Richmond, Virginia, October 17, 2022 – Major U.S. cities and warm weather international destinations will see the highest number of American travelers this Thanksgiving, according to the Allianz Partners Top 10 Thanksgiving Destination Index.
Allianz Partners USA reviewed more than two million travel itineraries* around the Thanksgiving holiday to reveal the most popular domestic and international destinations for 2022. Roundtrip flights departing from United States airports from Saturday, November 19 to Thursday, November 24, and returning Friday, November 25 to Tuesday, November 29, were considered.
New York City, a legendary draw for Thanksgiving tourists, has once again claimed the crown as the number one domestic destination on Americans’ fall 2022 travel schedules. Seattle, the only destination to have knocked New York City from its number one spot since the survey’s inception in 2015, continues to attract outdoor-loving travelers to the West Coast and is ranked number two.
Orlando has worked its way back up to third place this year (climbing five spots since 2021), likely due to popular amusement parks and nearby cruise ports resuming standard operations following the removal of strict pandemic-era travel restrictions. Fort Lauderdale returns to the Top 10 list after being knocked off in 2021, and Washington D.C. makes the cut for the first time in five years. Other major cities filling out the top 10 positions include favorites Boston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Dallas.
Although turkey day isn’t celebrated outside of the U.S., those eager for an escape still primarily choose Mexico with cities Cancun, San Jose Del Cabo and Puerto Vallarta named the most popular international destinations where Americans are spending their Thanksgiving holiday. The summer of 2022 proved that European travel is back in full force, and London, England, retains its fourth-place position this year with Paris, France, taking ninth. The rest of the top 10 international spots are captured by perennial favorite beaches including former number one Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (2019).
“Thanksgiving travel tends to provide a deep sense of nostalgia for Americans, whether continuing traditions at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City or reuniting with family on the beaches of Mexico,” says Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA. “No matter where you’re headed, the freedom to travel is once again something to be thankful for and deserves to be protected. A travel insurance policy can provide peace of mind for any Thanksgiving plans by safeguarding pre-paid travel investments from covered unforeseen events like trip cancellations or interruptions, travel delays, baggage issues or even medical emergencies.”
In March 2021, Allianz Partners announced enhancements** to many of its travel insurance products in most states through an Epidemic Coverage Endorsement. Products that include this endorsement may provide coverage to customers who become ill with COVID-19 or a future epidemic, are individually ordered to quarantine, or are denied boarding due to a suspected illness. These products also may cover emergency medical care and transportation or provide reimbursement for change fees and loyalty points deposit fees if the customer becomes ill with an epidemic disease. Availability of the Epidemic Coverage Endorsement, and specific covered reasons under that endorsement, varies by product and by state. See your plan for details.
Allianz Partners offers travel insurance through most major U.S. airlines, leading travel agents, online travel agencies, hotel companies, cruise lines and directly to consumers. For more information on Allianz and available travel policies, please visit http://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/.
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*Methodology: The data of U.S. travelers’ 2022 Thanksgiving plans was gathered by analyzing the number of customers who went through the online booking process of airfare and package paths, for partners offering Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance, to generate itineraries for roundtrip flights departing from U.S. airports from 11/19/2022 –11/24/2022, returning 11/25/2022 - 11/29/2022. In total, 2.1M itineraries were analyzed using this methodology.