Richmond, Virginia, October 16, 2023 – Americans are continuing to prioritize trips to the Big Apple and the beaches of Mexico for their turkey-day celebrations, according to the 2023 Allianz Partners Top 10 Thanksgiving Destination Index.
Allianz Partners reviewed more than 800,000 travel itineraries* around the Thanksgiving holiday to reveal the most popular domestic and international destinations for 2023. Roundtrip flights departing from United States airports from Saturday, November 18 to Thursday, November 23, and returning Friday, November 24 to Tuesday, November 28 were considered.
For the third consecutive year, New York City reigns as the number one domestic destination drawing in Americans for Thanksgiving celebrations. In 2020, Seattle was the only destination to knock the Big Apple from its number one spot since the survey’s inception in 2015, and the big-city outdoor haven continues to stay on top of the charts with its number two position this year. Orlando rounds out the top three for the second year in a row, indicating Americans’ desire for warm weather fall getaways.
Detroit made its way back onto the Top 10 list after being knocked out in 2022, and Dallas made a noticeable two-place jump year over year, perhaps indicating yet another strong year of recovery for the second-busiest airport in the world. Other major cities filling out the top 10 include Atlanta, Boston, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
For Americans taking their autumn holidays internationally, Mexico continues to hold on to its crown with Cancun, San Jose Del Cabo and Puerto Vallarta drawing in the largest amount of U.S. Thanksgiving visitors and maintaining their dominance since 2020. All but two destinations, with London placing fourth and Paris in ninth respectively, are sun-drenched beach retreats in Jamaica, Aruba, the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos.
“No matter where you’re headed this Thanksgiving, it’s important to keep in mind that this travel period is historically one of the busiest of the entire year for U.S. airports, and with increased numbers of travelers comes an increased possibility of travel delays,” said Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA. “One of the best ways to successfully navigate significant delays this season is by purchasing a travel insurance policy with travel delay coverage which can help with a range of unpredicted costs from lost baggage to reimbursement for meals, accommodations and transportation incurred while delayed.”
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’ 2023 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 11/18/2023 –11/23/2023, returning 11/24/2023 - 11/28/2023. In total, more than 800,000 itineraries were analyzed using this methodology.