Thanksgiving holiday travel was down 57.6% this past long weekend, as many Connecticut residents chose to stay put due to concerns about rising COVID-19 infections.
That’s according to the Arrivalist, a New York company that uses mobile data to glean insights into consumer travel and visitation patterns.
The Northeast saw the steepest year-over-year declines in Thanksgiving road trips, with declines in Vermont (66.4%) and Rhode Island (64.9%) beating out Connecticut’s drop.
The declines were less pronounced in the West, with Utah booking the smallest drop, at 13.9%. The national average decline was 35%.
“Travel by private car ‒ generally regarded as one of the safest and most available means of leisure travel during the pandemic ‒ had begun establishing itself as a leading indicator of travel’s rebound,” Arrivalist CEO Cree Lawson said in a statement. “That appears to have taken a back seat to people’s desire to protect themselves and each other from a surge of COVID-19 cases.”
The Arrivalist’s Daily Travel Index defines Thanksgiving road trips as those 50 miles or greater, initiated on Nov. 25 or Nov. 26, where travelers spend at least two hours at their destinations. Shorter trips, recurring travel (such as cargo deliveries) and air travel are not included in the index.
