With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, many Americans are expected to be on the move when it comes to finding a place to enjoy turkey and dressing with loved ones.
AAA is projecting 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles away from home during the Thanksgiving holiday period from Tuesday, Nov. 25, to Monday, Dec. 1. This year’s domestic travel forecast is projecting 1.6 million more travelers than in 2024, which would mark a new U.S. record.
“Thanksgiving travel numbers are always impressive because this holiday has become synonymous with heading out of town to spend time with loved ones,” AAA Vice President of Travel Stacey Barber said. “People are willing to brave the crowds and make last-minute adjustments to their plans to make lifelong memories, whether it’s visiting extended family or meeting up with friends.”
Of the 81.8 million projected Thanksgiving travelers domestically, the majority are expected to use cars as their mode of transportation. AAA projects at least 73 million people will travel via the roadways, making for an additional 1.3 million drivers compared to last year.
With that many people choosing to hit the road, there may be come concerns over gas. AAA officials said not to fret, especially if you live in Mississippi, where gas prices remain the cheapest in the nation and should remain the cheapest through Christmas and the New Year holidays.
“We’ve seen gas prices holding steady for about the past week with about $2.60 a gallon (in Mississippi). It’s still considerable savings from where we were a year ago,” AAA Mississippi spokesperson Don Redman said. “Once we get the past [Thanksgiving], we’ll see those prices continue to drop as we move into the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.”
Nationally, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is hovering around $3.10. AAA encourages drivers to fill their tanks the night before a road trip to make for one less thing to do on travel day.
As for the skies, more and more people are slowly but surely getting back on planes as airports nationwide settle back into normalcy following the recent end to the federal government shutdown. AAA is projecting 6 million Americans to take to the airways this Thanksgiving, making for a slight 2% increase from a year ago. Travel by other modes (bus, train, and cruise) are expected to increase year-over-year by 8.5% to nearly 2.5 million people.