AAA: More Than 79 Million To Travel This Thanksgiving, Florida Top Destination
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| Automobile travelers. Photo credit: AAA |
ORLANDO, Florida – More than 79 million people are planning a trip of 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving with Florida being home to four of the top 10 destinations in the U.S., according to AAA.
For the first time, AAA’s forecast includes the Tuesday before and the Monday after Thanksgiving Day to better capture the flow of holiday travelers. This year’s projection of nearly 80 million travelers is an increase of 1.7 million people compared to last year and 2 million more than in pre-COVID 2019.
AAA says that the four Florida cities are on the list because of their beaches, theme parks, and cruise ports. Other top destinations include New York, California, Hawaii, and Las Vegas.
2024 Top Thanksgiving Travel Destinations In The U.S.
Orlando, Florida
Miami, Florida
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
New York, New York
Anaheim, California
Tampa, Florida
Honolulu, Hawaii
San Francisco, California
By Car: AAA projects a record 71.7 million people will travel by car over Thanksgiving – that’s an additional 1.3 million travelers on the road compared to last year. This year’s number also surpasses pre-pandemic numbers when 70.6 million people drove to their Thanksgiving destinations in 2019.
By Air: Thanksgiving air travel is also expected to set a new record. AAA projects 5.84 million people will fly domestically this holiday. That’s an increase of 2% compared to last year and a nearly 11% increase over 2019. According to AAA booking data, air travelers are paying 3% more for domestic Thanksgiving flights this year, while the number of flight bookings is similar to last year. International flight bookings are up 23% compared to last Thanksgiving, in part because the cost to fly internationally is down 5%.
By Other Modes: Nearly 2.3 million people are expected to travel by other modes of transportation, including buses, cruises, and trains.
Worst Time To Travel For Thanksgiving
INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights, says the worst times to travel by car over Thanksgiving are Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.
