INDIANAPOLIS — Central Indiana's recent frigid cold temperatures might have you thinking about visiting warmer destinations.
The Centers for Disease Control is suggesting avoiding some spots is the Caribbean and, if you go, they say you should make sure you’re fully vaccinated.
The CDC asks people to reconsider plans for 116 countries, with Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and St. Barts added to that list this week.
That’s had Travel Leaders Indy owner Alex Kutin making phone calls this week to clients, many not knowing the recommendations can change.
How soon is the question.
"If somebody is going to Jamaica or the Dominican Republic this summer, we’re not necessarily calling them at this time,” said Kutin.
Kutin said he has been busier than ever in the second year of pandemic. People want to travel, but they're unsure how to navigate the requirements and cancellations should they get sick or a destination changes its travel status.
"It’s a lot more work because we have to be up on what each one of the country’s requirements are, and so it’s a lot more work on us and then communicating that to the client, too,” said Kutin, adding that a conversation that needs to always take place is about a traveler’s vaccination status, depending on a country’s requirements for visitors.
“A lot of the countries require the people that are coming in to be vaccinated and if they require it, we tell the client you must be vaccinated in order to go to this country, and some of them say, ‘OK, I’m not getting vaccinated’ and we say, ‘OK, you don’t get to go to that country,’” Kutin said.
Kutin said he always recommends travel insurance when he books a trip for a client, but in the COVID age, companies have been flexible about people needing to cancel because of the virus and getting a travel credit for later.
Whether a client decides to do that or not, says Kutin, depends.
“People are really anxious to get up and get out of town,” he said.