Economy Watch: Thanksgiving Travel Busiest Since Before 2008

According to AAA, almost 49 million Americans will travel for Thanksgiving, that’s the most expected travelers in nine years.

AAA says that the extra travel is due to the economy’s strong second half which has seen increased consumer spending and wage increases. “And, of course, gasoline that is relatively low-priced fuels holiday travel as well”.

That’s an increase of one million travelers compared with previous year. About 49 million people will travel nationally, the most since 2007.

AAA’s Leisure Travel Index projects airfares will increase 21 percent this Thanksgiving, with round-trip flights for the top 40 domestic routes averaging $205.

Millions of Americans are hitting the roads, rails and the skies Wednesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest travel days of the year.

That’s according to travel projections from AAA. In Colorado, average gas prices were $2.06 per gallon, according to AAA. The lowest prices were a year ago.

Preparing for big crowds, TSA hired 1,400 new officers and converted many part time workers to full time.

With heavy road traffic expected for the holiday, Turnipseed said it’s important to be mindful of others while driving.

Of the estimated 1.9 million Arizonans traveling over the holiday, more than 345,000 plan to fly, AAA says. The department forecasts gas prices to average $2.27 per gallon in 2017, 14 cents higher than the expected average this year. “The lines here will be a little bit longer, but they’ll be nothing like you’ll see on TV in some of the larger cities”. “I am constantly amazed at people that are texting and they are not paying attention to their surroundings”, said Cid Chavez. That’s higher than a year ago, when the averages were $2.10 and $1.91, respectively. And it’s lower still than the North Carolina average of $2.13 a gallon.

Gasoline prices may also be a factor.

The Costco in Kalispell has the lowest gas price and $2.15 per gallon.