A record-breaking number of travelers flying after the 2023 Thanksgiving holiday is pointing at continued healthy travel demand from leisure travelers, according to CoStar Group National Director for Hospitality Market Analytics Jan Freitag.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2.9 million air passengers on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, breaking the record for the most travelers in a single day.
"Clearly being together with friends and family was the major impetus for boosted travel spend, and luckily only a very tiny fraction of flights were canceled," Freitag said.
Now that the macroeconomic outlook has changed from an outright recession to a slowing in gross-domestic-product growth, Freitag expects continued demand increases this winter and over the holiday season.
"CoStar/STR revised its 2023 revenue per available room forecast upward, in response to the ongoing healthy demand and rate environment," he added.