Expect another busy holiday travel season

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) – We are in the year’s busiest travel season.

According to statistics from The Vacationer, more than 50 percent of Americans plan to travel during Thanksgiving and the holiday season.

The report shows that 22 percent will be traveling during Thanksgiving, and 29 percent will face traffic for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Nearly one-third of Americans plan to spend over $1,000 on holiday trips.

Shannon Thompson, with Elite Travel, said their travel agency has seen an over 20 percent increase in people traveling for 2024 from last year, 2023.

“We have seen over the past few years, especially since the Covid pandemic of 2020, that people are starting to focus a little bit more on maybe those experiences versus the tangible items,” said Thompson. “So they are wanting to be able to spend time or to experience something with our loved ones or with our family.”

Long gone are the days of those last-minute deals since other travel components don’t have to offer discounted prices to entice people to travel; people are traveling.

“Travel is supplying demand so the less seats on a plane. The last room is available at a hotel, and the higher price those things are going to be, so that week is also pretty much the most expensive time of the year to travel,” said Thompson. ”So if someone is thinking that that is when they want to travel, making reservations and planning early is the key.”

Thompson states the week after Christmas and between New Year’s is the busiest travel season.

Now, you still have time to book a trip, but you might not want to wait too much longer. There is still time. Try using a travel advisor to help you find options you might not see on your own or to ease the stress of planning. Most importantly, make sure to plan early.

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