The much-awaited holiday season is about to begin and this will once again see a surge in traveling across the U.S. As per a Nerdwallet survey released on Tuesday, more than 50% of Americans will opt for holiday travel. Be it visiting back home or simply going on a vacation, more Americans will travel this year during the holiday season. Also, 7 out of 10 Americans, who plan to go on a vacation this year, will be travelling with their families.
Most people in the U.S. reserve this period for travelling, leading to robust growth in air traffic. According to the survey, 45% U.S. citizens, who amount to 114 million adults, will be spending an average $1,393 on flight tickets, hotels and eating out at restaurants during the holiday season.
This adds up to a total of $159 in spending across the U.S. according to financial website Harris Poll. This definitely is good news for hotels, restaurants and travel companies, who have been struggling for quite some time now.
In recent years, Thanksgiving has been setting records for the number of passengers flying on days around the holiday. According to Transport Security Administration (TSA), last year, Thanksgiving week saw more than 25 million passengers travelling through security checkpoints across the U.S.
Much like the last few years, this year the Thanksgiving week is once going to witness record travellers. Last year saw an increase of 6% in travelers during the holiday season. Given that Thanksgiving typically falls on the fourth Thursday of November, Wednesday is generally the busiest day. According to estimates by Expedia, Wednesday, which is November 27, is likely to be the busiest day for travel. The second most busiest day for travel is likely to be November 23, the Saturday before the holiday. Another day that sees huge traffic is the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving Day, which won't be any different this year around.
Both the American hotel and airline industries have been suffering for a while now. Hotels, restaurants and airlines typically wait for this time of the year to maximize on their revenues. Last year too saw U.S. airlines and hotels generating huge revenues between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday period. In 2018, 41 million passengers traveled through security checking screen points during the Christmas and New Year travel days.
