AAA: Fort Lauderdale 8th Most Popular Destination for Thanksgiving Travelers

AAA projects that 48.7 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving—about 1 million more travelers than last year and the most since 2007.

And one of this year’s top destinations is Fort Lauderdale, which ranked eighth on AAA’s list of the 10 most popular destinations, based on AAA.com bookings. Las Vegas came in first, followed by San Francisco, San Diego, Orlando, New York City, New Orleans and Anaheim. Philadelphia and Seattle round out the top 10.

“One million more Americans than last year will carve out time to visit with friends and family this Thanksgiving,” said Marshall Doney, AAA president and CEO in a written statement. “Most will travel on the tried and true holiday road trip, thanks to gas prices that are holding at close to $2 per gallon. Others will fly, take the bus or set off on a cruise to celebrate with their loved ones.”

Of those traveling, the vast majority—over 89 percent—will drive, a 1.9 percent increase over last year. That’s likely due to the price of gasoline, which averaged $2.16 nationwide as of yesterday, according to AAA.