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(InvestigateTV) — ‘There’s no place like home for the holidays’ seems to be the trend this year, as more people plan to stay put for holiday celebrations. “Ever since the pandemic, we’ve seen tremendous travel demand. But that appetite is starting to wane due to the cumulative effects of high inflation, high interest rates, rising debt and diminishing savings,” Bankrate Senior Analyst Ted Rossman said. In a new survey, Bankrate found only 21 percent of US adults say they’ll be flying or staying in a hotel this year. That’s down from 27 percent from last year. Bankrate isn’t talking about people hitting the road in a car to grandma’s house for Thanksgiving – they looked at flights and hotel bookings. Rossman called it a “mixed bag,” with some people saying they’ll skip trips but still making plans anyway. Still, inflation is weighing heavily. “And even though the month over month numbers and the year over year are not so bad right now, if you zoom back to the start of 2021 prices are up 25 percent on average,” he noted. “And it could be that people are sort of feeling tapped out. They’ve dipped into savings. They’ve taken on debt.” For those who do need to travel, Rossman stressed that flexibility is key. Ideally, trips should be booked months in advance. He recommends setting a calendar reminder for September 1 to lock in flights for next year. He also had a few suggestions for people making travel arrangements now. “Don’t just fly when everybody else wants to fly. If you’re looking at Wednesday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, you’re going to find a lot of crowds and high prices,” he pointed out. “Maybe you’re willing to travel on the holiday itself. I know it’s not the most desirable thing, but if you take an early flight on Thanksgiving morning and you still get there on time for the family meal, that could be a lot of cheaper.” He added that Christmas Eve or Christmas Day flights are typically much less expensive than traveling on December 22 or 23. Using rewards points or miles can also help cut costs. Submit story tips to our Investigators Share errors or concerns with our Digital Editors Watch full episodes of InvestigateTV+ Subscribe to the InvestigateTV YouTube Channel
