Thanksgiving Travel 2025: Sunlit Getaways, Stadium Cheers, and a New Era of Intentional Travel
Thanksgiving travel in 2025 is gathering pace, with fuller flights, earlier hotel bookings, and a few unexpected destinations redefining the holiday map.
Thanksgiving Travel 2025 at a Glance:
U.S. air traffic for Thanksgiving week is set to rise 4% year over year, driven by leisure travel.
Florida's coasts and Hawaii's resort towns are leading hotel bookings, with occupancy rates far above the national average.
College football towns are seeing sharp jumps in hotel demand, while Cancun and Tokyo are among the top booked international destinations.
Travelers are increasingly choosing smaller, regional airports for convenience and smoother journeys.
All insights are powered by Amadeus Travel Intelligence, leveraging data from hundreds of millions of bookings and searches worldwide.
As travel patterns shift, the data reveals a broader transformation in how Americans approach the holiday: prioritizing ease, personalization, and smarter choices at every step of the journey.
The following insights are powered by Amadeus Travel Intelligence which empowers hotels, airlines, airports, travel agencies, and destinations to make smarter, faster, and more informed decisions. With access to the most extensive range of travel data globally, we transform raw data into actionable insights.
Amadeus data shows a steady rise in air and hotel bookings across major leisure markets, led by Florida’s coasts and Hawaii’s islands. College football towns are gearing up for sellout weekends, while Tokyo is a top performer against last year.
Together, the data points to a Thanksgiving holiday period defined not by frenzy, but by focus. Many are personalizing the holiday in new ways, gathering in warmer climates, flying into regional airports that simplify the journey, and choosing direct routes that make travel smoother. This year’s travel season reflects a shift toward ease, choice, and individuality, as more Americans make Thanksgiving their own.
Leisure climbs steadily across the skies
Amadeus projects Thanksgiving week 2025 to be busier than last year, with total U.S. air traffic up 4% year over year. The growth continues to be fueled by leisure-driven travel and a reshuffling of top-performing markets.
Phoenix and Atlanta are leading the pack as travel gateways, with forecasted passenger traffic rising well above the national average. Phoenix stands out with departures up 3.4% and arrivals up 10.5%, signaling renewed interest in the desert Southwest’s mild climate and outdoor appeal during the holiday season. Atlanta also shows strong gains with departures up 5.4% and arrivals up 6.3%, cementing its role as both a key connector and a growing leisure gateway for Southeastern travelers. Meanwhile, most traditional hubs like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. are holding steady.
Florida and Hawaii lead advance hotel bookings as travelers chase the sun
Florida’s coasts and Hawaii’s resort towns are anchoring Thanksgiving travel. According to Amadeus Demand360® data, among the top 10 U.S. destinations where hotels are filling fastest for Thanksgiving week, half are located in Florida or Hawaii.
Hawaii’s resort markets lead the pack with occupancy levels at 69%, more than double the U.S. average. Kahului, Honolulu, and Waikoloa are among the strongest performers, reflecting travelers’ continued appetite for island getaways. On the mainland, Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts show similar momentum, with Key West, Key Largo, and Marathon ranking among the most in-demand Thanksgiving destinations.
California, Massachusetts, and Arizona follow closely behind Hawaii and Florida, posting some of the highest mainland occupancy rates this season. Together, these markets illustrate a demand for warm-weather escapes, island travel, and desert destinations that continue to draw reliable holiday interest.
The beaches and islands are filling fast, but rate increases remain modest. While most top destinations are slightly more expensive than last year, a few key markets like Kahului and Key West areactually cheaper, suggesting a season where travelers are finding value rather than inflation. Hotels seem focused on maintaining strong occupancy while keeping Average Daily Rates steady, appealing to families planning longer getaways in search of warmth and affordability.
College football towns drive local travel swings
Thanksgiving week travel often overlaps with the college football rivalry weekend, which drives major swings in hotel demand. College towns like Auburn, AL, Ann Arbor, MI, and Norman, OK are seeing sharp jumps in hotel bookings as fans pour in for game-day weekends. In contrast, places that hosted major matchups last year, such as College Station, TX and Tuscaloosa, AL, are seeing softer demand as their schedules rotate away from home games.
The trend gives a window into how Thanksgiving football weekends drive fluctuations in hotel bookings, depending on who’s playing at home. These spikes and troughs reflect how deeply football influences regional economies: a single home game can turn a quiet holiday week into a sellout event.
Japan takes off: America’s surprise Thanksgiving getaway
Even as international Thanksgiving travel remains below last year’s levels, Japan has emerged as a top global destination posting double-digit growth. Bookings to Osaka (+33%) and Tokyo (+13%) continue to climb, outpacing growth to traditional favorites like Cancún and Punta Cana.
The reasons for Japan’s popularity go beyond airfare. A weakened yen has made Japan an unbeatable value, while the country’s global cultural pull — from anime and matcha cafés to minimalist design and shopping tourism — has turned it into a social-media-fueled pilgrimage. For many U.S. travelers, especially from West Coast hubs like San Francisco and Los Angeles, a trip to Japan now feels more realistic than ever.
Smaller airports gain ground as travelers seek ease
While the major hubs remain busy, smaller airports are quietly gaining momentum. Amadeus data shows that mid-sized and secondary airports are posting 9% growth in Thanksgiving bookings compared to last year, even as traffic to the largest hubs remains stable.
California leads this shift, with Long Beach, Oakland, Burbank, and Sacramento all ranking among the top ten fastest-growing destinations. The pattern mirrors hotel data: travelers are favoring air trips that are simpler, more direct, and less congested.
It’s part of a broader move toward tranforming how travel works with smoother, more connected journeys, where travelers are being proactive about reducing disruption. By flying out of smaller airports, avoiding long transfers, and focusing on convenience over extravagance, more Americans are personalizing Thanksgiving to match how they want to travel.
About the data
The trends and insights in this blog are powered by Amadeus Travel Intelligence — a comprehensive suite of solutions thattransformscomplex travel data into actionable intelligence. By analyzing hundreds of millions of bookings, searches, and traveler behaviors across airlines, hotels, and destinations, Amadeus helps industry leaders anticipate demand, optimize strategies, and deliver better experiences.
Learn more about how Amadeus Travel Intelligence can help your organization make smarter, faster decisions, or contact us for a personalized demo.
Frequently asked questions
Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts, Hawaii’s resort towns, and major college football cities are among the most in-demand U.S. destinations. Internationally, Osaka, Tel Aviv, and Manchester are seeing the highest growth in bookings.
The Thanksgiving period analyzed covers November 25 to December 2 for air data and 23-29 November for hotel data. The air data was pulled on November 18, and the hotel data was pulled on November 14.
Yes, data shows earlier hotel and flight bookings compared to previous years, reflecting a trend toward more intentional and personalized travel planning.
Amadeus Demand360® (for forward-looking hotel occupancy and rate data)
Amadeus Destination Gateway (for destination-specific insights): These tools aggregate data from hundreds of millions of bookings, searches, and travel behaviors worldwide.
Absolutely. Mid-sized and secondary airports are experiencing 9% growth in Thanksgiving bookings, as travelers seek convenience and less crowded journeys.
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