2026 US Holiday Travel Trends and Price Data

As the 2026 holiday travel season (Thanksgiving to New Year) approaches, multiple organizations have released forecast data. Hopper data shows the average price of a domestic round-trip Thanksgiving airfare is $402, up 31% year over year, and Christmas airfare is $452, up 23%; on Priceline, average Thanksgiving and New Year airfares each rose 20% year over year. A PwC survey shows 40% of consumers plan to travel for the holidays, of whom one-third are giving up airfare and 38% are turning to economy or midscale hotels. Overall, US travel intentions remain strong, but travelers are generally controlling costs through trade-offs and turning to technological means such as AI.