Holiday travel to SWFL is rebounding but doesn’t compare to past years

Many who left to visit family for Thanksgiving are returning home Sunday. This marks one of the busiest travel days of the year.

And, while employees at Southwest Florida International Airport say this is the most travelers they’ve seen in a while, it pales in comparison to past years.

The Quinn family came down from Illinois. “Just fun in the sun getting away from the cold weather,” said Dann Quinn.

They were visiting family and stopped by Disney World after being stuck inside for months. “You know we kind of got fed up with it and we said ‘We are going to take the chance we are young, we’re healthy, we wear masks when we have to, we wash our hands. We do all the things that we normally do,'” Quinn said.

While many experts advised against travel, those who went through with it say their trip was worth the risk and that they felt safe the entire time.

The Zangers also spent time in Southwest Florida but took some extra precautions. “Yeah absolutely we want to be safe but we all tested negative we are fine and quarantined so that’s why we made the decision to come down and visit family,” said Sarah Zanger.

As for testing for COVID-19 after their trip, Chardrielle Marsho and Megan Medley from Ohio have no plans for that. “No I feel like I mean anywhere if you get it you get it,” said Marsho.

“If you get sick and you get symptoms yeah but if you’re not experiencing anything why get tested?” Medley said.

Dan Joseph from Illinois says traveling is an American tradition that we should honor. “Bad weather is coming up north, in the Chicago area and [we] thought we’d get down south here where it’s nice and warm when we still had the chance to do it,” said Joseph.

But, Joseph doesn’t plan on getting tested when he gets home either. “I don’t feel any symptoms if I start feeling symptoms I might do it but I feel fine, at this point in time,” he said.

There are reminders posted all across RSW recommending that people mask up and social distance.