Plenty of folks are eager to get out of their house and see the world again, but not all destinations are equally excited to receive them. Local impacts of COVID-19 can vary—from complete lockdown to government-imposed quarantine—so Google is rolling out new features to help people plan ahead.
"As restrictions and advisories begin to lift, we're adding information about travel resuming in a specific destination on Google Search," Richard Holden, vice president of product management for travel, wrote in a blog announcement.
Travel trends now include the percentage of open accommodation and operating flights with availability on Google. Visit google.com/travel to better understand how many planes are flying to and from your port of call, and how likely you are to snag a nearby room. The site also makes it easy to monitor trips and find socially distant activities.
"Due to the uncertainty around COVID-19, people often want flexibility when making travel plans," according to Holden, who teased the ability to identify hotels (and, later this month, vacation rentals) with free cancellation policies. Links to additional local resources, including the number of COVID-19 cases, are also provided.
"The uncertainty of COVID-19 makes it hard to navigate travel decisions," the blog said. "We'll continue to share the most relevant information so you can make informed decisions and travel safely when the time comes." Google in March introduced up-to-date travel advisories and began providing more information on airline policies as the pandemic continued to spread. By June, it had added relevant alerts like driving checkpoints and restrictions, testing center eligibility, and real-time transit crowd data.
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