BUFFALO, N.Y. — COVID-19 cases are on a sharp decline across New York state, and throughout the nation, travel rates are bouncing back.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, on Feb. 7, 2022, 84% more people traveled by plane than on the same date in 2021 but it remains 26% below data from 2019.

“A lot of people are still very optimistic,” said Renee Pilley, AAA senior travel agent. “People want to go. They want to travel. They’re sick of being home. They’re sick of staying in the same-old, same-old.”

Pilley has been a travel agent for more than 30 years and said the pandemic has been the most challenging time of her career, fielding cancellations and suspensions one after another.

“It really got to be more cumbersome than any other time before because you really just didn’t know what to expect anymore,” she said.

Popular domestic travel destinations have been Las Vegas and Disney World, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Internationally, she said Cancun has been a hotspot because it is relatively affordable.

Now that COVID cases are on the decline, she said she is hopeful things are turning a corner and getting back to normal.