Research from AAA projects 79.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period this year. AAA said that for the first time, AAA’s forecast includes the Tuesday before and the Monday after Thanksgiving Day “to better capture the flow of holiday travelers. This year’s projection of nearly 80 million travelers is an increase of 1.7 million people compared to last year and 2 million more than in 2019,” AAA said.

“Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, and this year we’re expecting to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising,” said Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel. “Americans reconnect with family and friends over Thanksgiving, and travel is a big part of that.”

AAA projects a record 71.7 million people will travel by car over Thanksgiving, an additional 1.3 million more car travelers compared to last year. “This year’s number also surpasses pre-pandemic numbers when 70.6 million people drove to their Thanksgiving destinations in 2019,” said AAA.

According to the research, Orlando, Florida, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, New York City, and Los Angeles are expected to be among the top domestic locations for travelers.

Car rental service Hertz said Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Oahu, Hawaii, Orlando, Florida, and Phoenix are the cities displaying the highest rental demand for the Thanksgiving holiday.