1,200 Americans were interviewed for the survey, which was conducted by the personal-finance website ValuePenguin.
PORTLAND, Ore. — How does the beach sound?
The roaring waves crashing down on the sandy beaches, the wind blowing through palm trees and the sweet smell of salty Hawaiian air.
Sounds pretty good, right?
That’s what Todd and Julie Amell thought too. Last year, the Vancouver couple began planning their 25th wedding anniversary celebration and what better place to go than Maui?
“My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on March 4. We had planned a big trip to Maui, we wanted to go to Kihei, we’d been to Maui a couple different times,” Todd said.
Their trip was supposed to start May 6, but as the COVID-19 pandemic kept playing out in real-time, their dreams of celebrating their anniversary in Maui were breaking.
“We wanted to get a nice condo, an oceanside view. Kind of do it up obviously for our 25th and as that date was getting closer we could kind of see it slipping away.”
They called their condo and were able to cancel, their airline tickets were canceled and refunded as well. Their anniversary celebration in Maui would have to wait.
“It was disappointing. There are just so many other things involved with the COVID-19 outbreak, I can’t get too upset about it,” he said, “We’re just not going to let it rattle us. We’re going to regroup and we’ll just plan on another time.
According to a survey conducted by the personal-finance website ValuePenguin, a subsidiary of LendingTree, nearly half of the 1,200 Americans surveyed said they had canceled their summer travel plans.
Summer vacations this year are going to look a little different.
“Gone are the days unfortunately when you can pile the kids in the car and just head out,” AAA of Oregon spokesperson Marie Dodds says.
Dodds says before you plan a vacation for the summer of 2020, know where you’re going and what is open.
Book your travel ahead of time, such as hotel and car rentals, but be aware of cancellation policies. Most airlines have changed their cancellation policies to give customers more flexibility.
“If you’ve already booked a trip for this summer and you are thinking about canceling those plans. Don’t cancel them yet, wait for the travel provider to cancel because then they will provide you with options. If you just cancel your trip, then you will have to abide by the policies that were in place.”
Dodds also says to research your food options, with most restaurants only offering take-out or delivery and understand the city or county you will be visiting.
“You want to check with the state and then the county and the city and see what restrictions are in place and see if non-essential travel is even allowed or even encouraged.”
Don’t forget the sanitizer and hygiene products to help prevent the spread of coronavirus while on vacation.
A gallon of gas in Oregon is a dollar cheaper than it was last year at the same time. Dodds says as counties begin to enter Phase 1 of Governor Brown’s reopening plans, you could see a rise in gas prices as demand for gasoline grows.
For the Amell’s, they plan to head back to Maui next year and celebrate their 25th at the same time as their 26th anniversary.
“Maui will be there next year. We’ll regroup, we’ll make plans and go back for sure.”
