AAA Travel forecasts 46.9 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday this year, a 0.6% increase over the 46.6 million people who traveled last year—and the most since 2007.
With 300,000 additional holiday travelers, this marks the seventh consecutive year of growth for Thanksgiving travel. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday through Sunday. Average gas prices at the pump are at their lowest level in seven years, which is the primary driving force for the increased holiday travel this year, AAA says.
“Lower prices are helping boost disposable income, and enabling families to kick off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving getaway,” says AAA President and CEO Marshall Doney in a prepared statement.
According to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge, a gallon of regular unleaded gas is selling for $1.85 on average in Baton Rouge this morning—down from $2.60 a year ago. Americans are saving almost $265 million on gasoline every day compared to last year, according to AAA. Nearly 42 million people will be hitting the road for Thanksgiving this year, a 0.7% increase from last year. It’s also the mode of transportation almost 90% of travelers will be using.
Air travel is expected to increase by 0.1% this Thanksgiving, with 3.6 million Americans flying to their holiday destinations. Travel by other modes of transportation, including cruises, trains and buses, will decrease 1.4% this Thanksgiving, to 1.4 million travelers, AAA forecasts.
