(OMAHA) AAA expects record-setting travel numbers for Thanksgiving. More than 6.4 million West North Central Region* (WNC) travelers are forecast to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday. That’s an all-time high for Thanksgiving and nearly 124,000 more travelers than last year.
National travel numbers are also expected to set new records, with an estimated 79.9 million travelers. The 2% growth is 1.7 million more people than the previous year’s record set and 2 million more than in 2019.
These record-setting traveler numbers are being driven by economic growth, declining inflation, and substantial income gains, which is expected to boost consumer spending by 4.6% compared to this time last year.
“We expect to see record travel numbers across the board,” said Debbie Haas, Vice President of Travel for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “With more people taking to the roads, skies, rails, and sea, travelers should expect congested roads and longer lines at transportation terminals. AAA encourages travelers to develop their plan now and consider travel insurance, which compensates for flight cancellations, delays, and lost luggage.”
AAA expanded the number of days in the Thanksgiving holiday travel period to capture the flow of holiday travelers. Instead of Wednesday-Sunday, this year’s Thanksgiving holiday travel period is seven days, stretching from Tuesday, November 26 to Monday, December 2. Additionally, we expanded our historical travel numbers to provide an apples-to-apples comparison.
U.S. Travelers Total Auto Air Other
2024 79.9 million 71.7 million 5.8 million 2.3 million
2023 78.2 million 70.4 million 5.7 million 2.1 million
2019 77.8 million 70.6 million 5.3 million 1.9 million
WNC Travelers Total Auto Air Other
2024 6.4 million 5.8 million 296,000 317,000
2023 6.2 million 5.7 million 291,000 280,000
2019 6.3 million 5.8 million 272,000 254,000
