WASHINGTON, D.C.—AAA initiatives 79.9 million vacationers will head 50 miles or extra from house over the Thanksgiving vacation journey interval. For the primary time, AAA’s forecast included the Tuesday earlier than and the Monday after Thanksgiving Day to higher seize the stream of vacation vacationers. This yr’s projection of practically 80 million vacationers is a rise of 1.7 million individuals in comparison with final yr and a couple of million greater than in 2019.
“Thanksgiving is the busiest vacation for journey, and this yr we’re anticipating to set new data throughout the board, from driving to flying and cruising,” mentioned Stacey Barber, vp of AAA Journey. “Individuals reconnect with household and buddies over Thanksgiving, and journey is an enormous a part of that. AAA continues to see journey demand soar post-pandemic with our members on the lookout for new adventures and memorable holidays.”
Thanksgiving Vacationers By Mode
By Automotive: AAA initiatives a document 71.7 million individuals will journey by automobile over Thanksgiving—a further 1.3 million vacationers on the highway in comparison with final yr. This yr’s quantity additionally surpasses pre-pandemic numbers when 70.6 million individuals drove to their Thanksgiving locations in 2019.
Fuel costs are decrease this Thanksgiving season in comparison with 2023. The nationwide common final Thanksgiving Day was $3.26. Falling oil costs this autumn might assist push the nationwide common beneath $3 a gallon for the primary time since 2021, and that would occur earlier than drivers hit the highway for Thanksgiving. Regionally, drivers east of the Rockies will discover fuel between $2.25 to $2.50 a gallon in additional than a dozen states.
AAA automobile rental associate Hertz says Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Oahu, Orlando, and Phoenix are the cities displaying the best rental demand for the Thanksgiving vacation. The busiest automobile pick-up day is predicted to be the Wednesday earlier than Thanksgiving, and the busiest rental return days would be the Monday and Tuesday after the vacation.
By Air: Thanksgiving air journey can be anticipated to set a brand new document. AAA initiatives 5.84 million individuals will fly domestically this vacation. That’s a rise of two p.c in comparison with final yr and a virtually 11 p.c enhance over 2019. In accordance with AAA reserving knowledge, air vacationers are paying 3 p.c extra for home Thanksgiving flights this yr, whereas the variety of flight bookings is much like final yr. Worldwide flight bookings are up 23 p.c in comparison with final Thanksgiving, partly as a result of the fee to fly internationally is down 5 p.c.
By Different Modes: Almost 2.3 million individuals are anticipated to journey by different modes of transportation, together with buses, cruises, and trains. This class is seeing a rise of virtually 9 p.c in comparison with final yr and an 18 p.c leap over 2019, largely because of the reputation of cruising. Cruises have been in demand post-pandemic. Home and worldwide cruise bookings are up 20 p.c in comparison with final Thanksgiving.
Finest/Worst Occasions to Drive and Peak Congestion by Metro
INRIX, a supplier of transportation knowledge and insights, says the worst occasions to journey by automobile over Thanksgiving are Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. The perfect time to hit the highway is Thanksgiving Day itself when interstates and highways are usually clear. Drivers returning house on Sunday ought to depart early within the morning, and people coming again on Monday ought to anticipate a mixture of vacationers and work commuters on the highway.
“With a document variety of vacationers anticipated to be on the highway, drivers ought to observe site visitors apps and native information alerts to keep away from main delays,” mentioned Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX. “That is particularly vital for drivers in metropolitan areas like Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., the place site visitors is predicted to be greater than double what it usually is on a traditional day.”
AAA’s High Thanksgiving Locations
The widespread theme among the many high 10 home locations is heat climate. 4 Florida cities are on the listing due to their seashores, theme parks, and cruise ports. Different high locations embody New York, California, Hawaii, and Las Vegas. Internationally, Europe and the Caribbean dominate the listing due to their seaside resorts, vacationer sights, and river cruises. The highest Thanksgiving locations listed beneath are primarily based on AAA reserving knowledge from Tuesday, November 26 to Monday, December 2:
Home
- Orlando, Florida
- Miami, Florida
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- New York, New York
- Anaheim/Los Angeles, California
- Tampa, Florida
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- San Francisco, California
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Atlanta, Georgia
Worldwide
- Budapest, Hungary
- Mexicali, Mexico
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Cancun, Mexico
- Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- Rome, Italy
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Paris, France
- Barcelona, Spain
- Munich, Germany
