If you're planning to travel for the holidays this week, you're not alone.
AAA predicts 91.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday season which runs from Friday, December 23 to Monday, January 2. That's a 1.4 percent increase over the number of people who traveled this time last year.
"The 11-day Year-End holiday period is the longest holiday travel season of the year, affording many more Americans time to visit family or take vacations," said Tom Chestnut, President/CEO of AAA Western and Central New York. "This is also a positive sign for the travel industry as we anticipate the second highest year-end holiday travel volume in the past ten years."
Approximately 83.6 million people, or 91 percent of holiday travelers, plan to drive, which is a 2.1 percent increase from last year.
If you are traveling by car, there's some good news. Gas prices nationwide are down to approximately $3.24 a gallon. That's down about five cents over the past two weeks. We're still paying a bit more in the Syracuse area.
If you're traveling by air, you should expect fewer people to join you in the skies this year. Air travel is projected to be down nearly 10 percent. About 5.4 million holiday travelers or 6 percent of people will fly during the holiday travel period. That's a 9.7 percent decrease from this time last year. Jet fuel costs and capacity cuts continue to impact holiday air travel. According to AAA, airfares are expected to be 21 percent higher than last year with an average lowest round-trip rate of $210 for the top 40 U.S. air routes.
Other modes of travel (bus, trains, watercraft, multi-modal travel) will make up the remaining three percent of trips, with 2.9 million people expected to travel by these modes. That's 4.2 percent higher than last year.
Hotel rates for AAA Three Diamond or mid-range lodgings are expected to increase a modest one percent from last year with travelers spending an average of $126 per night compared to $125 one year ago. Travelers planning to stay at AAA Two Diamond hotels can expect to pay four percent more at an average cost of $92 per night, up from $88 last year. Daily car rental rates are $40 on average, a 21 percent decrease from one year ago.
Overall, people are expected to travel about 726 miles from home this year and spend approximately $718. Fuel and transportation costs combine to consume the largest share of holiday spending, followed by shopping and food and beverages. Other expenditures include accommodations, entertainment and recreation and other costs.
Fifty-nine percent of travelers say the economy will not impact their travel plans.
Are you planning to travel in the next week? How are you getting to your destination? Has the economy affected your plans this year? Leave your thoughts below.
