AAA projects 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Thanksgiving holiday period.

Tom Baran with AAA Northern New England says they’ve made a change to the travel period this year. “That starts between tomorrow, Tuesday, and goes all the way to Monday,” said Baran. “So that’s our travel period. It’s kind of extended, because people do extend their time and traveling. They have distances to go and so forth.”

AAA is stressing preparation and safety during the Thanksgiving travel period, and Baran says one particular safety concern is people driving impaired, which is linked to about a third of traffic fatalities every year.

“We really need to think about what we’re doing, and we do need to do a better job,” Barab said. “And everybody’s really got to focus more on watching what people do, paying attention to your friends, making sure they’re okay.”

This year’s domestic travel forecast includes an additional 1.6 million travelers compared to last Thanksgiving, setting a new overall record.

Locally, AAA projects 3.6 million New Englanders will travel this holiday, an increase of 2.1% over 2024.

Thanksgiving is the single busiest holiday for travel compared to others like Memorial Day and July 4.

“Thanksgiving travel numbers are always impressive because this holiday has become synonymous with heading out of town to spend time with loved ones,” said Dan Goodman, manager of public affairs and traffic safety of AAA Northern England. “People are willing to brave the crowds and make last-minute adjustments to their plans to make lifelong memories, whether it’s visiting extended family or meeting up with friends.”

New England Travel Forecast:

Automobiles: 3.2 million will travel by automobile, an increase of 2 percent.

Planes: Holiday air travel is expected to increase 2.8percent to 408,000 leisure travelers.

Trains, Buses, Rails and Cruise Ships: Travel across these sectors will increase by 4 percent to 60,000 passengers.

(AAA peak holiday travel times on roads)