Morning Poll: Thanksgiving Travel on the Rise

by ARLnow.com November 22, 2010 at 8:21 am 1,492 8 Comments

According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, more than 1 million people in the D.C. area are expected to head out of town for the holiday.

That’s a 11 percent increase over least year and the highest number of area residents heading out for Thanksgiving since 2007.

“The Washington metro area has one of the strongest economies in the nation, and as evidence of this, we will likely see a double digit up-tick in the number of area residents traveling 50 miles or more from home for the holiday,” AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson John B. Townsend II said in a statement.

Also driving Washington area travel is the fact that “only 40 percent of D.C. residents were actually born in D.C.,” according to AAA.

Surprisingly, a whopping 95.4 percent of those leaving town are expected to do so in a car. Only 3.4 percent are flying, and only 1.2 percent are taking a bus, train or boat.

How are you going home this year?

ClarendonBlvd

One of the local news stations had someone on from the MidAtlantic Triple A and when asked when was the best time to depart for Thanksgiving, he replied, “midnight.” I suspect Sunday will be a mess so we are going to come back on Saturday instead…
shirley

your poll is again a bit too tight.
I am traveling for Thanksgiving BUT staying in the DC area because I’m fortunate that my whole extended family is from here and that I’m not a transplant who has to go home.
Go home everyone and give us our city back for this weekend. cheers.
- PikeHoo
  
  As someone also born and raised in Northern VA, I find your last comment suggesting for people who aren’t from our area (you know, our neighbors) to “go home” and “give us our city back” particularly nasty to the spirit of Thanksgiving.
  - shirley
    
    it was meant more in jest. sorry to offend.
    but i do enjoy that there is so much less traffic. and everyone seems calmer.
    - PikeHoo
      
      Fair enough. I can’t say I don’t enjoy grocery shopping on Memorial Day when the stores are empty and the lines are non-existent.
- ARLnow.com
  
  The poll and AAA’s survey does not attempt to find out who’s commuting within the DC area for Thanksgiving. It’s to find out who’s leaving town.
Katie

I’m not going “home” because this is now my home–the whole family is meeting at someone’s 2nd home near Rehoboth.
BoredHouseWife

Too bad there is no post-coital smoking room for you airport travelers.

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