That It’s Time To Get Ready for Holiday Travel

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Don’t look now, but the holiday season is fast approaching. Falling on November 23rd this year, Thanksgiving 2017 is earlier than usual, and with Christmas, New Year’s and other festivities following soon after, the time is right to get ready for holiday travel.

This year, Orbitz® is looking to help five people travel for the holidays in the “Orbitz Fly Me Home Sweepstakes.” To enter, people can go to Facebook.com/Orbitz or Instagram.com/Orbitz and comment on the “Fly Me Home” posts, telling Orbitz where they are planning to travel for the holidays, tag a friend, and use the hashtag #sweepstakes in their comment for the chance to win a flight to that destination. If entering on Instagram, people will also need to follow @Orbitz. The sweepstakes begins at 12:00 PM Central Time (“CT”) on Thursday, October 12, 2017 and ends at 11:59 PM CT on Sunday, October 29, 2017.  No purchase necessary.

Orbitz experts reveal the best days to book holiday travel. (PRNewsfoto/Orbitz)

“During the holidays, we want to spend time with the people that mean the most to us,” said Ramses Meijer, General Manager of Orbitz. “For some people, that means a trip home, for others, it may mean getting together with friends and family at a beach, mountain or other destination. No matter where they plan to gather, Orbitz is proud to help bring them together.”

A recent Orbitz poll reveals that while many people look forward to traveling home for the holidays, a slight majority (51.9%) would prefer a “destination holiday,” possibly gathering around a palm tree rather than a Christmas tree or ringing in the new year while skiing down a mountain slope[1]. But since 100% of travelers prefer to save money, Orbitz curates the best hotel deals at www.orbitz.com/deals.

Best Days to Book Holiday Travel[2]

Conventional wisdom says that the days around Christmas and Thanksgiving are among the busiest travel periods of the year. Data from Orbitz Insiders backs this up, showing that in 2016, these weeks saw traffic spike more than a third as compared to an average week.

However, it’s not too late to score a good deal on holiday travel. While it is a good rule to book air travel as early as possible for the best fares and widest selection, Orbitz data shows that holiday airfares remain fairly consistent until about two weeks prior to Thanksgiving and around three weeks before Christmas, at which point they begin to creep upwards.

For cost-conscious travelers looking for the right day to book their flights, analysis by Orbitz data experts reveals the days that may offer the best deals for the holidays. For Thanksgiving, travelers are likely to find the best deals on Thursday, October 26th, Christmas travelers might look to book a bargain fare on Friday, October 20th, while the day to find the lowest flight prices for New Year’s Eve is likely to be on Saturday, November 4th.

[1] Google Survey of 1028 US residents age 18+ conducted 8/31/2017 – 9/2/2017.
[2] All data based on standalone, round trip flights booked on Orbitz.com or Cheaptickets.com in 2016 for travel between 11.17.16 – 12.04.16 for Thanksgiving, between 12.18.16 – 12.30.16 for Christmas, and for travel starting between 12.30.16 and 12.31.16 for New Year’s Eve

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