ORLANDO, Fla. – ‘Tis the season we traditionally spend with family and friends, and this year, Americans are traveling in record numbers. AAA forecasts 107.3 million Americans will take to planes, trains, automobiles and other modes of transportation during the year-end holiday period from Saturday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Jan. 1. This will be the highest year-end travel volume on record and a 3.1% increase in travel volume compared with last year. 2017 marks the ninth consecutive year of rising year-end holiday travel. Since 2005, total year-end holiday travel volume has grown by 21.6 million, an increase of more than 25%.
“More expensive gas prices are not swaying holiday revelers to stay home,” said Bill Sutherland, AAA senior vice president of travel and publishing, in a press release. “In fact, across the board this year, travel has increased year-over-year for every major holiday weekend—Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving—and we project the same for the year-end holiday period. We’ve seen the strong economy and growing consumer confidence fuel holiday travel all year long.”
For the 97.4 million Americans traveling by automobile, global transportation analytics company INRIX, in collaboration with AAA, predicts travel times during the holiday week could be as much as three times longer than the normal trip. Driving increased 3% over last year. Based on historical and recent travel trends, INRIX expects drivers will experience the greatest amount of congestion before the holiday week—on Wednesday, Dec. 20, and Thursday, Dec. 21—in the late afternoon as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers.
“With record-level travelers hitting the road this holiday, drivers must be prepared for delays in major metros,” said Dr. Graham Cookson, chief economist and head of research at INRIX. “Our advice to drivers is to avoid peak times altogether or consider alternative routes.”
The 90% of holiday travelers choosing to drive will find the most expensive year-end gas prices since 2014. According to AAA, this December’s national average price is $2.47 (Dec. 1-13), which is 28 cents more than last December. The good news is that AAA does expect the average to drop at least another five cents by year-end, saving motorists a few pennies at the pump.