Google today announced it’s adding more COVID-related health and safety information to its Google Travel booking service. On Google Travel, you can see trends for flight and hotel availability over the past six months, as well as links to local resources, like the number of COVID-19 cases in the area.
If you’re planning to visit a new city, you can use the COVID layer in Google Maps to quickly get information about COVID-19 cases in the area, so you can make more informed decisions about where to go and what to do.
Once you’re headed out on your trip, you can use Google Maps to see helpful safety alerts along the way. If you’re driving, you will be notified about COVID-19 checkpoints and restrictions along your route, like when crossing national borders. If you plan to take public transportation, Google will show you alerts from local transit agencies, so you can quickly know if government mandates impact transit services or require you to wear a mask while riding the bus, subway, or train.
In the same blog post, Google details its plans to add a Trips tab in Timeline for Maps on Android. With this feature, you can see a summary of your past vacations, along with information about the places you visited, the total kilometres travelled, and the modes of transportation you used.
If you choose to turn on your Location History setting, you can use Trips in Timeline as a handy tool if you’re feeling nostalgic or want to share vacation recommendations with friends or family.
You can also see and share your past trip itineraries including hotels, restaurants and other places you’ve received reservation confirmations for in your Gmail by going to google.com/travel and tapping on the “Trips” tab.