COLUMBUS – With a little help from the calendar, year-end holiday travel volume has almost resumed its pre-pandemic pace, according to projections.
The auto club AAA estimates more than 4.6 million Ohioans will travel at least 50 miles from home between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, a 2.6% increase from last year and the second busiest Christmas/New Year holiday travel period for Ohio since AAA began tracking in 2000, AAA Ohio public affairs director Kimberly Schwind said.
Ohio’s travel numbers are expected to be about 200,000 travelers shy of the 2019 record, thanks to the fact that Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are on Sundays this year.
“With hybrid work schedules, we’re seeing even more people taking long weekends to travel because they can work remotely at their destination and can be more flexible with the days when they depart and when they return,” she said.
The 112.7 million Americans who are expected to travel is an increase of 3.3% nationally and is closing in on the pre-pandemic record set in 2019. Only 2018 and 2019 saw more people traveling during the year-end holidays.
More than 4.2 million Ohioans will join the 102 million Americans who will drive to their holiday destinations. About 60,000 more motorists will crowd Ohio’s roadways than a year ago.
Drivers will enjoy paying less for gasoline than they have for much of this year. The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the Columbus area Monday morning was 70 cents cheaper than a month before.
INRIX, a provider of transportation analytics and insights, says drivers could see travel times up to 25% longer with the heaviest traffic on Dec. 23, 27 and 28, and Jan. 2.
Airports will be packed, with 12.8% more Ohioans flying to their destinations.