U.S. Holiday Travel
The Thanksgiving and
Christmas/New Year’s holiday periods are among the busiest
long-distance travel periods of the year. During the 6-day Thanksgiving
travel period, the number of long-distance trips (to and from a
destination 50 miles or more away) increases by 54 percent, and during
the Christmas/New Year’s Holiday period the number rises by 23
percent, compared to the average number for the remainder of the year. And
although heavy media attention focuses on crowded airports and bus and
train stations on the Wednesday before and Sunday after Thanksgiving, when
personal vehicle trips are added to the mix the National Household Travel
Survey (NHTS) reveals that Thanksgiving Day is actually a heavier
long-distance travel day than Wednesday.
Travel Patterns
Most long-distance holiday travel, about 91 percent,
is by personal vehicle, such as by car. The percentage of long-distance
travelers who travel by personal vehicle during the holidays is not
statistically different from the 89 percent who make long-distance trips by
personal vehicle during the rest of the
year1. Only 5 to 6
percent of holiday trips are by air, while 2
to 3 percent are by bus, train, ship, or other mode.
(Table 1)
Thanksgiving Day is a more heavily traveled day then
Wednesday
(Figure 1). Among those traveling more than 100 miles, travel is
evenly spread throughout the Wednesday-Sunday period, with no statistically
significant difference among the traffic flows during those five days.
For those traveling by air, bus, rail, or other
commercial mode, Thanksgiving travel patterns follow a traditional
pattern where Wednesday’s volumes are higher than Thursday’s
(Figure 2). While crowded airports and bus and train stations receive heavy
media attention on Wednesday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, 9 out of
10 travelers use personal vehicles. And, depending on the distance
traveled, these travelers have two very distinct travel patterns:
- For those traveling between 50 and 99 miles (44
percent of personal vehicle trips), more travel on Thursday than Wednesday,
and more return on Saturday than Sunday
(Figure 3).
- For those traveling at least 100 miles away (56
percent of personal vehicle trips), trips are spread almost equally
throughout the Wednesday through Sunday travel period.
(Figure 3).
Unlike Thanksgiving, which always falls on the fourth
Thursday of November, the Christmas/New Year’s travel period, and the
resulting travel pattern, varies depending on the day of the week on which
the two holidays fall. In 2001, when Christmas and New Year’s Day
fell on Tuesday, the Saturday and Sunday preceding Christmas and Christmas
Day were generally the busiest travel days of the entire 17-day holiday
travel period. The days immediately following Christmas were generally
busier than New Year’s Day and the two following days
(Figure 4). In
2003, the holidays are on Thursday, which no doubt will change the travel
patterns during the Christmas/New Year’s holiday period.
The average Thanksgiving long-distance trip length is
214 miles, compared with 275 miles over the Christmas/New Year’s
holiday. For the remainder of the year, average trip distance is 261 miles.
About half of holiday travelers make same-day trips
without spending a night away. Long-distance travelers who make overnight
trips at Thanksgiving spend an average of just under three nights away. At
the Christmas/New Year’s holiday, the average increases to nearly
four nights away. The average during the rest of the year lies between the
Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year’s totals
Most holiday travel is domestic. Over 99 percent of the
long-distance trips that begin during the Thanksgiving holiday period are
to destinations within the United States. During the longer Christmas/New
Year’s period, however, 3 percent of long-distance travel is
international.
Why Do We Travel?
Visiting friends and family is the single biggest
reason Americans travel during the holidays. Visits account for 53 percent
of all Thanksgiving long-distance trips and 43 percent of long-distance
trips during Christmas/
New Year’s. Visits make up only 24 percent
of all long-distance travel during the remainder of the year. While travel
to visit family and relatives is up significantly during the holidays,
other pleasure and leisure travel remains relatively unchanged.
Business travel, which accounts for 17 percent of
long-distance trips during the remainder of the year, accounts for only 7
or 8 percent during the Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year’s
periods. Because many workers take time off during the holidays, it is not
surprising that the percentage of long-distance commute trips drops to only
6 percent at Thanksgiving and 9 percent during the Christmas/New
Year’s holiday compared to 13 percent for the remainder of the year.
Who is Traveling?
Travelers who begin trips during the holiday periods
are younger than travelers during the rest of the year. The average age of
Thanksgiving travelers is just under 34 years and slightly above 36 years
for Christmas/New Year’s holiday travelers. During the remainder of
the year, the average age is almost 38 years.
During both holiday periods the percentage of male
travelers is lower than during the rest of the year when 58 percent of
long-distance travelers are male. At Thanksgiving there is a nearly even
split between males and females. During the Christmas/New Year’s
holiday period 54 percent of travelers are male, but this is still a
smaller majority than during the remainder of the year.
Table 1 shows selected characteristics of Thanksgiving
and Christmas/New Year’s holiday travelers who began their
long-distance trips during the defined holiday periods.
Methodology Notes
Travel and trip definitions differ in NHTS from the
1995 American Travel Survey (ATS). Therefore, the findings in this report
should not be compared with those in the earlier Home for the Holidays report,
issued in December 1997, which was based on ATS data.
The “rest of year” data is based on the
period April 1, 2001 through March 31, 2002, excluding the Thanksgiving and
Christmas/New Year’s holiday periods. That period represents the 12
months during which the largest sample was obtained for the NHTS.
Comparisons made in this report are statistically
significant at a 0.05% level.
About the 2001 NHTS
The 2001 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS)
updates information gathered by two series of travel surveys—the
Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS), conducted in 1969, 1977,
1983, 1990, and 1995, and the American Travel Survey (ATS), conducted in
1977 and 1995. Results from this report are from preliminary data collected
in the long-distance travel section of the survey.
1 The 2001 holiday periods, on which the data in
this report is based, occurred in the immediate aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001.
It is possible that mode choice and travel pattern changes that took place following the
events of 9/11 had some impact on holiday travel in 2001.
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