Expect More Travelers This Thanksgiving Week as a 5% Increase in Travel is Expected

By: David Shepherd, News Director / Anchor

AREA WIDE -- AAA projects 54.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving, a 4.8 percent increase over last year.  The 2018 holiday weekend will see the highest Thanksgiving travel volume in more than a dozen years (since 2005), with 2.5 million more people taking to the nation’s roads, skies, rails and waterways compared with last year.

For the 48.5 million Americans planning a Thanksgiving road trip, INRIX, a global mobility analytics company, predicts travel times in the most congested cities in the U.S. could see much heavier than normal congestion.

“The thriving economy is giving travelers a lot to be thankful for this year,” says Jim Lehman, president of AAA East Central.  “Two-and-a-half million more Americans will have the chance this year to create new lasting memories with their families and friends, which is very exciting to see.”

Google has published a report on the best and worst times to travel this year.

In our region, Google reports the best time to depart before Thanksgiving is Wednesday; bright and early at 3 a.m.  

The worst time will be this Wednesday at 3 p.m.

After the holiday, 4 a.m. Friday will be the best time to travel while Sunday at 3 p.m. will be the worst. 

The Thanksgiving holiday period is defined as Wednesday, November 21 to Sunday, November 25.