SASKATOON -- Trevor Forrest and his wife Sharon have spent their winters in southern California for the last 15 years, but this year might be different.

“Most of us so-called snowbirds are in a demographic that has been deemed very vulnerable to COVID-19, so we're pretty cautious about what can happen, and we want to be respectful of that,” said Forrest.

The Government of Saskatchewan announced 18 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, adding to the more than 173,000 positive cases across Canada, and the steadily increasing numbers have people in Saskatchewan thinking twice about travel plans.

The Government of Canada advises avoiding all non-essential travel outside of Canada, but there is no ban on travelling for Canadians.

Barb Crowe is the president of Ixtapa Travel in Saskatoon, and says they’re “getting calls, but people are hesitant to put down their deposits right now.”

“The biggest thing right now is, particularly for our snowbirds, you really need to make sure that you've dotted the I's, crossed the T's, and you're super comfortable with insurance that you're taking,” she said. “Trip cancellation, interruption, maybe not so important right now, but definitely out of country medical insurance — will they cover you when there is a travel advisory on.”

“Some insurance companies have come out with a, insurance policy that will cover you for medical insurance, should you, say, break a leg, your appendix decides to burst. And it does have some COVID-19 coverage. But as long as the advisory is on about COVID-19, they will not cover you for COVID-19, but they will cover you for a broken leg. So you just really need to be comfortable really feel comfortable with all of that.”

Canada and the United States have limitations on non-essential travel at border crossings through Oct. 21, 2020, and Forrest says that will also affect how many people head South for the winter.

“There is some people who are bound and determined they’re going to go, again that's going to be dictated by can you get across the border in a vehicle,” he said. “They don't want to fly, they're a little bit concerned about flying in a confined space, so they want to drive.”

Public Health in Saskatchewan recommends to limit interprovincial travel if possible, but there are no restrictions, and no mandatory self-isolation upon return.

Dawn Palmer and her husband say they drive to the mountains monthly, and have no reservations about travelling within Canada.

“I think if you do it the right way, and you're safe about how you do, it's okay to do so,” said Palmer.

“What you're seeing is a lot of people that, their whole world was turned upside down with COVID-19, and we need to get away somewhere,” she said. “We still need to travel somewhere, get out of our homes and stuff like that, so mentally, if you need to travel, I think it's okay to travel.”

Crowe says people have started putting down deposits for trips in 2021 and 2022 when “they feel a little bit more confident.

“They want to have something to look forward to,” she said. “Whether it's a river cruise or something, particularly in Europe, we've got some Africa right now, people are putting for 2022.”

As for Forrest, it’s a matter of following the protocols, and waiting to see what happens.

“I think we're still planning on going, we're talking about Christmas in Canada and then leaving after Christmas,” he said. “We want to be cautious in that aspect, but it does get cold here in the winter so we'd like to be somewhere else.”