Avoiding holiday-travel crowds and costs has officially gone the way of toilet paper shortages and other pandemic-era trends as nearly 80 million people are expected to travel during this Thanksgiving week, AAA projects.
“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,” AAA Travel Vice President Stacey Barber said in a press release. “Americans reconnect with family and friends over Thanksgiving, and travel is a big part of that. AAA continues to see travel demand soar post-pandemic with our members looking for new adventures and memorable vacations.”
The number of people expected to travel for turkey dinner this year is 2.1% higher than in 2023 and 2.7% higher than five years ago, according to AAA. Most of those travelers (89.83%) will head to their Thanksgiving gathering via motor vehicle; about 7% of them will fly and less than 3% will take a train or other mode of transportation.
Although travel insurance is often associated with high-dollar, long-distance trips, it also can be used for road trips. For instance, travel insurance through Nationwide can be purchased for trips that are as little as 100 miles from home.
In general, travel insurance comes in handy to cover such unexpected expenses as:
- Last-minute trip cancelations;
- Emergency medical expenses;
- Rental car damages; or
- Roadside assistance.
The slideshow above illustrates the U.S. destinations that are most popular with Thanksgiving holidays travelers in 2024, according to AAA.
The most popular international destinations this year include Budapest, Cancun, Rome, Paris and Munich.
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