The latest Orbitz Insider Index breaks down the holiday travel outlook for 2016, including top destinations, average prices, best times to book, busiest airports and Americans’ attitudes toward the most eventful travel season of the year.
According to the Orbitz.com 2016 holiday survey, 72 percent of Americans are planning to travel at least once between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Orbitz.com also found that travelers would be in a “New York state of mind” this holiday season, with New York City topping the list as the number one destination to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. Warm-weather getaways are also leading the pack; Orlando and Cancun are two of the top sunny destinations for the holidays.
“Last year, 50 percent of travelers booked their airfare for Thanksgiving by October 28, and 50 percent booked their Christmas airfare by mid-November,” said Jeanenne Tornatore, senior editor at Orbitz.com. “These travelers likely secured some of the best deals on holiday airfare. Prices can rise significantly during the holidays and while some people think they’ll get a better deal if they wait, we’ve actually found the opposite to be true. In fact, this year the best deals on airfare for holiday travel can be found in October, so now is the time to buy.”
Orbitz.com has identified the Top 10 destinations travelers plan to visit for the 2016 holiday travel season.
THANKSGIVING TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS
The average price of Thanksgiving airfare to the top 10 travel destinations is $409 with hotel costs of $158, on average, to the top 10 destinations.
Chicago O’Hare International (ORD), Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL) and Los Angeles International (LAX) are the three busiest airports and therefore travelers should add extra time for any trips that include these airports.
Orbitz.com Top 10 Thanksgiving Destinations
| Rank | Destination | Average Hotel Daily Rate 2016 | Average Airline Ticket Prices 2016 | ||||
| 1 | New York, N.Y. | $ | 318 | $ | 424 | ||
| 2 | Las Vegas, Nev. | $ | 122 | $ | 401 | ||
| 3 | Dallas, Texas | $ | 138 | $ | 395 | ||
| 4 | Chicago, Ill. | $ | 190 | $ | 376 | ||
| 5 | Washington, D.C. | $ | 138 | $ | 385 | ||
| 6 | Atlanta, Ga. | $ | 121 | $ | 338 | ||
| 7 | Los Angeles, Calif. | $ | 159 | $ | 474 | ||
| 8 | Denver, Colo. | $ | 118 | $ | 390 | ||
| 9 | Newark, N.J. | $ | 115 | $ | 422 | ||
| 10 | San Francisco, Calif. | $ | 164 | $ | 484 | ||
Source: Orbitz
