Millions of Americans are preparing to travel this Thanksgiving in numbers that compare to pre-pandemic times.
AAA forecasts that this could be the third busiest Thanksgiving travel season since the travel agency first started keeping records in 2002.
An estimated 54.6 million Americans will travel this Thanksgiving — a 1.5% increase from 2021. Most Thanksgiving travelers will drive to their locations despite record-high inflation and an increase in gas prices. AAA forecasts the national average gas price to be $3.75 per gallon.
“The desire for people to get back together with loved ones, they’re going to do it no matter what the cost. They’re going to budget in other areas of their life, but travel doesn’t appear to be one of them,” said Aixa Diaz, an AAA spokesperson.
Car rental prices have declined in the last year but are still 47% higher compared with 2019, according to a survey conducted by the finance company NerdWallet. Prices for hotel stays are also up 6% from last October.
This summer, air travel saw an increase in demand as more countries and regions loosened coronavirus restrictions. The demand is expected to carry into the holiday season, AAA forecasts air travel to rise nearly 8% compared with last year.
The cost of flying is also expected to increase. AAA found that airfare in October rose 3.5% and was 43% more expensive than last year.
For those who have not made it home and are in a financial crunch, relying on points and miles helps to cover the cost.
“I used all my points and it was still around $670, which is crazy. Without my points it would’ve been well over $1,000,” said Alexandra Cohen, a college student going home for the first time since last year.
With 4.5 million Americans expected to head to airports, AAA recommends travelers seek alternate forms of transportation to airports as parking spaces could be limited, especially during peak travel times.