Record Thanksgiving travel expected this year: AAA

A record number of Americans are expected to travel for Thanksgiving this year, the AAA travel group said Monday.

AAA, or the American Automobile Association, said in a release that it predicts 79.9 million travelers will go 50 miles or more for the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, which begins Tuesday, Nov. 26 and runs through Monday, Dec. 2.

The projection is 1.7 million more travelers than 2023.

“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,” Stacy Barber, vice president of AAA Travel said in a statement.”

Most travelers will be heading to Thanksgiving via car. A record 71.7 million people will drive home for the holiday, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Hertz rental company told AAA that Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Oahu, Orlando and Phoenix are the busiest cities with rental car demand for the holiday. The most common theme, AAA said, is people are heading to places with warmer weather.

Thanksgiving air travel will also set a record, AAA said. About 5.84 million people will fly domestically, an increase of 2 percent from last year. International bookings are up 23 percent, too.

Nearly 2.3 million people are expected to travel by other modes of transportation, including buses, cruises and trains, a 9 percent increase from last year.