CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After a year of staying home, and with coronavirus vaccines continuing to roll out, people are ready to pop those pandemic bubbles and travel.
In the skies, the TSA is reporting more than a million travelers per day, every day for the past six weeks.
On the roads, AAA of the Carolina’s says this will be the summer of road trips, with bookings at beaches and national parks already through the roof.
“I expect that we will see a big travel boom to close out 2021, we’re already seeing a large number of bookings for 2022 in fact,” Tiffany Wright, spokesperson for AAA of the Carolinas, said.
Wright says more people are also feeling more comfortable booking and staying at resorts and taking cruise vacations.
“They’re through the roof for 2022, so if you’re looking to do a cruise, I would say book now, book now, book now, because there are some ships that are already running out of space,” Wright said.
So the advice from travel experts, book your trips sooner rather than later – but when you do – make sure it’s on a reputable site.
“Before you put in your credit card information -- before you book anything, know where you’re at,” said Tom Bartholomy, President & CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Piedmont and Western North Carolina. “Do a Google search of that web address, do a BBB search of that web address, and see what other people’s experience has been.”
Bartholomy says over the last month, the BBB’s Scam Tracker has received more than a dozen reports of people being scammed on fake travel booking sites.
One scam the BBB is keeping an eye on: people have reported looking online for cheap flights, and after seemingly booking the flight, they realized they never actually received a ticket.
In another version of this scam, the BBB says you book a flight on a travel website offering deals on airfare. You pay with your credit card like normal, but shortly after making the payment, you receive a call from the company saying that there's been a sudden price increase or an extra charge to finalize your booking.
The BBB says this is something a legitimate company would never do.
Bartholomy said it’s ok to price shop, but once you’ve verified the site, he said you should always take one last precaution.
“What we encourage people to do at that point is to check with the airline itself to make sure they have your reservation," he said. "Same thing if you’re booking a hotel through an online service, check with the hotel itself."
Contact Ashley Daley at adaley@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.