WA Thanksgiving Travel Could Exceed Pre-Pandemic Levels: AAA

SEATTLE — Washington is in for a major rebound in holiday travel over Thanksgiving week, even surpassing the volume of the last pre-pandemic holiday in 2019, according to new projections from AAA.

The firm's travel experts predict more than 1.4 million Washingtonians have trips planned this year, up 16 percent from last year and 2 percent higher than in 2019. The surge in travel is likely to lend to packed airports and especially crowded roads, with the vast majority — 87 percent in Washington — planning to travel by car.

AAA worked with IHS Markit, an international information and analytics firm, to forecast holiday travel volumes, taking into account local economic factors, housing markets, gas prices and existing travel trends.

"This Thanksgiving, travel will look a lot different than last year," said Kelly Just, a spokesperson for AAA Washington. "With borders reopened, plus new health and safety guidelines in place, travel is once again high on the list of Americans ready to reunite with their loved ones for the holiday."

Here are a few highlights from AAA's Thanksgiving projections:

• 1.2 million Washingtonians are expected to hit the road for Thanksgiving, up 9 percent from last year, despite gas prices averaging between $1.10 and $1.40 higher per gallon than 2020.
• 160,000 Washingtonians will take a flight for Thanksgiving, a whopping 82 percent surge from last year. Despite the rebound, AAA found the lowest airfares were averaging 27 percent cheaper than last year. Tuesday and Wednesday tend to be the most expensive air travel days with the highest volume.
• Alternate travel methods, including trains, buses and cruise ships have rebounded an estimated 263 percent since 2020 but are still 31 percent lower than 2019.
• Prices for mid-range hotels have increased 39 percent.
• Car rental prices have stabilized after shortages sent them soaring over the summer. Currently, rental prices are averaging 4 percent higher than Thanksgiving 2020, just under $100 per day.
• The Caribbean is Washington's top international travel destination for Thanksgiving.

AAA also teamed up with Kirkland-based INRIX to map out the best and worst travel times and identify Puget Sound's trickiest travel corridors. For the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, experts find later trips tend to fare better, while morning trips look like the best bet for the rest of the stretch.

Later this month, the Washington State Department of Transportation will share its annual traffic outlook for the Thanksgiving travel week, focused on congestion patterns on Interstate 5, Interstate 90 and US 2.