There are fewer folks doing the Thanksgiving travel thing this year.

“Travel is down 7 percent here compared to last year,” said RDU spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin.

And there are also fewer flights, meaning what's available  is going to be more crowded.

And travel experts say, uncertainty over the economy will continue to affect travel right through the Christmas holiday.

“They'll still be a demand for travel, but not in the next few months,” said Tony Maupin who operates Maupin Travel in Raleigh.  He predicts demand for travel won’t occur until the spring and summer of 2009.

As he charts the trends, Maupin believes the travel industry will be forced to offer bargain-basement deals come January.

“In the next quarter, they'll be bargains for the traveling public with deals in cruises and hotels,” he said. “Airline fares will be flat, but even so, it'll be a buyer's market in the first quarter.”

And although most of the deals are still down the road, there are a few folks traveling this holiday who actually spent less than they thought they would.

“We found airfares had gone down and we were pretty surprised,” said Rusty Robertson, who along with her husband arrived at RDU from Los Angeles to celebrate Thanksgiving with her son and his family.