FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – HomeToGo, the world's largest vacation rental marketplace, revealed today the top 15 destinations for Thanksgiving travel, plus state-by-state travel trends, using in-depth user research and pricing data. Driven by a +31% year-over-year increase in domestic travel searches for Thanksgiving, HomeToGo's latest analysis reveals which states have the highest interest in holiday travel among residents, the usual distance from their trips, the length of their stays, and more.
Marking the start of the holiday season, Thanksgiving will continue to be a high-traffic travel period in 2024. We identified a notable increase in overall searches related to Thanksgiving, as destinations in Arkansas, Indiana and Oregon have risen to the top of the trends. list with the largest year-over-year increases in interest among vacationers. Looking at state-by-state information from HomeToGo, we found that residents in 42 states increased their searches for Thanksgiving staycations compared to last year. Regional data reveals that Southern states, such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and West Virginia, stand out with some of the largest spikes in vacation travel intentions among residents. Eleanor Moody, travel expert and HomeToGo spokesperson
Here's a look at the state-by-state breakdown of search trends, with insight into the ten states seeing the largest search increases among residents for Thanksgiving travel:
Regional trends, state by state
- Increase in travel intentions for Thanksgiving: HomeToGo saw the largest year-over-year search increases for the Thanksgiving holiday among people located in Louisiana (+88%), followed by Mississippi (+66%), Oklahoma (+ 65%), Alabama (+54%). West Virginia (+46%), Connecticut (+45%), Arkansas (+44%), Maryland (+43%), Virginia (+42%), and Kentucky (+42%).
- Rural retreats: Looking at the all-state average, 83% of U.S. travelers are looking for stays in rural destinations. Vacationers in Arkansas are almost unanimously aiming for country trips, with 94% of searches looking for getaways away from big cities.
- Travel group sizes by state: Delaware vacationers view the Thanksgiving holiday as a group activity, with an average of six guests per search, suggesting trips with family and friends. Vermonters and Alaskans are at the other end of the scale, opting for more intimate getaways with smaller groups, averaging just two guests.
- Lengths of stay by state: While Louisiana leads the way in travel enthusiasm, with the largest year-over-year search increase for the 2024 Thanksgiving holiday, vacationers in the state are also showing a preference for shortest trips, averaging five days.
- Distance to destination by state: Alabama travelers stay closest to home and plan to travel an average distance of 333 miles to reach their destination. In comparison, vacationers from Washington state and Montana will venture further, traveling an average of 1,271 and 1,194 miles, respectively. The overall average across all states is 822 miles.
Here's a look at the hottest Thanksgiving destinations, ranked by year-over-year search growth via HomeToGo:
Nationwide Thanksgiving Travel Trends
- Breakdown of rental prices: The median nightly price for a vacation rental stay during the two weeks surrounding Thanksgiving in 2024 is $222, or $79 per person.
- Larger group sizes: The average travel group size in 2024 has increased by 30%, with an average of four guests per stay.
Methodology: The methodology can be found via www.hometogo.com/arkansas/family-vacation/#methodology.
About HomeToGo
HomeToGo is the SaaS marketplace with the world's largest selection of vacation rentals, listing millions of listings from thousands of trusted partners, including Booking.com, Vrbo and TripAdvisor.
From vacation homes, cabins, beach houses, apartments, condos, houseboats, castles, farm stays and everything in between, HomeToGo combines price, destination, dates and amenities to find the perfect accommodation for any trip around the world.
Founded in 2014, HomeToGo operates local apps and websites in 25 countries across Europe, North America, South America, Australia and Asia Pacific. HomeToGo also operates brands such as Agriturismo.it, AMIVAC, Casamundo, CaseVacanza.it, e-domizil, EscapadaRural, Kurzurlaub, Kurz Mal Weg, Tripping.com and Wimdu. To learn more, visit www.hometogo.com or download the HomeToGo app.
