AAA: 93 Million to Travel for the Holidays

More than 1 million travelers from the Philadelphia area (or one in four) will travel 50 miles or more away from home during the year-end holidays, according the AAA Mid-Atlantic.

That’s an increase of nearly 2 percent over last year.  The year-end holiday travel period is defined as Saturday, Dec. 22 to Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013.  AAA Mid-Atlantic’s holiday travel forecast is based on travelers’ intentions and historical data as of mid-November.

“Despite high gas prices and slow economic recovery, more than 25 percent of Philadelphia area residents (over 1 million people) plan to travel during the upcoming 11-day holiday travel season,” said Jenny M. Robinson, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.  “Unlike other annual holidays, the year-end holidays offer an extended period for travel to visit family and friends or take a vacation, making the opportunity to travel more appealing for many people.”

Automobile travel remains the preferred choice of transportation for 2012-2013 year-end holiday travelers, with 912,000 people or 90 percent of travelers from the Philadelphia area taking to the roadways in the coming weeks.  

Despite high gas prices, automobile travel is often more affordable, convenient and flexible for travelers.  According to AAA, the current average price of self-service regular gasoline in the Philadelphia five-county region is $3.47 per gallon, about 15 cents more than one year ago.  However, the average price is about 51 cents less than the region’s peak 2012 price of $3.98 on April 9.

Nationally, AAA projects 93.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holidays, an increase of 1.6 percent over the 91.8 million people who traveled last year.

All the information in this report is provided by AAA Mid-Altantic.

Do you plan on traveling for the holidays? How far are you going? Are you driving or taking the train, a plane or a bus?