When? Where? How? Study finds trends of holiday travel this year

Dec. 23 will be the busiest travel day during the holiday season this year, according to a new survey.

The survey of 2,000 Americans who plan to travel for the holidays this year looked into the most hectic travel dates, top destinations, popular modes of transport and the cost of holiday travel. 

For those embarking on a trip for the December holidays, Dec. 23 is the most common travel day on the first leg of the trip and post Dec. 31 is the most common time to head home.

The day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, will be the most popular travel day heading to a Thanksgiving destination and the most popular timeframe to head home is after Nov. 30. 

And for those traveling for New Year’s Day and Eve, the eve itself, Dec. 31, and Jan. 2 will be the busiest days.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of IHG Hotels & Resorts, the research served as a comprehensive report for 2024 holiday travel trends.

The poll found that Florida is the top destination for those traveling out of state for Thanksgiving and the December holidays, and New York is the top stop for New Year’s travelers headed to another state.      

The least popular destination for Thanksgiving and New Year’s is North Dakota, and Vermont will be the least-visited state in December.     

And while holiday vacationers are most looking forward to seeing family (56%) and eating good food (37%), they’re most dreading the cost of travel (29%) along with navigating lines and crowds (26%) while in transit. 

More than a quarter (27%) even have blackout dates on their calendars during the holiday season when they refuse to travel, with Gen Z (40%) being most likely to have blackout dates. 

“We’re all looking forward to having some downtime this holiday season,” said Connor Smith, vice president of masterbrand strategy and awareness at IHG Hotels & Resorts. “Whether you’re traveling near or far to spend time with loved ones or squeezing in a little ‘you time,’ we have options that suit all types of travelers.”

Many (78%) reported that all of their holiday travels will be reserved for visiting family, while a few (22%) have made room for a side quest. 

Of those, more than a few (28%) will be taking a solo trip during the holidays, with baby boomers (38%) and Gen Z (35%) being most likely to take a solo trip during the holidays. 

A third (31%) are getting outside the box to take a destination vacation with their loved ones and a few (4%) are even exploring internationally.  

Most popular holiday locales and destinations for holiday travel are the city (35%), suburbs (26%) and rural towns (23%).

For those headed to the city, vacationers are looking to get the city holiday experience (24%), shop (18%) and explore the city (21%). 

And for those making their way to the beach for the holidays (12%), a quarter shared that a beach holiday is a tradition in their family (24%) along with the fact that the beach gives their family plenty of activities to keep busy (22%). 

Twelve percent are headed to the mountains to celebrate the holidays and reasons include needing to rest and recharge away from day-to-day responsibilities (25%) and to spend as much time outdoors as possible (24%).      

Hoping to maximize their time off, nearly one in ten of those headed to the beach (9%) and mountains (10%) for the holidays are opting to stay at an all-inclusive venue so they can truly relax while on vacation.

One in ten started planning their holiday excursions earlier than June this year and one of the chief reasons for this was simply to get it out of the way, so it wouldn’t cause stress later in the year (31%).

A fifth were looking to get the best deals on accommodations and ticket prices and a few (12%) admitted they wanted to make plans so they could decline other invitations. 

“We appreciate all the different ways people are traveling this year around the holidays,” said Smith. “For those going abroad, staying local or still looking for travel inspiration, IHG has something for everyone and gives you the flexibility to choose destinations that work for you at every price point.”

BUSIEST TRAVEL DAYS DURING THE HOLIDAYS

Thanksgiving

• Nov. 27 - 19%
• Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving Day) - 20%
• Nov. 30 - 22%
• After Nov. 30 - 25%

December Holidays

• Dec. 22 - 17%
• Dec. 23 - 20%
• Dec. 27 - 16%
• After Dec. 31 - 22%

New Year’s

• Dec. 30 - 18%
• Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve) - 20%
• Jan. 2 - 20%
• Jan. 3 - 13%

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans planning to travel for the holidays; the survey was commissioned by IHG Hotels & Resorts and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Oct. 8 and Oct. 14, 2024.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.