Google Search Gets New Tools To Help Travelers During The Pandemic

As some parts of the world begin to open back up to more extensive activities and travel, many people are left wondering where they can go, what the related travel rules are, which places are accepting visitors, and more. Here to help with that is an update to Google Search that adds relevant COVID-19 and lockdown-related information for travelers, including what percentage of hotels are available, how many flights are operating to the destination, and more.

Google detailed the newly added information in a blog post on Thursday, explaining that going forward, users on mobile can quickly see information relevant to travel during the pandemic. This represents an expansion of the COVID-related information Google has already added to its products, including Google Maps driving alerts related to checkpoints and restrictions.

When you open Google Search on mobile and look for things like a flight or hotels, you'll see the new information. Google's expanded info includes whether any given hotel provides free cancellation — something arguably essential given the uncertainty of the pandemic — as well as the hotel availability in your target destination.

You'll also see how many flights are operating to that area, making it easier to figure out how hard it will be to travel, plus Google Search will include any COVID-19 travel advisories currently in effect for that location.

This information is provided alongside the typical travel details Google Search provides, such as flight options and costs, hotel options and costs, user ratings, and similar information. Google users can expect to see these additional details roll out over the next week or so, according to Google.