking difference between air travel in 2020 and 2021."While some of this is the excitement of getting back to traveling, there are those who have more money to spend after traveling less in recent years.
Additionally, we’re beginning to see customers apply travel vouchers they may have received after postponing a previous trip, due to the pandemic," Debbie Haas, Vice President of Travel for AAA, said in a news release.
Haas said she is seeing renewed enthusiasm from people wanting to travel to the Caribbean and Europe. She also noticed an increased interest in people taking cruises. RELATED:.