Travelers planning a trip this holiday season might want to prepare their minds for a price surge in almost everything. The three significant travel-supporting essentials: airfares, gas prices, and hotel rents are way up.
According to an airfare tracker compiled by wall street analysts at Cowan, the airfares are about 40% higher compared to 2021, with leisure travelers paying an average of $289 for one way. Despite spending more on a domestic trip, travelers should expect the longest line and the busiest airport on the days leading up to Thanksgiving and the following Sunday.
In addition to airfares, gas prices are also expected to rise this week as drivers hit the road for this Thanksgiving holiday. However, drivers fueling up ahead of Thanksgiving will benefit from the falling pump prices, as the gasoline dropped 11 cents in the past week. Those traveling via cars can look up the current gas prices along their route using AAA TripTik Travel Planner.
Furthermore, the cost of lodging away from home hit a record in May 2022. The government’s key inflation gauge shows the record high cost in May, while the most recent available has been just 2% down from the peak. As per the Travel Site Hopper, the average hotel room prices are expected to be $189 on thanksgiving weekend and $218 over Christmas week, which is 12% higher as compared to last October 2019.
It’s time for travelers to pre-plan their holidays by monitoring prices, making advance bookings, and starting savings by availing of offers on Thanksgiving & Black Friday. For those looking to travel on holiday weekends, prepare themselves for the blazing high prices. According to the Industry analyst, travelers should expect a chaotic and expensive holiday season this year.
