COLUMBUS – One third of the nation’s population will not be home at some point during the Christmas-New Year’s holiday period, according to the AAA, but the auto club says it would have been a bigger number had Americans not begun to feel cautious about their spending.
The number of Americans traveling during the 12-day holiday is expected to top 100 million for the first time, with 100.5 million planning to journey 50 miles or more from home between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3, but the increase is smaller than last year’s as the auto club’s analysts say some consumers are putting more money into savings.
The more than 4 million Ohioans traveling during the holiday period is also a new record, AAA Ohio spokeswoman Kimberly Schwind said.
The increase is being driven by continued improvement in the labor market, rising incomes and low gas prices, which is leaving Ohioans with more disposable income for travel.
“Rising incomes and low gas prices are helping to fill stockings this year, and more people than ever will choose to spend those savings on travel this year,” said Marshall Doney, AAA president and CEO.
The 1 percent increase over last year’s travel volume in Ohio is the seventh consecutive year of year-end holiday travel growth, Schwind said but the growth has slowed considerably compared to last year’s 8.5 percent in Ohio and 4.5 percent nationwide.
Schwind says nearly 92 percent of Ohio travelers will drive to their destinations, also an increase of 1 percent.
Low gas prices are giving those holiday drivers a bonus. Pump prices are the lowest for a December since 2009 and the auto club expects them to remain low through the holidays.
Last year, gas prices averaged $2.28 nationally and $2.03 in Ohio during the holiday travel period. This year the statewide average is about $1.90 while the national average is hovering just about the $2 mark.