Both Florida, California Orange Counties Top 2 Travel Destinations for 2019 Thanksgiving Holiday

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Over 55 Million People are on the move this Thanksgiving holiday

According to new projections by AAA, more than 55 million U.S. travelers are making plans to kick off the holiday season with a trip of 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving, with Orlando Fl (Orange County, Fl), and Anihiem, Ca (Orange County, Ca) being named the top 2 holiday travel desintiantions in 2019.  

Overall, an additional 1.6 million more people will travel compared with last year, a 2.9% increase. The vast majority of holiday travelers will drive to their destinations and, INRIX, a global transportation analytics company, expects Wednesday afternoon to be the worst travel period nationally, with trips taking as much at four times longer than normal in major metros.

"Millions of thankful Americans are starting the holiday season off right with a Thanksgiving getaway," said Paula Twidale, vice president, AAA Travel. "Strong economic fundamentals are motivating Americans to venture out this holiday in near-record numbers. Consumer spending remains strong, thanks to increasing wages, disposable income and household wealth, and travel remains one of their top priorities for the holiday season."

AAA further reprts 2019 will be the second-highest Thanksgiving travel volume since AAA began tracking in 2000, trailing only the record set in 2005.

By the numbers: 2019 Thanksgiving travel forecast

Automobiles: 49.3 million travelers will hit the road this Thanksgiving, the most since 2005 and 2.8% more than last year.

Planes: With 4.6% growth, air travel will see the biggest increase in travel volume during the Thanksgiving holiday, with 4.45 million Americans expected to fly.

Trains, Buses and Cruise Ships: Travel by other modes will reach 1.49 million, a slight increase of 1.4% from 2018.

Warm weather beckons Thanksgiving travelers in 2019

The theme parks of Orlando and southern California, and other warm-weather destinations will see an influx of travelers looking to escape the start of winter. Florida is home to four of the top 10 destinations, and Hawaii twice graces the list of top destinations in the U.S. this Thanksgiving, based on advance AAA Travel bookings:

• Orlando, Florida
• Anaheim, California
• New York, New York
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Lauderdale, Florida
• Tampa, Florida
• Kahului, Maui, Hawaii
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Miami, Florida

For those travelers planning an international vacation for Thanksgiving, here are their top-5 destinations of choice for 2019:

• Nassau, Bahamas
• Cancun, Mexico
• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
• Montego Bay, Jamaica
• Munich, Germany