Thanksgiving Travel Survey 2024 – 51% to Travel (Up 5.75% YoY); 33% to Spend $1,001+ on Travel; 46% Expect Airline Interruptions; Turkey Most Disliked Food

The busy holiday travel season will start next month, and people from all over the country will drive, fly, or take public transportation to family gatherings and vacations for Thanksgiving. Many have already booked flights and made travel arrangements. See our Best & Worst Days to Travel for Thanksgiving 2024.

We conducted this Thanksgiving travel survey to understand Americans’ holiday travel intentions. Which holidays do Americans intend to travel? How much do they intend to spend? Do Americans have confidence airlines will be able to avoid excessive delays and cancellations this holiday season? And, for fun, which traditional Thanksgiving foods do people dislike? Please find the results of our survey below.

Do you plan on traveling to a vacation destination or holiday gathering (by car, bus, train, airplane, etc.) during the holidays this year?

Photo: Eric Jones screenshot via SurveyMonkey

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Thanksgiving. — 22.07%
• Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa. — 16.12%
• Both. — 28.89%
• No. — 32.92%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Americans in the Middle Atlantic region are the most likely to travel to a vacation destination or holiday gathering for Thanksgiving this year. The states in this region are New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. 69.81% of adult residents in these states intend to travel for Thanksgiving. On the other hand, at only 26.31%, Americans in the West North Central region are the least likely to travel. The West North Central region has the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Key Takeaway — Nearly 51% of American adults intend to travel to a vacation destination or holiday gathering for Thanksgiving 2024. This stat includes the 22.07% who will only travel for Thanksgiving and the 28.89% who will travel for Thanksgiving and Christmas. According to the latest census, the 50.96% traveling for Thanksgiving represents more than 132 million American adults. This figure is also 5.75% more than those who stated their intentions to travel for Thanksgiving in last year’s holiday survey.

How much will you spend to travel for Thanksgiving this year? (gas, flights, hotels, tickets, etc.)

Photo: Eric Jones screenshot via SurveyMonkey

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• $0. — 31.00%
• $500 or Less. — 22.07%
• $501 to $1,000. — 13.92%
• $1,001 to $1,500. — 15.74%
• $1,501 to $2,000. — 11.42%
• $2,000 or More. — 5.85%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — American adults over 60 are the least likely to spend any money to travel for Thanksgiving this year. 48.04% of people in this age bracket said they will spend $0. On the other hand, the most likely age group of American adults to spend money on Thanksgiving travel is Americans between 30 and 44 years old. Only 22.68% of them said they intend to spend $0.

Key Takeaway — Nearly 47% of American adults intend to spend over $500 to travel to a vacation destination or holiday gathering for Thanksgiving this year. This figure represents over 121 million people intending to spend over $500. It includes the 13.92% that intend to spend $501 to $1,000, the 15.74% that intend to spend $1,001 to $1,500, the 11.42% that intend to spend $1,501 to $2,000, and the 5.85% that intend to spend over $2,000. The 46.93% that stated these intentions is also 18.33% more than the 28.6% of Americans that said they would spend $500 or more in our 2022 Thanksgiving survey. As inflation continues to come down, Americans are starting to travel more and spend more. One-third, or nearly 86 million American adults even say they will spend $1,000 or more on travel related to a vacation destination or holiday gathering around Thanksgiving.

How confident are you in airlines being able to avoid excessive delays and cancellations this holiday season?

Photo: Eric Jones screenshot via SurveyMonkey

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Not Confident at All. — 25.82%
• A Little Confident.  — 20.15%
• Somewhat Confident. — 24.09%
• Confident. — 15.26%
• Extremely Confident. — 14.68%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Women are significantly more likely than men to have no confidence at all in airlines being able to avoid excessive delays and cancellations this holiday season. 33.45% of women said they are not confident at all. On the other hand, only 16.56% of men said they were not confident at all. This means that women are twice as likely to have no confidence in airlines this holiday season.

Key Takeaway — Nearly 46% of American adults say they have little or no confidence in airlines being able to avoid interruptions such as excessive delays and cancellations this holiday season. The 25.82% that say they have no confidence and the 20.15% that say they have little confidence combine to account for 119 million people. While this is still an alarming amount of people, it is 13% lower than the 59.23% of American adults who had little or no confidence in airlines in our survey last year. Americans are becoming more confident that we will not see issues with airlines for the holidays. The 14.68% that are extremely confident is more than double the 6.91% that said they were extremely confident in last year’s survey.

Which of these traditional Thanksgiving foods do you dislike? (Check All that Apply Except If You Are Checking the Last Choice.)

Here is the complete ranked list of most disliked traditional Thanksgiving foods:

1. Turkey. — 34.84%
2. Stuffing/Dressing. — 32.05%
3. Ham. — 31.67%
4. Sweet Potatoes or Yams. — 29.17%
5. Cranberry Sauce. — 28.89%
6. Green Bean Casserole. — 22.94%
7. Mashed Potatoes. — 22.17%
8. Coleslaw — 22.17%
9. Pumpkin Pie. — 21.50%
10. Carrots — 16.31%
11. Macaroni and Cheese. — 15.93%
12. Corn. — 14.68%
13. Apple Pie. — 13.72%
None of these. I like them all. — 12.38%

*Note: Survey respondents could choose as many items as they wanted.

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Men are more likely than women to be picky eaters when it comes to traditional Thanksgiving foods. 14.36% of women said they like every traditional Thanksgiving food. On the other hand, only 9.98% of men said this. Men said their most disliked traditional Thanksgiving food is turkey, with 40.98% saying this. Women, with 30.47%, said their most disliked traditional Thanksgiving food is cranberry sauce.

Key Takeaway — More than one-third of all American adults said their most disliked traditional Thanksgiving food is turkey. The 34.84% that said this equates to more than 90 million people not liking turkey, the quintessential Thanksgiving food. The second most disliked traditional Thanksgiving food is stuffing at 32.05%. Rounding out the top three most disliked foods is ham at 31.67%. Of the traditional Thanksgiving foods we listed, the one most liked is apple pie, with only 13.72% of people saying they dislike it. 12.38% or more than 32 million American adults claim to like all of the traditional Thanksgiving foods on our list.

Survey Methodology

This 2024 Thanksgiving Travel Survey was conducted by SurveyMonkey on behalf of The Vacationer. In total, 1,042 Americans over the age of 18 were polled on October 4. Of those surveyed, 45.20% were male and 54.80% were female. The age breakdown of participants included in this survey was 12.57% in the range 18-29, 35.12% in the range 30-44, 35.12% in the range 45-60, and 17.18% over 60. This survey has a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of ±3.158%. You can learn more about SurveyMonkey’s sampling method by clicking here.

The questions were chosen and the results were analyzed by the post author, Eric Jones, who is a Mathematics and Statistics Professor at Rowan College South Jersey.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.