Thanksgiving Travel: All time high since 2005

The holidays are here.  This means traveling for some of us.  Whether you’re traveling this Thanksgiving holiday by plane, train or automobile you can be sure to encounter tons of people — like you, traveling during this busy time of the year.

AAA’s forecast shows that 54.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving.  This is 4.8 % percent increase over last year which means that an additional 2.5 million people compared to last year, will be out and about traveling,    AAA further added that this year’s volume will be the highest volume of Thanksgiving travelers since 2005.

Even when gas prices are the highest in four years, a global mobility analytics company, INRIX says that 48.5 million will be driving to their destination this Thanksgiving holiday.  So if you live in one of the most congested cities—expect to take 4x longer than you would normally take to reach your destination.

This surge and increase in people traveling are not surprises given the good economy we are experiencing.  There is more disposable income, wages are higher and household wealth is on the rise.  All these things translate into more people traveling to enjoy the holiday season.

More Thanksgiving  travelers will result to the airline industry welcoming 4.27 million travelers, a 5.4 percent jump.  Trains, buses and cruise ships are predicted to have 1.48 million passengers which is a 1.4 percent increase from 2018

The Thanksgiving holiday starts on November 21 and ends on November 26.  This means that people on the road will start to see increased  traffic starting the 19th.  If you want to avoid the busiest time, the best day to travel will be Thanksgiving Day.  You can expect Sunday to be the worst as most holiday travelers will be heading home that day to get ready to go back to work on Monday.

And because the airlines know that Thanksgiving is when people fly, you can expect to pay a steep airfare if you have plans to fly this Thanksgiving holiday.  If you are leaving Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving, your airfare will be at the highest compared to maybe a slightly lower fare if you leave on Thanksgiving Day.

If you are traveling this Thanksgiving holiday, remember to have a lot of patience be prepared to brace yourself for a lot more fellow travelers.

If you’re not traveling to visit family on Thanksgiving, you are probably taking advantage of the holiday to get a family vacation in before the year ends.  Many travelers will go to warm weather destinations or maybe visit a theme park.  Based on AAA’s online and travel agency air and tour bookings, the following cities are their Top 10 Thanksgiving Destinations.

Orlando, Florida

New York, New York

Anaheim, California

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Las Vegas, Nevada

Cancun,  Mexico

Dallas Forth Worth, Texad

Honolulu, Hawaii

Washington D.C.

Miami, Florida

Where are you going to travel this Thanksgiving holiday?

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If you decide to pick one of the destinations above, check out these available deals that you might want to take advantage of:

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Interactive New York Walking Tours

from: Vacations Made Easy
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