COLUMBUS – For the sixth straight year the auto club AAA expects travel over the Christmas/New Year holiday period to set new records, thanks to a healthy economy and cheap gas, and the pace should start picking up Wednesday.
More than one-third of Americans – and nearly 40 percent of Ohioans — will travel year-end holiday travel period, defined as Dec. 22 through Jan. 1, AAA Ohio senior public relations manager Kimberly Schwind said.
The record-breaking 112.5 million American travelers represents a 4.4 percent increase over last year and the most since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000.
“We continue to see strong economic growth fueled by robust consumer spending which is driving demand for seasonal travel,” Schwind said.
The 4.4 percent increase in holiday travel from 2017 means a record high for the sixth straight year, Schwind said. The 11-day span is one-day longer than last year’s holiday travel period, due to Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on Tuesdays
“Lower gas prices, combined with the rising disposable incomes are certainly helping to motivate travelers to plan holiday road trips,” Schwind said.
The average price of gas in Ohio hit a low for the year on Dec. 4, when it dipped to $2.10 per gallon, compared to the nationwide high price of $2.96, set over the Memorial Day weekend.
Schwind says drivers can expect the greatest amount of congestion on Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 19 and 20 in the late afternoon as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers.
More than 247,000 Ohioans will travel by air this year as air travel across the country hits its highest volume in 15 years.
An analysis of AAA’s flight booking data from the last three years shows Dec. 22, 23 and 26 will be the busiest days at the airports while Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be the lightest.