AAA projects 79.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period*. 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.
“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 continues to see travel demand soar post-pandemic with our members looking for new adventures and memorable vacations.”
AAA projects a record 71.7 million people will travel by car over Thanksgiving – that’s an additional 1.3 million travelers on the road 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.
AAA car rental partner Hertz says Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Oahu, Orlando, and Phoenix are the cities displaying the highest rental demand for the Thanksgiving holiday.
FODOR’S WHERE TO GO IN 2025 – AND WHERE NOT TO GO
The Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I love this list every year, because it’s different. Most travel publications late in every year point out the top places to visit the following year. That’s fine. But Fodor’s takes it a step further by telling people places they SHOULDN’T go. These are usually places that have been overrun with tourists, and think it’s a great service. They also list some of the places you SHOULD try, which is a nice balance.
On the DO NOT go list for 2025 are some of the most popular spots in Europe, including Barcelona and Venice. Fodor’s notes that tourists in the European hotspots of Barcelona, Mallorca, the Canary Islands, Venice and Lisbon are no longer so welcome. It also says there are too many visitors to Agrigento, Sicily, Koh Samui in Thailand, Oaxaca in Mexico, Mount Everest, Bali and parts of Tokyo and Kyoto.
On the PLEASE DO TRY side of the ledger, Fodor’s lists The Marquesas Islands, which are part of Tahiti and were recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Houston, Texas, Las Vegas, Helsinki, Wellington, New Zealand and Los Olivos in California, a town near Santa Barbara I quite enjoy for its mix of cowboy/winery feel.
CONDE NAST TOP PLACES FOR 2025 INCLUDES BANFF, PERU, AUSTRALIA AND SUSSEX
Nitmiluk Gorge, Northern Territory, Australia.
Conde Nast Traveler has a nice list out of top spots to enjoy in 2025. The world list includes Cuba, The Peruvian Amazon, The Top End of Australia, The Space Coast of Florida, Queensland, Australia’s Tropical Coast, and Sussex, UK.
The magazine had this to say about Australia’s Top End: “From subtropical wetlands to vast red-rock desert, the northernmost region of the Northern Territory—or as Aussies call it, the Top End—is a wonder to witness. Unspooling across Darwin, UNESCO World Heritage Site Kakadu National Park (Australia’s largest national park), remote Arnhem Land (northeast), and Katherine, it’s a place to understand the First Nations culture that has been etched into this vast region.” I’ve met with Tourism Northern Territory folks a couple times, and one place that has intrigued me for years is gorgeous Nitmiluk Gorge.
On the issue of Sussex, CN wonders if it might be the next Cotswolds, albeit with the advantage of wineries. I like the sound of that.
The magazine also listed top 25 places in North America and the Caribbean. Among the latter were Banff (always inspiring), Barbuda (been hoping to go for years), and Denver (I had a nice visit two years ago).
NOBU HOTEL TORONTO AMONG BIG-NAME NEWCOMERS IN 2025
Forbes.com has a nice list of luxury hotels due to open around the world next year. The list includes Nobu Hotel Toronto in the entertainment district. The restaurant opened to great fanfare earlier this fall, and the hotel and residences should open sometime this spring. It’s the first Nobu in Toronto and the first in Canada. Other top hotels opening next year include The Sundays, a posh spot in the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia and Rumi on Louth in Louth Island, South Australia.
A SAD GOODBYE TO ARTHUR FROMMER
On a very sad note, I had to write a story today for Open Jaw Network about the passing of the great Arthur Frommer. Arthur filed a weekly column for me when I was travel editor at the Toronto Star. He was a lovely man who changed the world by showing people they could travel the globe without a huge bank account, and who talked about how travel makes for better world understanding. All the best to his family, including his wonderful and talented daughter, Pauline.
