HAMILTON, NJ, November 18, 2005 – Reduced consumer confidence and higher travel prices will slow the growth in Americans’ travel plans but will not keep families home this Thanksgiving, according to AAA.  AAA estimates that 37.29 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a 0.8 percent increase nationwide from last year’s 37 million travelers. In the Northeast region which includes New Jersey, 2.34 million travelers (a decrease of 3.8%) will travel by motor vehicle and another 750,000 (a decrease of 1.9%) will travel by air.  An additional 150,000 will go by train, bus or other mode of transportation. 

            INCREASED COSTS

Holiday auto travelers will find gas prices in New Jersey currently averaging $2.15 for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline—down a whopping 50 cents during the last month, but still about 23 cents higher than a year ago.

“Higher prices and sagging consumer confidence will make Thanksgiving travel growth a bit less robust this holiday, although airports and highways will be as busy as ever,” said Pam Maiolo, Manager, Public Affairs, AAA Mid-Atlantic.  “Prices for gasoline, hotel rooms and rental cars have increased, but that will not keep people from traveling.  You’d be hard pressed to tell Grandma that you’re not coming for Thanksgiving dinner because it will cost an extra ten dollars to fill up your gas tank.” 

In addition to higher prices at the pump, auto travelers will face higher prices for hotels and car rentals, according to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index.   Holiday hotel rates are up 1.5 percent for AAA-rated Three Diamond hotels, as strong demand allows hoteliers to increase rates that they raised last Thanksgiving, too.  Expect higher rates for rental cars, as well, with an average increase of 3.2 percent.  The one exception is air fares, where expanded service by low cost carriers on some routes has pushed fares down 4.8 percent on average from last year.

“AAA’s Leisure Travel Index shows air fares down overall, but many travelers were surprised to find discount fares were snapped up earlier than expected this holiday.  Whereas last year ‘early bookers’ might have bought their Thanksgiving plane tickets in September, this year we saw many people booking Thanksgiving flights during the summer,” said Maiolo.

Destinations

55 percent of Thanksgiving travelers expect to stay at a friend or relative’s home.  Hotels and motels are a distant second at 28 percent, followed by cabin/condo, 7 percent; camper/trailer/RV/tent, 2 percent; bed and breakfast, 2 percent; other, 2 percent; no overnight stay, 3 percent; and didn’t know, 1 percent.

Small towns and rural areas are the expected destination for 37 percent of Thanksgiving travelers, followed closely by cities, 34 percent.  Oceans and beaches should see 10 percent of travelers, followed by mountain areas, 10 percent; 3 percent for lake areas, 2 percent for state/national parks and 1 percent for theme/amusement parks.  Another 3 percent responded with other.

The greatest number of Thanksgiving auto travelers will originate in the Southeast with 8.81 million, followed by the West, 7.05 million; Midwest, 6.58 million; the Great Lakes, 6.06 million; and the Northeast, 2.34 million.

The Southeast is expected to produce the largest number of air travelers with 1.27 million, followed closely by the West with 1.24 million; then the Midwest with 760,000; the Northeast with 750,000; and Great Lakes with 620,000.

“With crowded airports, travelers should leave extra time for check-in and security,” said Maiolo.  “If you miss your plane, it’s unlikely that there will be an empty seat for you on the next flight.”

Several AAA online offerings can help travelers with their holiday journeys.  AAA’s Internet TripTik and TourBook put comprehensive trip planning resources at AAA members’ fingertips through www.AAA.com.  AAA offers public access to its online trip planning tool through www.AAAmaps.com.

Research for Thanksgiving holiday travel is based on a national telephone survey of 1,383 adults by the Travel Industry Association of America, which conducts special research for AAA.