Cars, buses, and pricey flights: What holiday travel will look like at the end of 2024

SALT LAKE CITY — AAA expects record numbers for holiday travel at the end of 2024.

AAA is expecting over 119 million Americans to travel over Christmas and New Year’s. That’s more than we’ve seen since before the pandemic, and a nearly 10% increase from last year in people traveling by alternative transportation like buses, trains, and even Christmas cruises. 

90% of travelers said they’ll be driving to get to their destination. Here in Utah that looks like nearly two-thirds of the state’s population hitting the roads during that time frame.

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Flight prices for holiday travel

Air travel will also go up in crowds and in price.

The AAA report said domestic flight is up about 4% with an average price of $830, and international flights are up 14%. 

Celeste Ferguson just got back from a trip to Disneyland with her entire family. She had to get creative to make it happen within her budget.

“We had to navigate several different flights to make it affordable for us. So we actually flew … from Salt Lake clear to Arizona and then back to California,” said Ferguson.

But higher airfares aren’t keeping people home for the holidays. AAA also projects that 3 million more people will travel this holiday season compared to last year.

Brad Thurman, who just got back from Argentina to pick up his son who was serving a mission, said he felt the crowds were bigger everywhere except the Salt Lake City airport. 

“In Argentina, yeah; in Dallas, yeah. In Salt Lake, no.”

AAA recommends booking flights as early as possible if you want to travel this holiday season.

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