Over 1 Million New Jerseyans Plan to Celebrate Thanksgiving with a Holiday Getaway, Says AAA

On Nov 20, 2014

AAA Travel projects just over 1 million New Jerseyans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the highest volume for the holiday since 2007 and a 4.1 percent increase in travelers from 2013.  As with all of the major holidays, the majority of New Jersey travelers (nearly 89 percent) will celebrate the holiday with a road trip and will likely enjoy the lowest Thanksgiving gas prices since 2009. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, November 26 through Sunday, November 30.

TRAVEL BY THE NUMBERS:

Automobile

·         New Jersey – 1,036,829 (88.6% of all travelers), a 4.2% increase from one year ago.

·         Nationally – 41.28 million (89.1% of all travelers), 4.3% increase from 2013.

 

Air

·         New Jersey – 101,126 (8.7% of all travelers), an increase of 3.2% from Thanksgiving 2013.

·         Nationally – 3.549 million (7.7% of all travelers), a 3% increase from last year.

 

Train, Bus, Watercraft or Other Mode

·         New Jersey – 31,105 (2.7% of all travelers), a 4.6% increase from last year.

·         Nationally – 1.476 million (3.2% of all travelers), a 4.3% increase from last Thanksgiving.

 

“This year, more people will give thanks for the opportunity to travel to friends and family than any year since 2007,” said Cathleen Lewis, Director of Public and Government Affairs, AAA New Jersey Automobile Club. “People are optimistic about the future as several key economic factors — employment, GDP and disposable income — have improved, thus boosting consumer confidence and the desire to travel.

“Holiday joy has come early this year in the form of gas prices that will likely be the lowest during the Thanksgiving holiday since 2009,” continued Lewis. “Lower gas prices are increasing disposable income and enabling families to carve out more money from household budgets for travel.”

Impact of gasoline prices on travel plans

The national price of gasoline has fallen below $3 per gallon for the first time since December 22, 2010, a welcome gift for travelers as they head into the busy holiday travel season. AAA predicts most U.S. travelers will pay the cheapest Thanksgiving gas prices in five years. The current national price for a gallon of regular gas is $2.85, down 36 cents from 2013. In New Jersey, motorists are paying an average of $2.73 for a gallon of regular gas, compared to $3.17 a year ago (a difference of 44 cents).

Average gas prices over the Thanksgiving holiday for the last five years:

2013: $3.26

2012: $3.53

2011: $3.22

2010: $2.86

2009: $2.51

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