While summer and spring break are loved by millions, many of Americans take time during the holiday season to travel around the world and country. The holiday season in 2019 was earmarked as one of the busiest airports had been, specifically the day after Christmas. There were an estimated 3.9 million more individuals traveling in the U.S. in 2019 then there were in 2018, specifically to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Overall, there were an estimated 112 million American’s traveling this past holiday season, in the air and on the road. This resulted in a stand-still on major highways throughout the U.S, some sitting unmoved for hours. Holiday break has become the new hot spot for travel for millions of Americans. 

So why do so many people travel during the holiday season? Surveys have concluded that many of the American people have saved vacation days from their jobs, wanting to take a longer vacation then a standard week. The other majority of people are traveling home to be with their families for the holidays and wanted to escape the cold weather. Florida was one of the busiest states this holiday season for many families. Universal Studios in Orlando had an unbelievable appearance of guests, their numbers reaching 50,000 before afternoon. Disney World, the most popular amusement park in the world, reached maximum capacity this holiday season, resulting in the park to be shut down. But the American people are traveling outside the country too, a popular spot being Mexico, specifically Cancun. 

While car and plane are the most popular modes of transportation during the holiday season, an estimated 3.7 million American people are also traveling by train or another form of public transportation. Many individuals use the holiday break as an end of the year vacation, as well as a “mid-year” break. Having traveled this past holiday myself, I can personally say that I have seen more people traveling during the holiday break then I have during a summer break. 

When traveling during the holiday season, some things that need to be noted are that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the lightest times of travel, individuals running into less delays. The day after Christmas is when many people experience hour long delays because of the almost unmanageable amount of people.