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There may be no place like home for the holidays — but that won’t stop more than 115 million Americans from hitting the roads, skies and seas over Christmas and New Year’s, according to AAA’s holiday forecast.
That includes a record 7.5 million Americans projected to head to the airport this season, the forecast said. It surpasses the previous record of 7.3 million in 2019.
This holiday travel season is expected to be the second busiest in the last two decades, the organization said. 2019 remains in the top slot.
“More Americans are investing in travel, despite the cost,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, said in a statement. The predicted busy season “mirrors what AAA Travel has been observing throughout 2023,” she added.
Nearly 104 million people will be driving to their destinations this year, the forecast said, the second-highest number since 2019. AAA’s projections are based on the 10-day period from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1.
There is one silver lining for those taking a road trip: Gas prices have declined as oil prices continue their retreat from yearly highs, and prices at the pump may even drop below $3 a gallon on average before the year is done.
December’s holiday season will be the second super-busy week of holiday travel this year. AAA estimated that about 55.4 million Americans traveled by car, plane, train or boat for Thanksgiving, the third-highest number on record.
The number of people traveling by other modes — like bus, train and cruise — will be higher than in 2019, at over 4 million.
Consumers have been giving mixed signals on how much they’re willing to spend on food, gifts and travel this holiday season. According to an earlier Bankrate survey, more than three-quarters of Americans were planning to alter their holiday travel plans to cut back on costs, by staying home or swapping flights for road trips.
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