Million Hitting the Road this Thanksgiving

And in Pennsylvania, 1.3 million are expected to be on the road, according to AAA East-Central Public Affairs Director Chelsea Pompeani.

Thanksgiving is the largest American travel holiday, ahead of the Fourth of July and year-end holiday travel, she said.

The price of regular gas in Palm Beach County averaged $2.27 per gallon, down 4 cents from a week earlier and off 2 cents from a month ago.

DeHaan said the low gas prices will come in handy for the holiday season.

Despite improvements in the economy, including steady wage growth, rising disposable income and a falling unemployment rate, consumers remain hesitant to spend at a level that would drive significant travel growth.

With 2.07 million people from New England, Parmenter said 1.8 million are expected to travel by auto, which is 87 percent of those travelers. He says that could “continue us on a downward trajectory throughout the end of the year”. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, November 25 to Sunday, November 29. This has helped boost disposable income, enabling many Americans to travel this Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, gas prices in the southeast steadily slipped one cent a day during the past week, with Florida averages now at $2.11 per gallon.

The cooler weather is forecast to last through the remainder of the week with highs in the lower 60s for Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, airfares are projected to decrease 10 percent this Thanksgiving, landing at an average of $169 roundtrip across the top 40 domestic flight routes.