Domestic travel for Thanksgiving week is expected to be busy. AAA projects 79.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home for Thanksgiving holiday travel between Nov. 26 and Dec. 2. The projection of nearly 80 million travelers is an increase of 1.7 million people compared with 2023 and 2 million more than in 2019.
“Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, and this year we’re expecting to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising,” says Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel. “Americans reconnect with family and friends over Thanksgiving, and travel is a big part of that. AAA continues to see travel demand soar post-pandemic with our members looking for new adventures and memorable vacations.”
AAA lists the following as the top 10 destinations for Thanksgiving week this year:
- Orlando, Florida
- Miami
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- New York
- Anaheim / Los Angeles, California
- Tampa
- Honolulu
- San Francisco
- Las Vegas
- Atlanta
Warm weather is common among many of these destinations, and four Florida cities are on the list for their beaches, theme parks and cruise ports. These top destinations are listed based on AAA booking data from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2.
A record 71.7 million people will travel by car over the week, which is 1.3 million more travelers on the road compared with 2023. This year’s number also surpasses pre-pandemic numbers when 70.6 million people drove to Thanksgiving destinations in 2019, according to AAA.
Air travel is also expected to be busy during Thanksgiving week. AAA projects 5.84 million people will fly domestically this holiday, which is an increase of 2% compared with 2023 and a nearly 11% increase over 2019.
Nearly 2.3 million people are expected to travel by other modes of transportation as well, including buses, cruises and trains. AAA says this category is seeing an increase of almost 9% compared with 2023 and an 18% jump compared with 2019, in large part due to the popularity of cruising. Domestic and international cruise bookings are up 20% this Thanksgiving holiday compared with last year.
Gas prices are down this Thanksgiving season compared with 2023. The national average price was $3.26 on Thanksgiving Day last year. This season, falling oil prices may help push the national average price below $3 a gallon for the first time since 2021. Additionally, AAA car rental partner Hertz reports that Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Oahu, Orlando and Phoenix are displaying the highest rental demand for this Thanksgiving holiday.
