Turkey Travel

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WASHINGTON -- Higher prices for hotel rooms, rental cars and airfares will not keep families home this Thanksgiving, according to motor club AAA, which estimates that 38.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a 2.7% increase from last year's 37.3 million travelers.

Approximately 31.7 million travelers (82.8% of all holiday travelers) expect to go by motor vehicle, a 2.6% increase from the 30.8 million who drove a year ago. Holiday auto travelers will find gasoline prices nationwide currently averaging $2.23 for a gallon [image-nocss] of self-serve regular gasolineabout nine cents lower than this time last year, AAA said.

Americans will take advantage of the fact that gas prices have been falling for the past several months, said AAA CEO and president Robert L. Darbelnet. They might have foregone the summer family vacations because of high gas prices, but extended family get-togethers and lower gas prices will encourage Americans to get back on the road.

The greatest number of Thanksgiving auto travelers will originate in the Southeast with 9.1 million, followed by the West, 7.2 million; Midwest, 6.7 million; the Great Lakes, 6.2 million; and the Northeast, 2.4 million.

Hot water heaters will be working overtime, as 69.5% of Thanksgiving travelers expect to stay at a friend or relative's home. Hotels and motels are a distant second at 16%, followed by cabin/condo, 4.5%; camper/trailer/RV/tent, 2.4%; other, 3.6%; no overnight stay, 2.6%; and didn't know, 1.4%.

Small towns and rural areas are the expected destination for 45.3% of Thanksgiving travelers, followed by cities, 35%. Mountain areas should see 8.3% of travelers, followed by oceans and beaches with 5.2% of travelers; 2.3% for lake areas, 0.6% for state/national parks and 0.3% for theme/amusement parks. Another 2% responded with other.

AAA expects 4.8 million (12.5% of holiday travelers) Americans to travel by airplane, up 3.2% from the 4.6 million that flew last Thanksgiving holiday. A projected 1.9 million travelers (5%) will go by train, bus or other mode of transportation, up slightly from 1.8 million a year ago.

Despite paying less at the pump, travelers will face much higher prices for hotels, airfares and car rentals, according to AAA's Leisure Travel Index. Holiday hotel rates are up 16% for AAA-Rated Three Diamond hotels, as strong demand allows hoteliers to increase rates that they raised last Thanksgiving, too. Expect higher rates for rental cars, as well, with an average increase of 21%. With an average 4% increase from last year, air fares will be more costly, but travelers won't see the extreme price hikes they will experience with hotel and car rental rates.

Meanwhile, research conducted by Technomic Inc., Chicago, found that consumers are evenly split on where they plan to eat Thanksgiving dinner this year: 41% will enjoy the annual feast at home, whereas 43% will dine at a relative's house. Only 4% will have Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's home and 2% will go to a restaurant; 5% aren't making any Thanksgiving dinner plans.

Even though roughly half the respondents say they always have a traditional baked turkey dinner, nontraditional meals are also popular; 37% of Thanksgiving diners say they've tried baked ham, while 15% have had grilled turkey and 19% have dined on turkey or ham cooked in other nontraditional ways. Other meats, such as beef, veal pork or chicken have made it to the table for 17% of consumers. Fewer diners reported having meals that strayed even further from the traditional Thanksgiving fare, including wild game (4%), Chinese food (5%), other ethnic cuisine (6%), fresh fish (4%) and all-vegetarian (3%).

As for the cost of that meal, the American Farm Bureau (AFBF) said that despite a slight increase in price, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings remains affordable.

AFBF's 21st annual informal survey of the prices of basic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table pegs the average cost of this year's feast for 10 at $38.10, a $1.32 price increase from last year's average of $36.78.

The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10.

The cost of a 16-lb. turkey, at $15.70 or roughly 98 cents per pound, reflects an increase of 4 cents per pound, or a total of 59 cents per turkey compared to 2005. This is the largest contributor to the overall increase in the cost of the 2006 Thanksgiving dinner.

The higher retail turkey price reflects both a tighter supply and demand situation at the producer level as well as the impact of higher energy costs for processing and transportation, said AFBF Senior Economist Terry Francl. Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers are asked to look for the best possible prices, without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals, such as spend $50 and receive a free turkey. The average price of turkey is less than $1 per pound. That's an amazing value for American consumers.

Other items showing a slight price increase this year included: a 12-oz. package of fresh cranberries, $2.12; three pounds of sweet potatoes, $2.91; a 14-oz. package of cubed stuffing, $2.52; two 9-inch pie shells, $1.98; a 12-oz. package of brown-n-serve rolls, $1.78; a 16-oz. package of frozen green peas, $1.46; and a 30-oz. can of pumpkin pie mix, $1.89. The price of a combined pound of celery and carrots, used for a relish tray, increased to 71 cents.

Items that decreased slightly in price this year were: one gallon of milk, $2.93 and a half-print of whipping cream, $1.47. A combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (onions, eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and butter), dropped in price by 41 cents to $2.63.

Another option for busy families without a lot of time to cook is ready-to-eat Thanksgiving meals for up to 10 people, with all the trimmings, which are available at many supermarkets and takeout restaurants for around $40 to $50.

The AFBF survey was first conducted in 1986 when the average cost of a Thanksgiving meal for a family of 10 was $28.74. This year's average cost of $38.10 is equivalent to $18.99 in 1986 inflation-adjusted dollars, which means the real cost of the Thanksgiving dinner has declined 34% in the last 20 years, according to Francl.

Yearly Averages

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