HARRISBURG, Pa. — With the CDC reporting the dangers of the delta variant and its consistent spread, travel agencies are seeing some differences in those who are booking their next getaway.
"Most of our travelers are planning 6 months to 9 months a year out," said Vickie Everhart, CEO of Krouse Travel, "the fact we're seeing requests that people are wanting to leave within 2 or 3 weeks is really unusual."
Everhart says she is also seeing a reluctance in travel.
"There's more hesitation right now to finalize plans, and commit to dates and post a deposit," she said, "we encourage them to wait a little bit, maybe postpone their travel until next year."
Tara O'Rourke is visiting Harrisburg from Bangkok, Thailand but truly came for an important endeavor.
"If I wasn't able to get vaccinated here, I don't think I would've made the travel -- I was vaccinated 45 minutes after I landed," O'Rourke said.
She has coined the phrase "vaccination tourism," as she explained to FOX43, she believes many people are traveling due to the unavailability of the COVID-19 vaccine in many places abroad.
"Vaccination tourism is a thing, I'm lucky I had a reason to come here. There's classism, the people that can afford it, staying in the states for a month and getting vaccinated."
O'Rourke's brother Patrick O'Rourke currently lives in Harrisburg and is happy he gets to spend time with his sister as she is visiting. On the other hand, he says he has not traveled out of state recently and does not plan to.
"Human beings traveling wide distances are the perfect host and petri dish for any infectious airborne virus," O'Rourke said.
Everhart hopes those who have decided not to travel, do not completely forget about their future stay.
"Life is short, let's get the planning started," she said, "Let's get something on the calendar, so you have something to look forward to."
As agencies are seeing cancellations and adjustments in flights, administrators are recommending the use of flight protection. Krouse Travel told FOX43 in a statement:
“Travel Protection has always been a good idea. But, it is especially important during this time. The policy should provide coverage for Pre-trip Cancellation, Medical expenses covering during your trip, Trip Interruption and Trip Delay. Your Travel Advisor can provide information about policies that cover COVID-related cancellations and expenses. Not all policies will provide this coverage. These policies allow you to cancel for any reason and provide either cashback or future travel credit. The policies are the most comprehensive, and provide peace of mind when making an important investment of time and money for travel.”