COVID-19 Impacting American Thanksgiving Travel Plans

A new survey found that around 75 percent of Americans will drive to their destination during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.

According to Cars.com’s Thanksgiving Travel Survey, almost half of respondents said they would travel for Thanksgiving, but 54 percent revealed their plans have been impacted by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

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The data also suggests 47 percent of Americans still plan to travel for Thanksgiving, a decline from the 68 percent who said they were hitting the road in 2019. Of the respondents not traveling, 59 percent said COVID-19 played a role in the decision.

As for where travelers are heading for Thanksgiving, around 66 percent intend to travel within 100 miles of their homes in 2020. Another 72 percent of respondents said they would be driving to their holiday destinations this year.

“We’ve been watching consumer travel habits since the onset of the pandemic,” Cars.com editor-in-chief Jenni Newman told TravelPulse. “There have been two consistent themes; the pandemic is obviously affecting people’s travel plans, but when people do travel, the majority drive because of the safety and freedom cars provide in this environment.”

“For those hitting the road this holiday season, it’s important for drivers and passengers to remember to stay vigilant and follow CDC safety guidelines,” Newman continued.

Despite travel being down due to coronavirus restrictions, 72 percent of travelers believe their commute times will be about the same as in years past.

Add in the flexibility of working at home, and the survey found that more than two-thirds of Americans plan to stay at their destination all weekend or longer.

Another survey from MMGY Global found that nearly 50 percent of people planning to travel in the next six months intend to take trips between November and early January, with 25 percent traveling for Thanksgiving, 31 percent traveling for the December holidays and 15 percent for New Year’s celebrations.