More Americans than ever on record – 115.6 million – will travel this holiday season, according to estimates released Thursday by AAA.
The agency considers Sunday, Dec. 21 through Wednesday, Jan. 1, as the official travel period for the holiday season.
The estimate represents the most travelers in nearly 20 years since AAA began tracking in 2000, and it represents an increase of 3.9% over last year. This means that 4.3 million more people packing up their sleighs for a holiday getaway. More than 104 million of these holiday travelers will drive to their destinations and, INRIX, a global transportation analytics company, expects delays to be the worst on Thursday, Dec. 26, with afternoon delays reaching nearly double congestion-free drive times in major U.S. cities.
“Holiday cheer is at an all-time high this year, with unemployment at historically low levels, and noted improvements in both disposable income and household net worth,” said Paula Twidale, vice president, AAA Travel. “Travelers should be getting used to crowded highways and airports, as this marks the eighth straight year of new record-high travel volumes for the year-end holidays.”
By the numbers: 2019 Year-End Holiday Travel
Total numbers of travelers:
- National: 115.6 million travelers
- Georgia: 3,096,267 travelers
Automobiles: More Americans than ever on record will drive this holiday season.
- National: 104.8 million; 3.9% more than last year.
- Georgia: 186,799; 3.7% increase over last year.
Planes:
- National: 6.97 million people will take to the skies, the highest number on record since 2003; 4.9% more than last year.
- Georgia: 186,799 Georgians will travel by air, a 4.0% increase over last year.
Trains, Buses and Cruise Ships:
- National: 3% increase to 3.81 million passengers
- Georgia: 3.8% increase to 126,269 passengers
AAA also said in its Thursday report that gas prices steadily declined in November, paving the way for even cheaper prices for the year-end holidays. AAA expects most motorists to see gas prices drop before the new year, but will likely be slightly more expensive than last December’s national gas price average of $2.37.
