Governor Andy Beshear announces travel advisory

BOWLING GREEN,  Ky.- Covid-19 continues to impact the Commonwealth. While businesses remain open, guidelines and recommendations continue to update in an effort to help slow the spread of the virus.  Among those recommendations, Governor Andy Beshear announced a travel advisory Monday to anyone who visits one of nine Coronavirus case hot spot states.

The advisory advising that anyone who does so quarantines for two weeks.

“This is something that again, we need people to change their plans, because it’s a life and death matter for this commonwealth,” Beshear said.

The advisory, which is not a mandate has caught the attention of those in the local tourism industry.

“We’re aware of how devastating Covid-19 has been for the tourism industry. We were really one of the earliest hit and we’re probably going to take the longest to recover,” said Beth Noffsinger, communications director of the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

While this may mean Kentucky sees less out-of-state visitors, it also means Kentuckians who originally planned to take a trip can now make plans to visit more parts of Kentucky, pumping more money into the local economy.

“This is a great opportunity to maybe consider visiting other parts of Kentucky and maybe have a safer vacation experience,” Noffsinger said.

That could be a bit of help that attractions like Crystal Onyx Cave wouldn’t mind having.

“You better believe the industry in itself has taken a pretty hard licking in these times, so anything that can help us out is going to be good news for us,” said Crystal Onyx Cave owner Scott Sendko.

The states Beshear is asking Kentuckians to avoid are Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Arizona, Idaho, Texas, Florida, Nevada and Mississippi.