PROVIDENCE – An estimated 50.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or further away from home for Thanksgiving weekend, according to AAA Northeast. The estimation reflects an increase of 1.6 million travelers from 2016.
Travel is expected to be the highest it has been since 2005.
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“Thanksgiving kicks off the start of a busy holiday season, and more thankful Americans will travel to spend time with friends and family this year,” said Lloyd Albert, AAA Northeast senior vice president of public and government affairs. “A strong economy and labor market are generating rising incomes and higher consumer confidence, fueling a strong year for the travel industry, which will continue into the holiday season.”
AAA predicted that 45.5 million Americans are planning a road trip for the holiday this year, a 3.2 percent uptick year over year. The company also said air travel is expected to grow 5 percent year over year to 3.95 million travelers due to the “cheapest average airfare since 2013.”
The month of November already reflects a 21.9 percent increase year over year at T.F. Green, according to the R.I. Airport Corp.
Thanksgiving-weekend travel is also projected to have increased this year. Friday passenger traffic projections reflect a 32 percent increase year over year, projections for Saturday travel increased 17.4 percent year over year, Sunday 22.5 percent and Monday 25 percent.
“This is phenomenal passenger growth at T.F. Green,” said RIAC President and CEO Iftikhar Ahmad. “The lower fares offered by the low-cost airlines is one of the reasons we are seeing this surge.”
Travel by train, bus and cruise ships is expected to rise as well, to 1.48 million Americans this week.
In New England, 2.2 million travelers are expected during the holiday weekend, of which 1.9 million are expected to be by car.
In Boston, the holiday-traffic peak is expected to be Tuesday, between 5:15 and 7:15 p.m.
Amtrak said its peak travel times are expected on Tuesday, Wednesday and the Sunday following Thanksgiving.
Amtrak also announced Monday, during a press conference at the Providence train station, that Providence was the 11th-most popular station in the country for Amtrak, with more than 650,000 passengers coming in and out of the station last year.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
