News for December 17
| AAA Forecast Decrease In Christmas Holiday Travel (posted by Public Affairs on December 17 @ 09:22 ) |
| For the first time since 2002, AAA is projecting a decrease in the number of Americans traveling during the Christmas holiday period. Nearly 63.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Christmas holiday travel period, a decrease of 2.1 percent from last year’s total of 65.3 million, according to AAA Southern New England. AAA projected year-to-year decreases in the number of travelers for all five of the major travel holidays this year (Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). “Without question, the economic downturn of 2008 eroded the discretionary income many Americans would have spent on travel and, for some, altered their travel plans throughout the year,” said Lloyd P. Albert, AAA Southern New England Senior Vice President of Public and Government Affairs. “However, those traveling this holiday season can take advantage of declining hotel rates and fuel prices more than a dollar per gallon less than a year ago.” More than 52.4 million Americans (82 percent of all holiday travelers) intend to travel by automobile, a 1.2 percent decrease from the 53 million people who drove last year. Motorists across the country, on average, can expect to see gasoline prices about $1.35 per gallon less than last year. Approximately 8.1 million (13 percent of holiday travelers) expect to travel by airplane, an 8.5 percent decline from the 8.9 million who flew last year. More than 3.3 million Americans plan to travel by train, bus, or other mode of transportation, an increase of 0.7 percent from a year ago. The Northeast region of the United States (New England plus New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) is projected to see a 3 percent drop in overall travel. The 7 million Northeast travelers by car this year is down 2.8 percent from a year ago. Information for AAA’s travel projections is provided by the Travel Industry Association (TIA), which conducts special research for AAA. AAA Southern New England is a not-for-profit auto club with 34 offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, providing more than 2 million local AAA members with travel, insurance, finance, and auto-related services. |