Page 4 • Wednesday , June 30 , 2021 • The Hammonton Gazette
People booking trips again , local travel agents say
TRAVEL from Page 1 wise , we booked more this busy season than we have other years prior . People were calling it a ‘ travel tsunami ’ of people just wanting to book something . A lot of people were booking lastminute trips , because they felt confident and wanted to go the next months or two months later . Now , we ’ re seeing people feeling more confident and booking for fall and a little further out ,” D ’ Amico said .
The industry has picked up so rapidly that D ’ Amico said that potential vacationers looking to book “ last-minute trips right now are out of luck .”
“ If you want to go domestically , there ’ s hardly anything open ... The time to book was this winter , early spring . They were giving free flights and the rates were ridiculous . That was the time to get something on the books ,” D ’ Amico said .
However , D ’ Amico said that there is hope for the fall .
“ Pricing is not bad for that time of year . Summer ’ s tough , but , if you wanted to get away for the end of 2021 — fall or winter — don ’ t wait too long , because you might be out of luck ,” D ’ Amico said .
Some area residents , like Gabriella Mannino Tomasello , said that planning early comes with the territory .
“ I always book in October for the whole upcoming year ,” Tomasello said .
One of her family ’ s favorite destinations , Tomasello said , is Key West .
“ We go in November for the boat races and poker run — and then again in March , June or July and then September , and back in November . There ’ s lots of oysters , great food , fishing , cruisin ’ tiki rides , lots of alcohol and great live music . It ’ s a mile long , so we rent scooters and wander the island . It ’ s our favorite place away from home that ’ s still within the U . S .,” Tomasello said .
Aside from other domestic destinations like Walt Disney World and South Carolina , Tomasello said that they enjoy tropical locales as well .
“ Aruba we always do at the end of August for our wedding anniversary . We ’ ve been going for about four years now . It ’ s beautiful — and one happy island . Great food , we stay in the resort and made friends two years ago with the water sports people for our excursions ,” Tomasello said .
Tomasello said that she and her husband , Albert , will also be traveling to Turks in the Caribbean for the first time .
“ It ’ s a new island we ’ ve been wanting to try ,” Tomasello said .
Magee said that travel to the Caribbean is popular with Action Travel Center .
“ We ’ ve had quite a few trips to Jamaica this year for honeymoon
couples that were scheduled to travel in ‘ 20 so we postponed them to go this year ; in fact , I have a few people leaving in June and July of this year ,” Magee said .
D ’ Amico said that travel to Walt Disney World , the Caribbean and Mexico makes up the majority of the business at D ’ Amico Travel , as well .
“ Almost all of our clients have passports and travel internationally ,” D ’ Amico said .
One important thing for international travelers to remember , D ’ Amico said , is that “ most international travel requires a negative COVID test from between three to 10 days prior to travel .”
“ You have to fill out authorization forms online for each country . Some countries have certain medical insurance requirements to be able to get in . Some countries are requiring you to quarantine once you get there , making those islands unattractive to travel . You might want to consult with a travel professional to make sure you don ’ t have to quarantine once you get there ,” D ’ Amico said .
See VACATIONS , Page 16